The 6th Gladfest Literary Festival is Coming

The Gladstone Library is one of Wales’ treasures, set in the idyllic border town of Hawarden the library is an imposing building filled with over 250,000 books bequeathed by former Prime Minister William Gladstone. We’ve discussed the Gladstone Library before, and how you can actually book a stay here, but today we’re focusing on Gladfest, the literary festival held at the house each year.

Gladfest is in its sixth year and claims to be the UK’s friendliest literary festival. This year’s event takes place from 7th to 9th September and there are all sorts going on this year.

For the 2018 Gladfest there’ll be celebrations of 100 years of votes for women as a suffragette theme flows through the entire festival, but that’s not all and for the first time this year there’ll also be a Gladfest Fringe packed with free music, spoken-word poetry, family entertainment and more.

The festival itself will feature bestselling authors such as Joanna Cannon (Three Things About Elsie), Sarah Perry (Melmoth), writer and broadcaster Richard Holloway (Waiting for the Last Bus: Reflections on Life and Death) and more, including an exclusive preview reading of the Lord of the Flies production set to premier at the Theatr Clwyd later this year.

There’s even special discounts from Arriva if you want to head over there on the bus, and what’s more the entire festival is completely free! You can find more information about Gladfest here, and if it sounds up your street, the organisers are currently looking for volunteers so there are plenty of ways to get involved!