Festivals

poetry festival bristol

The Hotwells Festival is a poetry festival in Bristol. This event will be held from Thursday, 29th August 2016 to Sunday, 1st September 2016. The festival will take place at various locations situated on the Hotwells Estate, both indoor and out, including Arnolfini, Colston Hall, City Hall and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.

The main aim of this event is to introduce the spoken word to Bristol by allowing poets, performers, and artists to share work within a safe environment with people willing to listen. It is about bringing together all generations so everyone can enjoy a variety of different types of poems and performances from poets who have been published and those who write for fun. There will certainly be something for everyone at this event.

The first day features author readings, panel discussions, workshops and networking opportunities for young people with writing ambitions. Visitors are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character.

The second day consists of talks by authors who have written books children can relate to or learn from, including topics such as self-confidence, bullying and equality within the literature industry. This day also incorporates networking sessions for parents with writing ambitions. There are also opportunities for children to meet authors, have their books signed and take part in workshops.

Previous performers at the festival include:

• Children’s author Jenny McLachlan

• Award-winning children’s author Tom Palmer

• Book blogger Rich Boyce

• Former literary agent and award-winning book blogger John Jarrold

The general theme of the festival is all about literature and learning, letting people gather together for a day filled with enjoyment and fun. Writers see the event as an opportunity to network with other authors and meet their fans while young readers get inspired by meeting their favourite writers in person and getting involved in non-academic activities such as craft activities and drawing competitions.

This year’s performers and speakers include:

• Author of Beasts Made of Night, Tochi Onyebuchi

• Author of Women in Science – 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World, Rachel Ignotofsky

• Writer and comedian Ellie Taylor-Ritson

• Non-fiction writer and journalist Charlotte Heathcote

• Children’s author, poet and playwright Joyce Cooper

Tickets to attend costs £7 for adults and £5 for children. Accompanied infants under the age of 12 months enter free. Visitors can also purchase lunch or refreshments on site. There is a discounted price if you book your tickets online in advance on the official website at hotwellsfestival.com.

Poetry has the power to connect people. Poetry can be powerful enough to make you laugh, cry or even change your life direction.

Programmes available for purchase during the event are priced at £1 each and include information about all performers. Visitors are encouraged to put their programmes on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #hotwells2016 after the event. The idea behind this is that several other entry events will pop up throughout Bristol following this hashtag which means more opportunities for everyone interested in poetry within Bristol to experience spoken word performances by fantastic poets from around the UK!

The festival runs from 12pm until 8pm on Friday 30th August 2015 so there is plenty of time to drop by! We hope to see you there!