Dear Festival Friends

As one Book Festival ends, the planning for the next begins…

Well, almost. After the curtain came down on Stroud Book Festival 2022, our Festival team did take a couple of months’ break. But now, with only 8 months to go before the next Stroud Book Festival opens on 8^th November, we are getting to work on planning the 2023 programme, celebrating stories, ideas and community for readers of all ages.

And the Laurie Lee Prize for Writing 2023 is already underway! (Last year’s winners are pictured above with Chair of Judges, Katie Fforde.) Entries are now open for the second year of this new award for unpublished Gloucestershire writers, established under the umbrella of Stroud Book Festival with the blessing of Laurie Lee’s family, and his literary estate. With two categories once again this year, one for a young writer aged between 16-20 years, please spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested, or even send in an entry yourself.

More information can be found here:

stroudbookfestival.org.uk/about-the-laurie-lee-prize/

We’ll in touch with more news about the 2023 Festival soon. In the meantime, happy reading!

With love from

The Stroud Book Festival team x