A new Lake District literary festival will be held in South Cumbria in 2026.
Hosted by the Holker Group and the Cavendish family, The Lake District Book Festival will feature big names, historians, journalists, thinkers and writers of all voices.
It will take place in part in Cartmel Priory and Cartmel Racecourse over the second weekend of June 2026.
Director of The Lake District Book Festival, Christopher de Bellaigue said the festival would focus on the spoken word as much as the written; and it was for younger generations, to bring value to books and reading.
He said: “Writing is a highly solitary activity and authors love talking shop and meeting other authors. We will engineer an atmosphere where all authors feel cherished and can enjoy meaningful encounters between each other and with the public.”
Charlotte Fairbairn, creative director at Lowther Castle, said: “From working at a privately owned visitor attraction, I have learnt that the public very much appreciates the personal touch.
“To sniff a little humour, to taste a spot of humility, to know that signs or interpretation or displays have not been done by a robot but by somebody with a beating
heart – visitors really respond to this.
“Our ambition with the festival is to create an event that is joyful and yet serious, witty and yet cool, ambitious and yet generous.”
Lucy Cavendish, who heads the Holker Group, added: “To bring together big-name authors with up-and-coming people we feel passionate about who would benefit from having a platform, and to add to all this an education programme, is something we are very excited to support.”
Nick Devenish, the vicar of the 12th century Cartmel Priory, said: “Everyone in the village I have spoken to is overwhelmingly positive about the possibilities of this festival.
“That more people may come and appreciate this corner of our blessed land is to be celebrated. We can’t wait to welcome friends old and new.”
