The first Leiston Book Festival takes place this September – featuring six non-fiction authors who will explore our changing landscape and environment. Organiser Robert Ashton explains why a literary festival is long overdue for the Suffolk coastal town
Can you remind people who you are and what you do?
I’m Robert Ashton and after nearly 36 years living in Norfolk, I returned to Suffolk in 2022 and now live at Leiston, where my wife and I both grew up. She tells me I’m retired now, and I do enjoy free bus travel, but my latest book Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay is selling well and I’m getting lots of invitations to speak at literary events across the UK.
My next book is also starting to take shape, and I’m a trustee of Leiston’s Long Shop Museum, which celebrates the town’s rich industrial heritage, so don’t have time to get bored. Because Leiston is so different to nearby towns such as Aldeburgh and Southwold, people often overlook it and assume it’s a place where nothing happens. I’m trying to challenge that perception!
What prompted you to stage a book festival in Leiston?
It was a conversation with the chap sitting next to me at a piano concert in Aldeburgh’s Jubilee Hall, who, on learning that I lived in Leiston, said: ‘oh we don’t get many people here from Leiston; they’re not educated.’ I thought that staging a book festival in Leiston would go a long way towards challenging that negative perception people have of the town.
Perhaps a better reason for staging a book festival here was that the Aldeburgh Literary Festival sells out in hours, and I’ve yet to manage to buy a ticket, despite being outside the bookshop when it opened the day after tickets went on sale. That confirmed my view that lots of people living along this stretch of coast love books. Leiston Book Festival will take place on Saturday September 7.
How have you made Leiston Book Festival different from those already taking place nearby?
To succeed, I knew that Leiston Book Festival had to be different, so all our authors have written non-fiction books that explore our changing landscape and environment. Our audience will be learning about declining bird numbers from Patrick Galbraith; Doggerland, that once connected us to the continent, from Julia Blackburn; and, looking further afield, Tom Parfitt will be talking about the High Caucasus.
We’re also staging the festival in Leiston’s amazing Edwardian Film Theatre, which is the oldest cinema in Suffolk. It’s the perfect venue, fully accessible and just a two-minute walk from a large public car park.
Are you doing this on your own?
No, this is very much a team effort. Halesworth Bookshop helped build the programme and will be selling books at the festival. Leiston Town Council is covering our venue costs, and the events team at Sizewell Creative have given us a generous grant, and also practical help in marketing and delivering the event. We’re also involving staff and students at Alde Valley Academy in organising the event. We plan to give any unsold seats to students at the academy, so that they can be inspired by our speaker line up.
Is this a one off, or will be become an annual event?
One reason for building a team is so that the festival can become an annual event, long after I decide to retire properly. Any profits from this year’s festival will go towards making the 2025 festival even better. This is not about making money, but putting Leiston more firmly on the map as a place where creative things happen.
We’re already lining up non-fiction authors with books coming out soon for next year’s book festival.
Leiston Book Festival takes place on Saturday September 7. There will be a line-up of six authors, and tickets for the day are priced at £30 for adults, £25 for over 65s and £10 for those under 18. They can be bought via the website: leistonbookfestival.co.uk.
Featured image of Robert Ashton – supplied
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