Get ready for Newport Festival of Words: A Celebration of Literature and Creativity

12 February 2025 53

An exciting new festival for our city.

Newport is about to turn the page on a brand-new chapter in its cultural story with the launch of the Newport Festival of Words! Taking place from March 20-23, 2025, this exciting new festival will celebrate the city’s rich literary history and showcase the incredible talent of contemporary writers, poets, and storytellers.

A Festival for All Word Lovers

From novels and poetry to songwriting, history, and children’s literature, the Newport Festival of Words is designed to celebrate words in all their forms. The festival will feature an exciting mix of events, including author readings, book signings, interviews, and children’s storytelling sessions.

Among the renowned authors taking part are Barbara Nadel, Andrew Hurley, Tom Bullough, and Tim Lebbon, alongside award-winning local writer Catherine Fisher. The legendary photographer David Hurn, known for his documentary photography work and ties to Newport, will also be in conversation about his latest book.

Bringing Newport’s Literary Scene to Life

The festival will take place across multiple venues in the city centre, including Newport Rising Hub, the Corn Exchange, Gallery 57, Newport Central Library, and Arcadia. Waterstones will be the official festival bookseller, ensuring that visitors can take home a piece of the festival with them.

The Newport Festival of Words is part funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, Newport City Council, and publishers The Three Impostors.

A Poetry Competition for Newport Schools

To encourage young creatives, Newport schools are invited to take part in a poetry competition with the theme ‘My Newport’. Thanks to Friars Walk’s support, the winning poem will be displayed in a giant book installation in the city for two weeks leading up to the festival.

Each school will select a winning poem to be featured on the Festival of Words website, with an overall winner chosen by a panel of published authors. The winning poet will receive a prize, have their poem displayed in the city centre, and win an author visit for their class.

The deadline for entries is February 21, 2025, and submissions should be sent to Julie Watkins at Newport Central Library (juliewatkins@newport.gov.uk).

Get Involved – Become a Festival Volunteer!

The festival is also calling on volunteers to help make the event a success. If you’re friendly, enthusiastic, and love literature, this is a great opportunity to be part of something special. Volunteers will assist with:

Venue set-up and preparation

Signage and audience support

Front of house duties such as welcoming guests and ticket checks

Volunteers must be 18 or over and available for at least one half or full day between March 20-23. If you’d like to get involved, email for more details.

Join the Celebration

With a fantastic line-up of authors, engaging events, and opportunities for the whole community to take part, the Newport Festival of Words is set to become a must-attend event for book lovers of all ages.

For event details and tickets, visit www.newportwordfest.co.uk and follow the festival on social media for updates!

Photo credit: Thank you to Cheerfully_lost on pixabay

Written by: Ian.Lamsdale

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