Browse our Christmas e-newsletter to learn about our children's book sale, enjoy three pre-festival events, and get those all-important dates for Litfest 2026! Learn More! geni.us/LFDecENews

What a year. Best year for sales, ever. Foreign rights sold in Spain, France, Netherlands & Germany. Film option sold to Disney/Fox Searchlight of NOD by Adrian Barnes. 10th successive year of being short listed for lit prizes. 2nd TV adaptation of BM book. @thebookseller.com

Encouraging to see this vision to rinse through every childhood with increased literacy covered on Radio 4 this morning. It cannot be overestimated the positive change in future opportunities this could bring. #libraries #r4today @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social @katemossewriter.bsky.social

#crabapples in a local #woodland just the lift for another grey wet day 💦

I was honoured to be asked to be part of @spotonlancashire.bsky.social 30 year celebration of their achievements to support #rural #theatre #touring . And wish Sue and Rob and the team all the very best for the future ! spotonlancashire.co.uk/spot-on-at-30/

Happy #LancashireDay. To be ecumenical, here's Yorkshire Street, Oldham, Lancashire, c.1935, painting by Harry Rutherford, 1903-85 (Gallery Oldham).

Findings from @bigissue.com suggest that weekly, more than 40% of people have no real interactions with people they don't know. The @dcmsgovuk.bsky.social funded Know Your Neighbourhood project is working to tackle loneliness through volunteering across England. www.bigissue.com/opinion/lone...

Choose a life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players & electrical tin openers but most of all choose small independent bookshops with huge hearts & well curated shelves. Choose www.gallovidiabooks.co.uk

These are just a few of our Awards winners and runners up from 2025, celebrating at our annual ceremony. Do you know someone working in or with public #Libraries who deserves to be recognised like them? If so, make sure you nominate them for 2026! www.librariesconnected.org.uk/libraries-co...

Fabulous visit to #Haworth #Bronte country today.

#WorldKindnessDay is a chance to focus on those empathetic acts that can lead to a more compassionate society. By bringing people with shared values together regardless of their differences, public #Libraries act as spaces where kindness can flourish.

Just finished #LancashireFolktales @storywheel.bsky.social . Definitely tales for #winter evenings and I found a new story about my own local town - Icy Fingers 🥶. So lovely to hear Jacqueline and #MarjanWouda talking @litfest.bsky.social last weekend about how they created the book.

There is a huge amount going on in public #Libraries this #GetOnlineWeek. Tower Hamlets are launching their free film streaming service and Kobo, a new eReader lending service. Why not see what your #Library service is doing to celebrate #DigitalInclusion. www.ideastore.co.uk/get-online

I despair about the use of #astro turf in peoples gardens - why di people fo it !! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I am a true #Lancastrian so it was a particular delight for me to listen to #JacquelineHarris #storyteller and #sculptor #MarjanWouda telling some of #Lancashire’s stories with amazing #illustrations

Fascinating listening to Helen Bate and @mollieray.bsky.social in conversation with @jakehope.bsky.social about telling #stories through #graphic #novels and the power of #illustration and #comics to connect and tell those difficult stories we need to hear .

Beautiful readings today from #YvonneReddick and @liambatespoet.bsky.social exploring #friendship #climate and #journeys

Looking forward to listening to the wonderful Yvonne Reddick and @liambatespoet.bsky.social reading at @litfest.bsky.social later today

#LucyStrange launched our Saturday programme @litfest.bsky.social with an event full of energy and spookiness in conversation @katherinewoodfine.bsky.social . It was great to hear about the joint relationship with her #illustrator #PamSmy.

Tonight’s opening event with #SarahHall was superb. You can still buy copies of #Helm @litfest.bsky.social and support our future festivals and you can buy so many other titles as shown below . Hopefully we will see some of you over the weekend .

‘The more local you are, the more global you are’: the ever-brilliant Sarah Hall on her new novel, ‘Helm’, place-writing, and the importance of positivity in environmental fictional writing at @litfest.bsky.social 📚🍃

We are delighted to have #SarahHall kicking off our #AutumnWeekend @litfest.bsky.social talking about her latest book #Helm and there is a full house !

Planted some #BladderCampion today at #BellWood . I have to say it’s a new one for me. Plus some #bluebells . #Autumn is definitely here the leaves are falling everywhere !🍁🍂

Delighted for the esteemed Queen that is @buliejell.bsky.social being awarded a CILIP Honorary Fellowship. An excellent, tireless mentor & guiding light of mine in libraries for nearly 30 years, and the wise owl chair of @loudinlibraries.bsky.social to this day. Go Julie!

OUT NOW - @mkhardywrites.com 's Scottish Sapphic Gothic: THE NEEDFIRE! A new bride arrives at her husband's home to find it oozing with atmosphere and crackling with tension. Nothing is quite what it seems, the roots of the past run deep, and even the earth is angry... geni.us/needfire

Congratulations to you, Julie, and many thanks for all the incredible work you have done for the library and information profession across your career.

Next week we will be delighted to welcome Xiaolu Guo to deliver the FREE Lancaster International Fiction Lecture on the subject of "Fiction as an Act of Sabotage" on 21st October in partnership with @lancasteruni.bsky.social. Join us in person, or watch online

🎉Congratulations to LeVar Burton, Jo Cornish, Kevin Mehmet and Julie Bell our 2025 Honorary Fellowship recipients. Four inspiring individuals who exemplify excellence across the library and information profession. @levarburton @JoCornish4 @buliejell #CILIPAGM

Our President, @suelacey-bryant.bsky.social announces her Presidential Citations. 🎉Congratulations to @philbradley.bsky.social, Dr Carla Hayden & Maja Maricevic. Three individuals who've shown exceptional dedication, leadership & innovation. #CILIPAGM www.cilip.org.uk/page/preside...

The #CILIP Mentor of the Year award goes to not one, but TWO exceptional individuals this year. 👏Congratulations and a huge thank you for volunteering your time to your profession, Ruth Curtis and John Dolan. Read more here: www.cilip.org.uk/news/712365/...

Take a look at just what inspired the #CILIP community to recognise Jo Cornish, Kevin Mehmet, Julie Bell and LeVar Burton with #CILIP Honorary Fellowship. Read about their brilliant achievements, and the impact they've had on the profession. www.cilip.org.uk/news/712362/...

I am absolutely delighted to receive this accolade from @cilip.bsky.social . Congratulations to my colleagues as well @jocornish.bsky.social especially . I had the privilege to work with Jo on the trailblazer apprenticeship level 3 programme which is inspiring future generations .

Dr Carla Hayden, the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as Librarian of Congress in Washington today received a Presidential Citation from our President, @suelacey-bryant.bsky at the #CILIP AGM. Watch her acceptance speech: www.cilip.org.uk/page/carlaha...

The perfect event for #BlackHistoryMonth: on Sunday 19th October at 3:30pm, join us at Lancaster Library to hear @malikalnasir.bsky.social in conversation with Rebecca Joy Novell talking about his fascinating exploration of his ancestry in SEARCHING FOR MY SLAVE ROOTS! Book now geni.us/MalikAN

Our launch event on Friday, celebrating the release of Sarah Hall's stunning novel HELM is now sold out for in-person tickets. However, thanks to the wonderful world of hybrid events, you can still join us online via Crowdcast wherever you are in the world. Tickets only £4: https://geni.us/helm_sh

Are you ready for some Lancashire Folktales? Beautifully told by Jacqueline Harris, and stunningly illustrated by MarjanWouda, all the tales in the book are rooted in the Lancashire landscape, reflecting the diverse lives lived there. Join us Sat 18th Oct, 5pm, The Storey. Tickets £6 geni.us/LFTLS

THE NEEDFIRE is coming South of the border - see @mkhardywrites.com @litfest.bsky.social's Autumn Weekend! Join us in Lancaster 19th Oct, 2pm where they will be discussing the process of co-writing with the superb @oliverklangmead.bsky.social! Tickets only £6. Book here:

Happy #NationalPoetryDay! You can still snap up tickets to our Poetry Double Bill on Saturday 18th October with Yvonne Reddick and Liam Bates! geni.us/LFAWPDB And, of course, you can grab a whole host of poetry delights from the Litfest Bookshop! litfest.org/shop/

We must do things differently and meet young people and families where they are at. Reading is still the answer, yet we need to get our delivery right, says Heather Wright in our recent Comment piece 👇 #BookSky

This woman is on fire in the EU parliament.

Just finished this beautiful book #JimCrumley. I know that there is a #tawnyowl down the lane and I spotted another #owl on the webcam this morning. I need to keep my eyes open for this beautiful creature .

Last night I watched @georgemcgavin.bsky.social documentary on the #oak #tree and it was absolutely fascinating. I didn’t know there were so many different types of gall wasps and today I found a knopper gall. I am planting 1,950 trees this autumn on a field but I lucky to already have an old oak !

Brilliant weekend volunteering on #GirlguidingLancashireNW first ever #Rainbow takeover of #Lancaster #Museums . Over Saturday and Sunday 175 4-7 year olds visited 4 #museums in #Lancaster #LancasterCityCouncil #LancashireCountyCouncil - they learnt so much and laughed and sang !

I went to a memorial service today of a woman who died at 96 and who spent her life dedicated to supporting girls and young women through @girlguiding and @sibristol.bsky.social her name was Audrey Foster and she finally stopping being a trustee for a charity at the age of 90! Inspirational !

"Virtuosic, a tough and supple poetry anchored in decades of attention to Cumbrian land and plants and skies." - Guardian We're delighted to be launching our Autumn Weekend with an event celebrating Sarah Hall's spectacular HELM! 17/10, join in-person or online (£6/£4)

🍁📙There's just under a month to go until Litfest's Autumn Weekend 2025! Have you booked your tickets yet? geni.us/LFAW25

We're delighted to see that @mollieray.bsky.social is shortlisted for the Young Comics Laureate 2025-6! geni.us/YCLAU Mollie will be appearing at our Autumn Weekend to discuss how the graphic novel format allows her to treat challenging topics with wit and sensitivity. Book now £6: geni.us/LFMBHB

Whatever you do, please don’t stop reading. Read for joy. Read for education. Read for resistance. Read banned books. Read books by marginalized authors. Read about experiences that differ from your own. Just. Keep. Reading.

It's here! Welcome to the Lancaster Litfest Autumn Weekend 2025, running 17-21 October and 18 November. Ft Sarah Hall, Simon Armitage, @oliverklangmead.bsky.social @mkhardywrites.com Xiaolu Guo @malikalnasir.bsky.social & more! Browse the full programme and get your tickets now! litfest.org

We've got the perfect way for young readers to kick off #SpookySeason! On Saturday 18th October, 11:30am at The Storey, Lancaster, join bestselling author Lucy Strange for a fun morning of spooky mysteries, ghosts and monsters! Book your tickets here: geni.us/LFAWLS @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social