Day: 23 September 2024

The Coast is Queer – the UK's biggest festival of LGBTQ+ literature – has been running since 2019 and it's back for 2024 with another strong line-up. Creating a space for queer readers, writers and allies to celebrate the written word, there's something for everyone to enjoy, from workshops and book groups to panels and debates. We caught up with the Coast is Queer team to find out more about the 2024 edition. How would you describe the festival atmosphere to someone who’s visiting for the first time?Electric! It’s wonderful to be surrounded by queer book lovers and queer allies. It’s a fertile ground to spark ideas in workshops, to watch insightful panels and in-conversations, and to immerse yourself in the queer literary community. ACCA is located in a beautiful spot where you can sit on the grass, enjoy the cafe, and wander around the space. It’s friendly and inclusive and there's always something exciting going on. It looks like another exciting line-up – how do you and the other partners curate the festival?We work with an excellent steering group to share ideas ahead of starting programming. We also consult the trustees of New Writing South, and accept proposals from publishers and authors. We’re always reading new queer literature to spark ideas for events. In the New Writing South office there are a lot of post-it notes, spreadsheets and full-up notebooks. It’s a real joy to programme and so exciting to see it come together during the festival. Are students involved again this year, too? Yes! Students from Brighton and Sussex Universities have put together two panels on Friday 10th October: Queer Fantastical (re)imaginings with Saara El-Arifi, Lex Croucher and Dr Jean Menzies, which will focus on how fantastical imaginings of queerness reflect upon, represent, and subvert the reality of queer lives past and present; and Suitable for All Ages with Tanya Byrne, Susie Day and Zoey Dixon, which will explore the explosion of children’s books with queer themes in recent years, the backlash and its historical precedent. All the events look great, but what are your must-sees for this year?That’s such a hard question. We, of course, think you should buy a festival pass and come for the whole weekend. A must-see on Friday is Politics and Hope – We can still choose a different path with Leah Cowan, Amelia Abraham, Owen Jones and Sharan Dhaliwal. On Saturday, you should check out our Decolonized Futures panel with Saleem Haddad, Lisa Luxx, Marwan Kaabour, Sophie Chamas and Tanushka Marah and stick around for the evening’s cabaret event: David Hoyle Reads The Classics plus some very special guests. On Sunday, we’re celebrating James Baldwin’s legacy with Douglas Field, Mendez, Campbell X, Sea Sharp – this will be an unforgettable event. And any recommendations for queer books to read ahead of the festival?We have so many great writers at The Coast is Queer festival, it’s hard to pick just a few! We’d definitely recommend reading Julia Armfield’s Private Rites. It's a masterpiece! In fact, if you get a ticket to the very special workshop we’re hosting with her in collaboration with Brighton’s Real Writers Circle, you get a free hardback copy of the book posted to you in advance! Kemptown Books will be selling books by all the writers we have at the festival and there will be the opportunity to get them signed by the authors after their events. Fancy heading along? You can see the full line-up here. We've also got a tasty discount code for you – just pop CIQFRIENDS20 in at checkout to get 20 percent off all festival passes and individual event tickets (not valid for workshops). And if you'd like the chance to win a pair of passes, you can enter our competition here. Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th October, 2024Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Gardner Center Road, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RAcoastisqueer.com

Day: 23 September 2024

What to expect from this year’s Coast is Queer literature festival

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