After a remarkable 30 events and projects attracting over 3000 participants, Litfest has already had a fantastic festival, but it isn’t over yet!

 We have the world premiere of five videos by philosopher A.C Grayling exploring key questions about democracy,

 Our Big Read Prize Draw, #TheLitfestBigBookShare, #TheLitfestBigPostcardShare, and Young Birdwatcher competitions are open until 22 April,

 And don’t forget, all our brilliant public events are available to view on our YouTube channel for another 30 days from the date of the event.

A.C. Grayling’s five short videos ‘Five Key Questions about Democracy’ are based on his book The Good State (available from the Litfest Online Bookshop).

Grayling, Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, asks key questions about democracy in the world today, its current shortcomings, why it seems to be struggling and possible solutions. You can view the videos via our website at www.litfest.org and on our YouTube channel.

And our love for literature and ideas continues over the next few months…You have until 22 April to sign up for The Litfest Big Read and enjoy one of our chosen books: Boy, Everywhere by A.M. Dassu or The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. We also invite 11-15 year-olds to join The Litfest Big Book Share by posting a creative interpretation of their favourite book on social media with the hashtag #TheLitfestBigBookShare.

Over 15s are not forgotten either – join The Litfest Big Postcard Share by posting a paragraph telling us about your favourite book and hashtag it #TheLitfestBigPostcardShare – or you can even send us a real postcard to the Litfest offices – we love getting mail!

There are even more opportunities for young people to get involved: following on from our Talking About Birds event with Paul Farley and Tim Birkhead, young people aged 11-16 are invited to tell us in one page of writing about their favourite bird or animal to be in with the chance of winning a VIP tour of Leighton Moss RSPB Nature Reserve – a fantastic opportunity to spot some of the amazing wildlife with an expert guide! The deadline for entries is 22 April – simply email your entry to info@litfest.org.

Our New Writing North West writers have been creating some amazing work during their workshops – and we’ll be able to share this with you online at the end of April – keep an eye on our website and social media.

The online International Book Club continues on 19 April with Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated by Roland Glasser from Jacaranda Books. Join us monthly on Zoom and share your passion for international fiction!

Places of Poetry has allowed us to demonstrate our love for the landscape of the North West; its heritage, its character, and its unique place in people’s hearts and minds.

You can visit our Poetry Map to see all the fantastic poems chosen and penned by people from all around the North West. The map remains open for submissions until 22 April.

During the festival our writers and poets have given us some fantastic insights into their creative writing processes and their unique interpretations of their chosen subjects.

If you’ve been inspired to read some of their current and past works, all the books featured in the festival can be bought from our online bookshop.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be kept up to date with all these exciting projects – and more to come!