About Us

Bristol Festival of Literature: Unputdownable is a celebration of the creative word held each year in Bristol, England. It is organised by an independent voluntary and community group.


The first festival was launched in October 2011, initiated by Jari Moate, a writer in the city with a desire to see literature presented in fresh, exciting and meaningful ways. Joined by a talented group of friends and volunteers including writers, publishers, readers, editors and in its first years, the charity LoveBristol, it has become an annual festival, with events throughout the year that culminate in a full programme each October. It never stands still, and always brings new shapes and surprises. Organised by those who’ve been inspired by what’s gone before, BFL is grateful for the kind support of local firms, donors and of course the hundreds of people who perform, participate and make such wonderful guests and audiences – to all of you: thank you! You are truly unputdownable!


Vision

Bristol Festival of Literature is a programme of events and performances celebrating creative writing, mainly fiction. We inspire audiences with the very best local, UK and international authors; we engage communities with each other through events in unusual places and we equip writers at all levels with masterclasses, showcases and routes to publishing. We love irrepressible creativity and dissenting voices. That’s why we call it ‘Unputdownable’.

Join & Support Us

We are a constituted, voluntary community group – officially speaking! Around our voluntary steering group are dozens of amazing volunteers who make this happen. Any funding we receive currently comes from individual gifts and sponsorship, both financial and in-kind, and a very great deal of volunteering time from those who want to see this happen. If you might like to join or support us, we would love to hear from you via: contact@unputdownable.org

A little history: LoveBristol

For the first years, the festival was generously underpinned by the arts and regeneration charity LoveBristol, bringing accountability and trusteeship. The LoveBristol team, motivated by a non-traditional expression of the Christian journey, have delivered arts events for more than fifteen years, and the festival is hugely grateful for their goodwill and support in the beginning years. The festival is now an entirely independent group – and we keep good relations with all our old friends!

Author?

For authors, note that we are a festival that wants to explore a writer’s heartfelt, imagined responses to the world around us. We are keen to hear about innovative, new writers as well as those with an established impact. To find out more, get in touch on the email address above.