Books on Tyne, the popular literary festival, returned to Newcastle from the 22-29 November for the 13th year.
The annual event involved the collaboration of both libraries, with events taking place at the City Library, as well as the independent Lit and Phil Library.
Books on Tyne 2025 was put together by Kay Easson, a librarian at the Lit and Phil, and Derek Tree, the publications manager with Newcastle Libraries. In an interview with Cultured North East, they revealed that they “source writers individually” but still keep each other updated. They also stated that although there is no set theme for the festival they like to keep it as “a concentrated period where people can focus on books and reading”.
The festival kicked off on Saturday, 22 November with a free talk at the city library by Patrick Low, Shane McCorristine, Helen Rutherford and Clare Sandford-Couch. They discussed their new book which discusses the history of Newcastle Prison as well as sharing exclusive details about their research.
On the 24 November, author Kerri Andrews gave a talk on her novel Pathfinding, a “deeply personal, brave and urgent exploration of what it truly means to rediscover ourselves”. The talk cost £3 and took place at the Lit and Phil Library.
Also taking place at the Lit and Phil on the 26 November was a free talk by writer and editor Sheila Wakefield. It focused on how to get your work published, as well as including information on self-publishing.
The literary festival rounded up on Saturday, 29 November with a talk from award winning author David Almond. Entitled ‘Stories from the Middle of the World’ the talk focused around “books, his life, and his writing process”. The talk was free, however tickets were still required to attend in order to manage numbers, and it did in fact get fully booked up, highlighting the popularity of this event.
More information about the festival, including details about all the talks and guests, can be found on their website.