Organisers hail another bestselling success for Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival

Organisers, too, were delighted by how the latest chapter in the story of this popular four-day event held at the Crown Hotel went, hailing it as another resounding success.

“I’m delighted with this year’s Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival," said Sharon Canavar, Harrogate International Festivals’ chief executive.

"Celebrating the tenth anniversary was particularly special and the feedback from audiences and our guest speakers has been terrific."

Speakers this year included Countdown’s Susie Dent, Fatherland author Robert Harris, TV presenter and historian Peter Snow, Antiques Roadshow expert Ronnie Archer-Morgan, Baroness Hale of Richmond, former SAS trooper Chris Ryan, broadcaster Sarfraz Manzoor, the 8th Earl of Harewood David Lascelles, political commentators Iain Dale and Carol Walker, broadcaster and TV presenter Nihal Arthanayake, and Saint Etienne musician Bob Stanley.

In an additional demonstration of the festival's rude health - and sheer creativity - the festival branches out of its literary talk format.

Reaching out to the town, this year also featured a giant interactive ‘talking heads’ digital display in the Crown Hotel car park where three giant ‘Easter Island’ heads spoke, sang and told jokes, a family trail in the Pinewoods, Raworths Run, and a ‘literature crawl’.

For the giant ‘talking heads’, the Harrogate International Festivals team worked with pupils from Grove Road School for the voice overs.

As a thank you, HIF will be contributing to the school’s library.

This year's Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival marked another milestone in the event's history - the tenth anniversary of sponsorship by Harrogate-based law firm, Raworths.

At last Friday’s literary lunch, attended by more than 150 people and starring Susie Dent, Raworth’s managing partner, Simon Morris announced its continuation for another five years.

“I’d like to thank all the speakers and interviewers, The Crown Hotel for hosting us," Festival," said Sharon Canavar, "and, of course, Raworths for their continuing support of this annual cultural event.

"I’m thrilled that they are extending this partnership for another five years.”

Raworths’ Simon Morris said: “We are very proud to have supported the Harrogate Literature Festival since its inception a decade ago.

“We are delighted to be committing to the next five years and look forward to working alongside the festival team in continuing to develop this cultural keystone.”

A celebration of great writing in a hospitable atmosphere, Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival has won a strong reputation as an important event nationally since it was founded ten years ago.

In recent years, it has been chosen as “one of the UK’s best Literary Festivals” by Harpers Bazaar magazine and “one of the top three literary festivals in the UK” by The Guardian.

Guests in recent years have included former Prime Minister David Cameron, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Ed Miliband.

The Raworths festival is only one of a series of annual events presented by arts charity Harrogate International Festivals which works throughout the year.

These include: Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Berwins Salon North, Harrogate Music Festival, Harrogate International Sunday Series, the Fire and Light Experience in the Valley Gardens, Carnival and the Spiegeltent in Crescent Gardens, Harrogate.

Further information about Harrogate International Festivals is available from its website, https://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/raworths-literature-festival/