Village festival is proving a best-seller

The village of Aberford, on the outskirts of Leeds, may only have a population of just over 1,000 but it is home to a fast-growing literature festival that started last year and has already expanded to a two-day event.

- by Harriet Sutton

The festival includes its own awards for both young and local writers and is a community-based event that organiser Chris Berry says has grown organically since its 2024 launch.

"It's all about encouraging people of all ages and all backgrounds and offering opportunities to write, primarily but not restricted to those in Aberford and our surrounding communities," says Chris.

"We've increased our number of guest speaker authors and added more interactive events this year, including a poetry workshop and a crime writers workshop."

The idea for the festival came about after the formation of the Aberford Authors group, which meets twice a month in the village pub - the Arabian Horse. Members were invited to speak at Aberford CofE Primary School on World Book Day last year and 40 of the schoolchildren then participated in an Aberford Junior Authors Club after-school activity, which has been run again this year.

"Children's imaginations are amazing when they are given the opportunity to be creative," Chris says.

"We've had parents send messages thanking us for opening up their children's minds to writing and that some have not stopped writing since.

"This year's and last year's stories are fantastic. The children all receive a book at our ALF Awards with all their stories inside, making them published authors from five years old and upwards."

This year's festival, which is held in the village's two public venues - Aberford Village Hall and the Arabian Horse - starts tomorrow (Friday June 20).