Medway River Lit

Medway-based literary organisation Wordsmithery was commissioned by Medway Council to create an ambitious new 10-day literary festival for Medway in June 2023.

 

Celebrating the history and future of literature, poetry, spoken word in its many forms in Medway and beyond; the inaugural Medway River Lit showcased over 100 writers and performers in genres from spoken word and poetry, to crime, drama, playwriting, biography, fiction, storytelling, psychogeography, fantasy literature, and more! With an additional 35 hours of pre-engagement workshops and three text and art exhibitions. We also ran several additional 'Bookends Events' in the run-up to the festival and after the festival in Medway Libraries and other venues.

 

Medway River Lit had something for readers and writers alike, and our workshops and panels maybe sparked the writers of the future! 

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Medway River Lit and Wordsmithery thank all those organizations and individuals who assisted in the development and production of the first festival. Find out more about 2023's festival here.  

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2024 and onwards!

2024's Festival returned with 45 literary events, 68 writers, the launch of our Medway Youth Laureate scheme and a follow up project funded by UKSPF, Rippling Out. Read a blog about the 2024 festival here.

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Festival Patron Caroline Bird

The Festival's Patron is poet Caroline Bird. 

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Caroline is an acclaimed poet and playwright, who has won prizes including The Forward Prize for best poetry collection in 2020 for The Air Year, and was also shortlisted for the Costa Prize and the Polari Prize. She was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize 2017, the Ted Hughes Award 2017, and the Dylan Thomas Prize twice in 2008 and 2010.

 

Caroline has had seven books of poetry published by Carcanet. Her Selected Poems, Rookie, was published in May 2022. 

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Her poems and a commissioned short story, Sucking Eggs, have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. She was one of the five official poets at London Olympics 2012.​