Visiting Speaker Events
Since the first festival in 2012 over 120 authors, poets, illustrators, sorytellers and songwriters have travelled over to the Isle of Man to speak at Manx Litfest events.
In that time our visitors have delivered talks and presentations, workshops and masterclasses, entertained us with one-man storytelling performances and evenings of song, taken part in panel discussions and Q&A sessions, as well as met with budding local writers to give personalised advice.
Our award-winning guests have included novelists Martina Cole, Joanne Harris, Alexander McCall Smith and Andrew Taylor; non-fiction writers Dr. Sharon Blackie, Christopher Riley and Alan Johnson MP; children’s writers Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Phillip Ardagh and Cathy Cassidy; poets Thommie Gillow and Jay Hulme; illustrators Martin Impey and Chris Riddell; storytellers Ben Haggarty and John Buckeridge; literary agents Johnathan Ruppin and Madeleine Milburn; singer-songwriters The Bookshop Band….and that’s just to name a few; the list goes on and on!
Good going for eleven years - nine, really, given that Covid forced us to cancel in 2020 and 2021!
The Litfest team are busy working on scheduling more of these events for 2024, and can’t wait to reveal our programme for this years festival.
Local Speaker Events
Since the start of the festival collaborating with, and highlighting, local talent has been a really important facet of Manx Litfest.
We have built up great relationships with many local people working in the literary field and, since 2012, we have had over 25 established Manx writers, poets, storytellers, illustrators, historians, and artists taking part in the festival, as well as helping to run stand-alone events during the rest of the year - not bad for a small island nation!
Over the last 10 years they’ve delivered amazing workshops and inspiring talks, given advice on getting published while living on a small island, and helped encourage the next generation of writers during visits to schools around the Isle of Man.
We also provide display space for all local writers, poets, storytellers, and illustrators to show off their work and reach more people.
We love hearing what local people are up to, and are keen to collaborate on more events with Manx residents in the future! If you’d like to work with us on a one-off event, or be a part of the festival, please contact us at: