Deptford Literature festival returns this weekend for its fourth year, celebrating diversity and creativity in South East London, writes Louisa Woolf…
From Thursday 27th to Sunday 30th, the festival will host 48 events across various Deptford and Lewisham venues, 45 of which are free.
Spread the Word, a Deptford-based charity supporting London’s underrepresented writers, has collaborated with independent creative producer, Tom MacAndrew, to create this year’s schedule of events.
Celebrating the local community is at the heart of the festival, producer Tom McAndrew said: “The overwhelming majority of our events are curated or led by local artists, based in Lewisham or South East London”
The organisers, who are looking forward to welcoming over 2000 people to this year’s event, encourage everyone to get involved.
“Even if you think literature is not for you, come and see if some of it resonates with you.”
MacAndrew said: “It’s about engaging local audiences, encouraging them to take a step into something they wouldn’t ordinarily go and see.”
The main festival hub will be Deptford Lounge on Giffin street, with other events spread across the borough, in libraries across Lewisham, The Albany and Brookmill Park.
For Spread the Word’s Director, Ruth Harrison, the festival is a celebration of Lewisham’s diversity. She said: “We want to recognise the huge range of different communities we have in Lewisham and how stories can help amplify and support them as communities, being able to get their voices heard”.
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This year’s event features a lineup of distinguished speakers, including South London journalist Emma Warren, acclaimed novelist Caleb Azumah Nelson and screenwriter Nathan Bryon.
The festival will highlight the abundance of South East London talent. MacAndrew said: “There are publishers based in Deptford publishing Nobel Prize winning literature, there are playwrights putting on plays at the National, but are writing it in Deptford Lounge.”
