It’s three days of lively conversations, panels, workshops, performances and films celebrating some of the best and brightest LGBTQ+ writers. The first festival of its kind in the UK, The Coast is Queer aims to create a space for queer readers, writers and allies to come together in a grassroots celebration of the written word and its ability to illuminate and enrich the life of the queer community.
The Coast is Queer Festival is a collaboration between New Writing South and Marlborough Productions, and is funded by Arts Council England. The line-up includes a opening event on Thursday 10 October celebrating 30 years of DIVA Magazine – Telling Our Stories – Then & Now – with DIVA’s Roxy Bourdillon, Gay Times’ Reeta Loi, and Attitude’s Matthew Todd, chaired by Paula Akpan.
Friday’s events – partly curated by students from Sussex and Brighton Universities – feature panels exploring Queer Fantasy Writing and Writing Queer Stories for Multiple Generations.
Also on Friday, there’s Politics and Hope with Leah Cowan, Amelia Abraham and Sharan Dhaliwal, and a dive into Queer Nightlife with historians, DJs and authors Daren Kay & Alf Le Flohic, Dan Glass, and DJ Paulette chaired by Kathy Caton. Rounding off Friday’s festivities, the artist in residence AFLO the Poet hosts an Poetry Open Mic event featuring some of the most exciting queer poets writing today. Workshops on Friday cover: Pitching to Agents, Self-Publishing, and Reading and Performing for Live Audiences.
Saturday is full, packed with panels, in-conversations and workshops including Liberating the Queer Canon with H Gareth Gavin, Adam Macqueen and Julia Armfield; Writing for Performance with Matilda Feyisayo Ibini, Charlie Josephine and Alexis Gregory, chaired by Debbie Hanna. Later, there’s wild intrigue with Environmental Writers Roma Wells, Mike Parker and Natasha Carthew. Lotte Jeffs, Stu Oakley and Ben Fergusson will talk Queer Parenting. Sex, Lust and Romance is the distinctly queer theme of a Polari Prize legacy panel featuring Paul Burtson, Jon Ransom, Nicola Dinan and Viola Di Grado and Saleem Haddad’s stunning film, Marco will be screened with a director’s Q&A.
Novelist, screenwriter and Sunday Times Number 1 Bestseller Juno Dawson returns with another edition of her Lovely Trans Literary Salon, this time featuring Kuchenga Shenjé, whose debut novel The Library Thief has taken the publishing world by storm and the day will culminate with the David Hoyle Does The Classics Cabaret and three new young-artist commissions.
Workshops and additional events on Saturday include a Print Workshop, a Work in Progress Breakfast, a Private Rites Book Club event in collaboration with Brighton’s Real Writer’s Circle and Julia Armfield and a buzzing book launch for Lea Anderson’s exquisite Cholmondeleys & Featherstonehaughs.
The Festival rounds off with a fascinating line-up of events including a Queer Memoir panel featuring Dean Atta, Karen McLeod and Juano Diaz, chaired by literary agent Abi Fellows; a Celebration of James Baldwin’s Life and Work with Mendez and Douglas Field chaired by Campbell X; an inspiring poetry workshop and a joyful closing event celebrating Radical Hope – a smorgasbord of spoken word, performance, films, activities and keynotes designed to excite, inspire and make you feel connected to the queer literary community.
Short films featuring the best new queer film makers will be programmed throughout the weekend and Queer Heritage South will be running ingenious pop-up history club activities.
The Coast is Queer is a significant event for LGBTQ+ literature. Over 5,000 people have enjoyed and been inspired by moving and exhilarating events from over 150 writers since 2019. Past speakers include Douglas Stuart, Sarah Winman, Juno Roche, Leone Ross, Alan Hollinghurst, Okechukwu Nzelu and Travis Alabanza.
Lesley Wood, CEO of New Writing South said: “We’re delighted to bring some of our most thrilling LGBTQ+ writers to Brighton again for The Coast is Queer. Now in its fifth year, the 2024 festival promises an abundance of big ideas, lively discussions, challenging debate… and above all else, radical hope… with a good dose of queer joy. Spread across three days in the perfect festival setting of ACCA, there will be something for everyone – book events and literary talks, cabaret performances, storytelling events, short films, extraordinary workshops, a wonderful book group and much more. All designed to celebrate and find joy in LGBTQ+ writing.”
Buy tickets at http://www.coastisqueer.com and follow on Instagram at @coastisqueerfest
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