Help Us Launch Retford Book Festival 2025

The first Retford Book Festival will take place from 9th – 15th June 2025. We have a wide range of authors and events planned for both adults and children. Authors confirmed so far include renowned crime writer, Stephen Booth, musician and writer Tom Kitching, journalist Jess Wilson, and historian Adrian Gray, with more to be announced!

Why a book festival?

We know from our market research that Retford people are excited about the festival. And we know from talking to children just how inspirational meeting authors and illustrators can be. We believe that everyone should be able to access books and literary events, not just those who live in cities, or those who can travel easily.

We also believe that the event will benefit Retford in terms of boosting the local economy. People travel from all over to visit book and literary festivals all over the country. Retford is ideally placed on the train line and off the main road routes to enable people to easily visit and take advantage of the fantastic hospitality our town has to offer.

Queue of children waiting to meet Rob Biddulph at Wonderland Bookshop in 2021. Children love the opportunity to meet authors and illustrators!

Who are we?

We're a group of bookworms, passionate about all types of books, united over our desire to combine our passions and bring a real experience to Retford!

Sara Stilliard has a background in marketing and consultancy. She drove our market research forward with energy and expertise which has helped to shape our festival focus. Her favourite book is One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and more recently has enjoyed Slow Horses by Mick Herron.

Linda Crossland is an expert on early years education, and is heavily involved with Retford Rotary Club. She's passionate about community outreach and keeps us all organised. Linda has recently enjoyed Matt Haig's How to Stop Time, and her favourite book of all time is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Angela Meads is known for Retford's much loved and missed Bookworm independent bookshop. She's also an experienced publisher as well as a bookseller supreme, with an expertise in publisher liaison. Her childhood favourite book was The Hobbit, and her favourite as an adult is Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

Daphne Sidney is well known in Retford due to her work with the Methodist Church. She has been instrumental in liaising with festival venues, and is a passionate reader wanting to encourage others to enjoy and explore books. Her favourite book is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. 

Michelle Cleaver is our fundraising expert, full of good advice and tirelessly working to support us. Passionate about books, her favourite novel is Beloved by Toni Morrison.

Helen Tamblyn-Saville is the owner of the award-winning Wonderland Bookshop in Retford. Shortlisted three times for individual bookseller of the year, she is passionate about children's books and a regular in the media talking children's books. She can't choose a favourite book because it changes daily, but she loved children's book Birdie by J. P Rose.

Julia Kitchen is the lynchpin bringing everyone together. She has a background in conference and banqueting, project management and communication, focusing on logistics and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Her favourite book is Plainsong by Kent Haruf.

How can you support?

An event like this costs money and we are now busy raising funds to get the festival off the ground. Smaller expenses include:

• £14 will pay for a t-shirt for a festival volunteer
• £20 will pay for promotional bookmarks
• £50 will pay for A4 posters to promote the festival
• £125 will pay for promotional pull up banners

And of course, there are costs associated with venue hire, production of a website, production of the festival programme, and fees and expenses for festival speakers. A donation will help us to raise the funds to bring the festival together. Every penny donated will go towards the costs of the festival.

If you aren't in a position to support financially, we will also be looking for volunteers. Contact us at [email protected] to register your interest. And don't forget, sharing our crowdfunder is free!

Finally...

A huge thank you for reading our Crowdfunder. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please drop an email to [email protected].