Play on Words Literature Festival, various New Forest venues

COMIC book creating, lunch with a best-selling author and creative writing walks are just a few of the highlights of the forthcoming Play on Words literature festival.

Featuring events at venues across the New Forest including Forest Arts in New Milton, Lymington’s St Barbe Museum and the Woodland Study Centre at Beaulieu, the festival programme also includes half-term events aimed at children and families.

Play on Words was founded by two friends in New Milton in 2018, and returns for its fourth year from 21st October to 4th November.

Highlights include the Book Lovers Lunch with Sunday Times bestseller Lucy Clarke at the Cliff House Restaurant; Words, Wine and Tapas with international wine judge and fiction writer Helen McGinn at New Milton Rugby Club; a smooth-tongued night of music and spoken word from the fabulous Tongue Fu, also featuring young people from New Milton Youth Trust, at Forest Arts Centre; and How to Read a Tree with Tristan Gooley at Lymington Community Centre, in partnership with the Imaginarium Bookshop.

The festival also includes an array of activities for children and families during half-term week including songwriting, heritage and creative writing walks, comic creating and ‘zine writing.

Writers at all levels are catered for with writing for wellbeing, writing your own story and mother and baby journalling for beginners, right through to advice on marketing, applying for funding and how to self-publish. A Local Writer Showcase celebrates neighbourly talent from the Forest and its fringes.

The festival is run by a steering group comprising local residents, writers and organisations including St Barbe, Forest Arts Centre, Culture in Common, the district council and the national park authority. It is coordinated by the Solent’s literature development organisation ArtfulScribe with funding support from Arts Council England.

A full programme of events and activities is online at www.playonwords.org.uk