Even in bad weather, literary festivals can be magical: the gentle tap of rain on canvas as an audience tunes in to what it hopes will be another scintillating conversation. For some, this is a chance to clap eyes on a beloved author, and perhaps to have a favourite paperback signed. For others, this is the place for discovering new voices, and afterwards to read their work, hot off the press, in a deckchair with a cup of tea (or something stronger). Questions are asked. Connections are made. Children are handsomely accommodated, whether they want to meet the Gruffalo or to climb the pyramids with Greg Jenner. In 2024, such gatherings are as vital and as pleasing a part of the nation’s cultural diary as the FA Cup or the Proms – the only difference being that, in most cases, they cost a great deal less to attend.
But for how much longer will they exist, at least in their present form? Last week, following a campaign by the organisation Fossil Free Books, the investment fund Baillie Gifford announced it was to end its remaining sponsorship deals with literary festivals.
