Festival season is in full swing throughout October, with many more festivals opening their virtual doors, and one allowing a real, but socially distanced, audience in… Plus the rise in audio, seasonal horror stories, and fiction that breaks the mould

Louise Glück wins Nobel, a digital festival is more than the sum of its Zoom account, studio execs go on book rights spending spree and more!

Accra International Book Festival goes virtual, Barack Obama’s memoir release pushes Booker ceremony date, Enola Holmes attracts both praise with PR stunt and lawsuit with Sherlock portrayal, and much more…

The October calendar is busy and vibrant for literary festivals worldwide, the Arthur C. Clarke Award goes to a novel that combines historical fiction, magical realism and sci-fi, an unusual 12 hour In-Conversation event takes place this weekend, and the search is on for the next Barefoot Bookseller

Appledore’s drive-in Book Festival kicks off tomorrow, you can expect a live one-woman play performed over the phone at Ilkley Literature Festival, Lahore weighs in on remaining resilient in the face of the pandemic, bloodthirsty unicorns are on the horizon, and more.

Berlin International Literature Festival in full swing, Hilary Mantel event at Budleigh Salterton hoping to go ahead next week, packed programme for Durham’s digital Book Festival, trailers released for Dune and Rebecca, and much more!

Chiswick Book Festival gets ready for its 10-14 September virtual festival, Portugal’s Words of Fire themed Literary Festival is scheduled for 15-18 October, Cheltenham launches its 160 event lineup, and more

Aké Arts and Book Festival announces its ‘African Time’ themed digital lineup, Read My World Amsterdam hosts physical festival with four distinct programme packages to accommodate COVID-19 precautions, the first person to become a cyborg will write a memoir, and more

We welcomed the Yayavar Literary Festival in India to the Association this week which makes us 74 members strong! This week we discovered messy first drafts of classic novels, a James Bond stunt driver writing a book, writers virtually in residence, the auction of some ‘monstrous’ artwork, and more.

We welcomed Festival Québec en toutes lettres, Borris House Festival of Writing and Ideas (Ireland), Brisbane Writers Festival, and Newcastle Writers Festival (Australia) to the Association most recently which makes us 73 members strong! Plus the Hay Festival Querétaro announcement, and more.

Elif Shafak launches How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division at Cambridge Literary Festival this month, Penguin Live kicks off with Zadie Smith and Intimations this evening, Graham Norton joins Dublin Book Festival lineup and more.

JLF Brave New World turns 100, Man Booker 2020 longlist announced, classic audiobooks dusted off for digitization, an open marquee for Wimbledon BookFest, the world’s lowest-budget film festival one of 12 creative events planned for Margate Bookie, and more.

Bromance book clubs, Captain Sir Tom Moore cover reveal, Good Housekeeping’s online literary festival this weekend, how toilet roll can help sell books and much more in the literary news this week.

The UK’s first drive-in book festival, digital and physical presence announced for Emirates LitFest, Tyson Fury autobiography wins Sports Book of the Year, trailer for much anticipated Vikram Seth adaptation is released, and more.

The first Arab space mission to Mars is ready for launch, the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival kicks off, crime fiction sales soar, The Great Gatsby gets a prequel, and much more…