THE MARLBOROUGH LitFest has announced that this year’s festival will not take place in its usual form, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However the LitFest will continue its outreach programme, running activities for the community - mainly online - including its annual Big Town Read, free author talks for local primary schools as well as competitions for all ages.

The LitFest committee says: “It is with great sadness that we have decided to cancel the main programme for this year’s LitFest. So much of the festival is about lively debate, authors mingling with the audience and the buzz of the Town Hall, all of which are hard to replicate while following the essential guidelines to keep everyone safe from Covid-19.

“We’ve been excited to see the range of virtual events on offer from other larger festivals and would love to have created something similar.

"But, as a small volunteer team, we would rather focus our energy on providing a few activities over the coming months to keep our audience sharing views about books and reading.

“For now we are thrilled to see The White Horse Bookshop open again in Marlborough High Street. We will keep talking to them and other local organisations about ways in which the Marlborough LitFest can contribute to supporting the arts at this challenging time. And of course we look forward to seeing everyone for the return of the festival from September 20 – October 3 2021.”

The 2020 Big Town Read is Platform Seven, the latest novel by bestselling author Louise Doughty who was due to come to Marlborough for the festival.

Every year the Marlborough LitFest, along with the support of local libraries, chooses a book which is suggested for local reading groups and individuals to read, ahead of the author appearing at the LitFest.

This will take place as an online session at 6pm on Saturday September 26 during which the audience will be able to put questions to Louise.

Louise Doughty is the bestselling author of nine novels, including the number one bestseller, Apple Tree Yard - subsequently a hugely successful TV adaptation. She has also written one work of non-fiction and five plays for radio. Previous Big Town Read authors have included Laline Paull, Sathnam Sanghera, Jackie Kay, Rachel Joyce and Raynor Winn.