Blogs • Huddersfield Literature Festival

10 Top Tips for Networking

Networking is all about getting to know people, making connections and building great relationships. Before you join us at our two networking events at the Festival (arts/culture networking & business networking), take a look at our 10 Top Tips for Networking.

Invest in your creativity, your craft – and your wellbeing

If you’ve taken part in any creative workshop in the past, you’ll already know that they are a great way to boost both creativity and wellbeing. Workshops give you the opportunity to try out new things, learn new techniques and stretch yourself. Creative writing, poetry or craft workshops can give you new ideas and inspiration while helping you to develop your skills. Read on to find out more…

From Ancient Egypt to AI – our non-fiction books of 2025

When I tell people I run a book festival, there are always a few who say, usually apologetically, that they don’t read. I tell them it’s not obligatory! But if I mention a few of the non-fiction subjects we are featuring at the Festival, there is invariably something that grabs their interest. Read on to find out more…

Are you brave enough to try a new fiction writer?

We all have favourite authors but have you ever thought about how you first discovered yours? Every novelist begins as a debut author and they rely on readers to take a chance on reading new fiction writers as well as their old favourites. Read on…

From the Brontës to Doctor Who – why poetry will always remain relevant

“Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.”

What do you think when you read this quote from Attila the Stockbroker? Our Festival Director Michelle Hodgson discusses HuddLitFest performance poets past and present, in a place known for its rich poetic heritage.

Culture Collective: Creativity in Kirklees

On 30 January 2025, creative individuals and organisations met at the Media Centre to exchange ideas, network and share their stories. Our Festival Director Michelle Hodgson attended as one of the organisers.

Celebrating LGBTQ+ talent at HuddLitFest

Festival Director Michelle Hodgson looks back at 10 years of hosting Paul Burston’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ literary salon Polari at Huddersfield Literature Festival.

“Huddersfield Literature Festival was the first festival north of Watford to extend an invitation to Polari and it’s been a joy bringing our LGBTQ+ literary salon to Huddersfield over the past 10 years.” Paul Burston

Growth, creativity, and community spirit.

Creative Coach and Founder of The Curious Creative Club, Juliet Thomas, explains how the Festival promotes not just literary appreciation but also individual growth, creativity, and community spirit.

Supporting local creative talent – Chérie Battiste

Chérie Battiste is a West Yorkshire-based poet, playwright and performer. She has contributed to the Festival over the years as a performance poet, interviewer and workshop tutor.

Here, she talks about her work with the Festival and how it has helped with her career development, including becoming a Poetry Patron for a local school and developing work with actor and author Paterson Joseph and musician Omar Lye-Fook MBE.

Inspiring the next generation through our Schools Programme

In 2024, our Schools Programme reached approximately 5,000 children between 5-14 years old, in the Arts Council Priority Place of Kirklees.

Read on to find out how this series of workshops, assemblies and resources enriches the lives of children in Huddersfield – and how your school or your child’s school could take part.