New partnership with Ilkley Literature Festival

We are delighted to announce a new partnership between the University of Leeds and Ilkley Literature Festival - the oldest and largest festival of its kind in the North of England.

Acknowledged nationwide for the excellence and diversity of its programming, Ilkley Literature Festival brings literature and poetry from around the world to audiences of over 25,000 every year. It is particularly notable for championing the work of early- and mid-career writers, as well as bringing high profile international authors to Ilkley, and operates a year-round programme of workshops, projects and author visits to local primary and secondary schools.

Although the University and the Festival have enjoyed close links in previous years, this new partnership marks an exciting opportunity for further collaboration. The University has been named as the Festival's Higher Education Partner, as well as principal partner for Words in the City - an off-shoot poetry and spoken word festival which comes to Leeds for the first time this year.

In celebration of the partnership, Words in the City 2018 will feature a free reading by Professor of Poetry Simon Armitage, the chance to explore the University's extensive archive of poetry recordings, and showcases of work from staff and students across the institution.

This closer relationship with the Festival is one of many exciting developments for our School, including our new BA English Literature with Creative Writing, which welcomes its first cohort of students this September.

Professor Frank Finlay, Director of the University's Cultural Institute and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, said of the partnership: "For many years, staff and students from the University have enjoyed attending – and participating in – fantastic events organised by the festival team.

We’re really pleased to herald a new era of collaboration, as part of this more formal arrangement of support. It’s a perfect fit with the Cultural Institute’s key aims of widening engagement and increasing partnerships across the region, as well as building the skills of our students."