By Rhys Wright, Amy Blay, Jodie Walls, Shan Heyworth
From 10–13 October 2024, Brighton & Hove will once again host The Coast Is Queer. First held in 2019 as a first-of-its-kind festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ writing, The Coast Is Queer is returning for October 2024 and has announced an exciting programme of events replete with panels, workshops, conversations, performances and short films.
Bringing LGBTQIA+ writers, readers and book trade professionals together into one space, the festival provides a venue for conversation and discussion about the publishing industry’s booming number of LGBTQIA+ titles. Various genres and forms are represented in a lineup of events that showcase the breadth and variety of LGBTQIA+ literature in the UK, with everything from poetry to fantasy represented.
Featuring a diverse mix of established and debut authors, The Coast Is Queer provides readers with the opportunity to hear from some of their favourite authors and discover promising new ones. Likewise, it gives authors, publishers and creatives a space to connect with their readers and add to their audience.
Organised by New Writing South in partnership with Marlborough Productions, the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton, The Coast Is Queer’s fifth festival is sure to provide yet another successful programme of events that brings the LGBTQIA+ literary community together.
Previous guest writers have included many well-known British authors, such as trans activist and YouTuber Jamie Raines (also known as Jammidodger), playwright, poet and author Joelle Taylor, and fantasy author Tasha Suri. You can revisit a selection of events from the 2023 festival in a series of five podcasts produced in partnership with RadioReverb’s The Brighton Book Club. Episodes are being released fortnightly and can be found on Apple Music and Spotify.
This year, The Coast is Queer will once again partner with Kemptown Bookshop, Brighton’s oldest independent bookshop, which will be selling a wide range of LGBTQIA+ books at the festival to suit readers of all genres.
As with every year of this festival, The Coast Is Queer 2024 boasts an exciting array of panels and guests – we’ve rounded up some highlights for you, but be sure to check out the full festival programme here!
Thursday 10 October: Telling Our Own Stories (Opening Event)
Join DIVA’s editor-in-chief Roxy Bourdillion, Attitude’s former editor Matthew Todd, teacher and researcher Nazmia Jamal, and journalist and historian Paula Akpan in discussing the past, present and future of queer magazines.
Friday 11 October: Writing the Night
Queer clubbing: how can we do this wonderful culture justice through the written word? Broadcaster Kathy Caton chairs this panel along with author Daren Kay (The Brightonians Under Siege), historian and author Alf Le Flohic (The Magic Farm and Other Queer Tales), activist and performer Dan Glass (Queer Footprints), and presenter and author DJ Paulette (Welcome to the Club: The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ) as they discuss the immortalisation of queer clubbing in memoir and fiction.
Saturday 12 October: Juno Dawson’s Lovely Trans Literary Salon
Returning for her fifth year of The Coast Is Queer, best-selling author Juno Dawson (Her Majesty's Royal Coven) will be accompanied by debut novelist Kuchenga Shenjé (The Library Thief) in discussing their takes on historical fiction and other untold stories.
Sunday 13 October: Here Be Dragons – A Celebration of the Work of James Baldwin
Professor and author Douglas Field (A Historical Guide to James Baldwin), author Paul Mendez (The Queer Bible: A Love Letter to James Baldwin), director Campbell X (Stud Life), and poet and performer Sea Sharp (Black Cotton) will come together to honour one hundred years of writer and activist James Baldwin. To celebrate his long-lasting legacy, this event will include readings of Baldwin’s works and reflections on his powerful impact.
Hosted alongside these panels will be a range of workshops covering topics such as pitching to agents and self-publishing, as well as a screening and director’s Q&A of Saleem Haddad’s film Marco and a book launch for Lea Anderson’s Cholmondeleys & Featherstonehaughs.
The huge variety of events and jam-packed schedule means that there will be something for everyone at The Coast is Queer 2024. As New Writing South’s CEO Lesley Wood said,
“Now in its fifth year, the 2024 festival promises an abundance of big ideas, lively
discussions, challenging debate... and above all else, radical hope... with a good dose of queer joy.”
Early Bird tickets are now available on their website as either individual day passes or full festival passes. These tickets grant full access to all performances, panels and in-conversation events. Tickets can also be purchased separately for each individual event.
More guest and event announcements are soon to follow, so keep an eye on their website or stay updated through The Coast Is Queer’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
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