In 2024 The Bridport Literary Festival celebrates its 20th year.  The Festival was spawned from the Bridport Prize, established in 1973 and one of the first significant international literary awards for short story writing and poetry. In 2004 a group of literary loving locals – including Chris Huxley, the then director of the Bridport Arts Centre, Mark Culme-Seymour, the director of Eype Centre for the Arts and Tanya Bruce-Lockhart the then director of the Beaminster Festival of Music and the Arts – got together to ‘brew’ the idea of a celebration of literary voices. Under Tanya’s direction, the Festival has grown and expanded over the years and events take place at venues throughout the town and West Bay, attracting audiences from across the County and beyond. The Festival became a registered charity in 2011 and is dependent upon the generosity of Sponsors and Donors and the Friends of the Bridport Literary Festival to sustain a high standard of programme of events while trying to keep ticket prices affordable. Once a prosperous centre of the rope and net making industry, Bridport has now reinvented itself to become a centre of excellence for Culture and the Arts. This year Dorset County of Culture’s pilot initiative has designated Bridport as  Bridport Town of Culture with a programme of events running from July to December. BridLit is very much a part of this initiative and welcomes to the festival all those who read books and love literature.