About Us

BridLit has much to celebrate in this our special year. Spawned from the internationally celebrated Bridport Prize, the Festival was conceived over two decades ago. A brainchild of Mark Culme-Seymour, director of Eype Church Centre for the Arts, who together with Chris Huxley, director of the Bridport Arts Centre and Tanya Bruce-Lockhart, director of the Beaminster Festival of Music and the Arts created, incubated and delivered a programme of literary events to be enjoyed by the local community and audiences from across West Dorset. Local resident Venetia Ross Skinner became our first generous sponsor. Our concept of a literary festival was to bring authors together to Bridport, at a particularly fallow time of year for the town, to talk about books and share their ideas with diverse audiences with eclectic interests. From humble beginnings, BridLit was registered as a charity in 2012, the Festival has grown in stature to be recognised nationally and enjoyed both by writers and all lovers of literature from across the country. We hope there is much to inspire and enlighten in this year’s programme featuring many aspects of the Arts.

Festival Director: Adrian Turpin

President: Lord Fellowes of West Stafford

Festival Patron: Sir Michael Holroyd CBE

Trustees:
Stuart Rock – Chairman,
Helen Carless, Tim Clarke, Deirdre Coates, Diana Hall, Rose Joly, Venetia Ross Skinner (Honorary Trustee)

Tanya Harley, Margery Hookings, Tom Hughes, Joanna Jacobson, Adrien Munden, Annette Smallwood, Graham Shackleton.

Interlocutors 2025: Celia Brayfield, Lucy Brazier,  David Burnett, Chris Chibnall, Vanessa Cooper, James Crowden, John Dean, Howard Davies, Daisy Goodwin, Nic Jeune, Prue Keely, Paul Lashmar, Oliver Letwin, Caroline Montagu, Mary Moore, Sophy Roberts, Stuart Rock, Sam Rose, Boris Starling, Helen Stiles, Jason Webster, Jo Willett, Jon Woolcott, Rene Wyndham.

Festival Bookshop

The Bookshop, 14 South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NQ | 01308 422964

Tickets:

Bridport Town Hall, South St, Bucky Doo Square, Bridport DT6 3LF
01308 424901 | bridport.tic@bridport-tc.gov.uk

Charity No: 1147075