The last six months have been an anxious time for everyone. Without a cure or vaccine to rid the world of Covid19, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

We’re stuck on the same page, inching along word by word, towards, we hope, a ‘happily ever after’ denouement.

Tanya and the team are planning to rotate a shortened BridLit between the Electric Palace and Bridport Arts Centre from 4-7 November.

Each venue has to be cleaned thoroughly before and after every event. As ever, social distancing will be in force, with the two venues configuring seating to make it possible.

Says Tanya: ‘We are optimistic that this year Bridlit will go ahead with ‘live’ events in the Electric Palace and Bridport Art Centre. We can only hope that there isn’t another spike in the virus which might affect us here in the Westcountry.’

The George Millar Literary Dinner has had to be shelved this year, together with events at The Bull, the Library and Sladers Yard because social distancing isn’t possible at any of these venues.

But there will be an online brochure available from this website at the beginning of September. And information and tickets can be obtained as usual through the good people at Bridport Tourist Information Centre.

Those writers who are not able to feature in the November events will be invited to talk about their books at the Bridport Literary Festival of Nature and Travel Writing in early March 2021.

Not surprisingly, everyone is very enthusiastic about this new venture. (Personally, I think it’s a master stroke. It gives us all something we can look forward to, anchored in a genre loved by so many and completely appropriate to this beautiful part of Dorset).

Two special events for Friends and supporters are also planned – one before the festival in October and one at the end of November. Both of them will be in the wonderful setting of the Seaside Boarding House at Burton Bradstock.

The first will be with Alexandra Shulman in conversation about her memoir, Clothes and Other Things that Matter.

The second special event will see William Sitwell and Pen Vogler in conversation with Jason Goodwin about food. William’s The Restaurant and Pen’s Scoff will undoubtedly tingle the taste buds. Details will be available in due course.

Keep safe.