Farsley Literature Festival Returns for 3rd Year

By Sarah Morgan
Farsley is fast becoming West Yorkshire’s cultural hub. Don’t believe us? Then you’ve clearly never been.
“So much is going on!” says Amanda Truman, owner of the former mill town’s popular bookshop, when asked why everyone should pay a visit and where they should go once they get there. “There’s us, obviously – come and have a coffee and a cake and we’ll tell you where to go!
“There’s so many independent shops, the kind you wouldn’t see everywhere. In the Mill there are all sorts of makers, and they have exhibitions and sell their stuff in the shop. There’s always something going on there. There’s a record shop that’s just moved to bigger premises because it’s doing well. And a cheesemonger is opening soon, which I’m very excited about! Every week you hear of something new happening. It’s a wonderful place.”
If you’re a fan of The Great British Sewing Bee, you may be aware of the aforementioned mill – or Sunny Banks Mills, as it’s more formerly called – because the popular show has been filmed there since 2022. It’s also the home of Old Woollen, one of the venues (along with the local library and Truman Books) for the Farsley Literature Festival, which is now entering its third year.
“I think the first one came about over a glass of wine, like all the best ideas do,” claims Amanda of the event, which has quickly become a mainstay in the region’s arts calendar. “A customer said we should do one, and it sounded like fun. I discussed it with Dick Bonham from Old Woollen, and that was it. People came and it was great fun, so we kept doing it.

Kate Mosse (image: Ruth Crafer), Ian Rankin (image: Hamish Brown) & Elly Griffiths (image: Sara Reeve) will all appear at Farsley Literature Festival
“Something for everybody”
“The more we do it, the more people show up. We’ve proved we take care of authors and we sell lots of books, which is obviously what publishers want, and the more books we sell, the bigger the names we can get.”
This time around, they’ve really managed to attract some superstars, so does Amanda have a favourite? “I wouldn’t want to say,” she smiles. “It’s great that we can get big names like Ian Rankin, Kate Mosse, Shaparak Khorsandi and Elly Griffiths, but I’m equally proud of the debut authors. They have their own chat group and have been supporting each other during their first year of publishing. We’re getting them in one room to discuss their experiences. I’m so proud to be supporting them.”
But it’s not just reader events that visitors can look forward to, as Amanda explains: “We have our friends at (local brewer) Amity who are putting on beer and writing events, which should be fun!
“We’ve got a lady running a writing for wellness event, about using journaling and writing as an aid for mental health. She was inspired by the first festival actually, which is lovely. There’s an open mic event, where writers can come along and read their work. And then there’s a quiz, which is always a lot of laughs.”
There really is something for everybody, including families, during the festival, which is running throughout October and November. If you want to know more, take up Amanda’s offer of a chat over coffee and cake, or check out the website for more information and tickets: farsleylit.co.uk.