Brightlingsea Literary Festival is ready for take-off, with a fascinating programme of six events to entertain, intrigue and inspire people of all ages.

The third annual festival – run by the BrightWords Creative Writing Group – is running in association with Brightlingsea WinterFest, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

Group member and author Stephanie Green said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming people to what promises to be a very enjoyable and interesting afternoon. Writers from the BrightWords group will be giving an insight into their work and will be reading short stories, poems, drama and extracts from their books. It will be a showcase for an amazing range of talent, covering many genres and will give a great start to the Literary Festival.”

The festival’s launch event takes place at 3pm on Sunday February 2 at the Royal British Legion in Sydney Street. Admission is free and the bar will be open.

Other events lined up for the Literary Festival include a children’s art and story workshop, already fully booked, a drop-in Heroes and Heritage themed day for families at Brightlingsea Museum on February 15, followed by a creative writing workshop for people aged 16 plus on February 16.

The Literary Festival’s inaugural Spooky Tales short story competition for adults will culminate in the Tales at the Tavern event at The Railway Tavern in Brightlingsea on February 26th at 7pm. The shortlisted stories will be read out and the winners of the competition will be announced.

The final event will be Poetry, Prose and Prosecco, an evening of entertainment  on the theme of Heroes and Heritage at the Thames Lobster Hatchery on March 15 at 6pm. Tickets, costing £10 and including a glass of prosecco or orange juice on arrival, are available from Little Boat Gifts in Brightlingsea.

For more details about the Literary Festival and WinterFest events visit the Brightlingsea WinterFest website.

Pictured are some of the members of BrightWords creative writing group who will be taking part in Brightlingsea Literary Festival.