The Festival was due to run from the 5th - 14th June 2020. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 the Festival was canceled. However, we were delighted that we were able to continue to run the Mairtín Crawford Awards as part of our commitment to supporting emerging talent. In addition to this, we worked alongside other Literary Festivals that were also affected by Covid-19, including the Big Book Weekend and Dublin Book Festival to bring you some great Digital Events. 

Careful planning has now started for the Belfast Book Festival 2021. We still don't know if Covid-19 will affect the Festival next year, but what we do know is that we are committed to bringing you a Festival.

Each year our programme is a unique, diverse and highly creative mix of events that caters for a wide range of interests and explores many topical themes. Featuring well-known authors, comedians and journalists, there is something for all tastes and interests at the Belfast Book Festival! The festival has grown from strength to strength over the last 10 years, and each year we deliver a jam-packed and diverse programme of events.

The Belfast Book Festival, with its broad and accessible approach to all things literary, covering all manner of genres, from children’s novels to sporting biographies and much else in between, has inspired the city to think differently about books. The programme for 2019 matches with a renewed energy and vision the very best editions of this vibrant celebration, convening a wonderful gathering of writers, thinkers, personalities and opinion-formers, all of whom reach for creative words to achieve their ambitions. The Arts Council, as principal funder, is proud to support the ninth Belfast Book Festival as it continues to promote the immeasurable joy of books, in all their forms.

Damian Smyth, Head of Literature and Drama, Arts Council of Northern Ireland