Each June we invite you into our beautiful Victorian home to meet, watch and listen to storytellers; to write your own stories; to get crafty; to build, borrow or buy your summer reading list. At the very least let us introduce you to the colony of swifts that The Crescent is a home to: spot them in the skies around us from late April to August!

The Belfast Book Festival is a Platform. Northern Ireland is bursting with storytelling talent that we bring to you via a series of conversations, workshops, residencies and Awards that seek to connect, amplify and showcase our creative communities. It is also a collaborative endeavour, as the festival continues its focus on innovation and collaboration,

It is also a collaborative endeavour, as the festival continues its focus on innovation and collaboration. Each year we welcome a team of cultural associates. 

We also run the annual Mairtín Crawford Awards for Short Story and Poetry, named after the beloved writer and poet and who was a significant figure in Northern Ireland's literary community. Click here to learn more about Mairtín Crawford. 

Our thanks go to all our supporters, including you!  A particular nod to The Crescent’s Principal Funder The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and investment support from Belfast City Council.  It is a pleasure to work with Johns Elliot Solicitors, Adrian Brinkerhoff Foundation and Hastings Hotels. 

            

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