Poetry-next-the-sea was started in 1997 by Alan Byford, John Coleridge and Kevin Crossley-Holland. The festival ran under artistic director Lady Fiona Fraser until 2017, and visiting poets included:
Fleur Adcock, Simon Armitage, Gillian Clarke, David Constantin, Vicki Fever, Sophie Hannah, Matthew Hollis, Kathleen Jamie, P.J. Kavanagh, Mimi Khalvati, Esther Morgan, Andrew Motion, Brian Patten, Jacob Polley, Jo Shapcott, Penelope Shuttle, John Siddique, Jean Sprackland, Pauline Stainer, Jon Stallworthy, Michael Symmons Roberts, George Szirtes, Hugo Williams, Emily Berry and Kit Wright.
Sea Fever
Jim Ring and the late David Waller renamed the festival, expanding the scope to embrace prose and other art forms. Ian Scott kindly stepped in as chair after we sadly lost David. From 2018 – 2023 Sea Fever welcomed:
Professor John Mullan, DJ Taylor, Peter York, Julia Blackburn, Sir Andrew Motion, Roger Law, Justin Marozzi, Rachel Hore, Bart van Es, Sir John Scarlett, Nick Trend, Peter Stanford, A.K. Blakemore, Jonty Driver, Ursula Buchan, Henry Sutton, Harry Cory Wright, Sam Riviere, Jack Underwood, Meriel Schindler, Simon Barnes, Matthew Hollis, Tim Dee, Professor Jon Cook, Sarah Sands, Briony Bax and Andrew Jordan.
Literature & Landscape
Since 2024 Literature & Landscape has been building on the traditions of our forerunners, embracing all the arts, with a focus on creative, practical and imaginative engagement with nature and landscape – including their restoration, protection and management.
We have welcomed: Adam Nicolson, Alan Hollinghurst, Alice Oswald, Beatrice Forshall, Bernard O’Donoghue, Charles Clover, Henry Sutton, Iona Rangeley, Jake Fiennes, James Cockburn, Jane Lovell, Jess French, John Mullan, Julia Blackburn, Katrina Porteous, Mark Cocker, Tony Juniper, Matt Howard, Matthew Hollis, Patrick Barkham, Patrick Galbraith, Rachel Hore, Richard Lambert, Richard Mabey, Robert Macfarlane, Rosie Reeve and Tor Falcon.
“A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counsellor”