Award-winning bookshop Griffin Books will once again host Penarth Literary Festival for 2023. The Festival is set to have its biggest year yet, spanning over twelve days between 14 and 25 June and hosting over fourteen exciting and diverse events.

The Reverend Richard Coles will kick-off this year’s festival with a sold-out event for his new book ‘A Death in the Parish’. Due to the high demand, this event will also be live-streamed and Richard will be doing a book signing in Griffin Books the afternoon of the same day. Other big names throughout the festival include Diana Evans, who will be discussing her latest novel ‘A House for Alice’, set in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy; Natalie Haynes, who will be joining via Zoom to celebrate the publication of ‘Stone Blind’ in paperback; and Laura Shepherd-Robinson, whose new novel ‘The Square of Sevens’ is an epic, sweeping and mysterious novel set in Georgian high society.

Penarth Literary Festival will also feature some brilliant Welsh authors this year, including Mike Parker and Jon Gower, who will come together for their event ‘The Full Welsh’; Lizzie Huxley-Jones, whose debut children’s novel ‘Vivi Conway and the Sword of Destiny’ is based of Lizzie’s own upbringing in North Wales; and Jack Skivens, a Cardiff-based illustrator whose picture book ‘Night of the Animal Wall’ has taken the city by storm.

Finally, the festival will be rounded off by the Poetry Showcase, a format which in itself has become incredibly popular with local residents. This year the showcase is hosted as ever by Penarth poet Stephen Payne, and will include poetry from Josephine Corcoran, Abigail Parry and Tôpher Mills, and music from Michael Munnik.

There truly is an event for everyone at this year’s Penarth Literary Festival. Mel Griffin, owner of Griffin Books, said: “We’re incredibly happy with this year’s line-up, and can’t wait to share all these brilliant author events with the people of Penarth and beyond.”

To view the full festival programme visit: griffinbooksonline.co.uk/pages/penarth-literary-festival and to buy tickets visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/griffinbooks.