Category: Foreword Festival

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Fast Foreword is back!

Our flash fiction competition, Fast Foreword, is back for the 2025 festival!

Text and an image of a typewriter against a bright green background. Text: Fast Foreword Flash Fiction Competition 2025. forewordfestival.uk

We’re looking for stories of 400 to 500 words – prose, not poetry. Quick, punchy narratives that you can sit and read in the time it takes you to enjoy a cuppa. Stories can be on any theme, in any genre. Just remember that this is a fringe literature festival, so weird and wonderful is encouraged, and more likely to be selected!

Taking part in the competition is FREE, and if you live in East Anglia (Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire), you are invited to enter.

The winning stories, chosen by our panel of judges, will be read aloud to the public by professional actors in various locations around Stowmarket during the festival.

Check out photos and winning stories from the 2023 competition, and read a flash fiction sample to spark your imagination. We’re looking forward to reading your stories!

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We did it!

We had an amazing day at the Young Adult Book Festival on Saturday! A huge THANK YOU to Stowmarket Library for hosting the event, and to all the staff, volunteers and authors who spent the day making our celebration of Young Adult books and readers happen.

There are more photos on the YA Book Festival page, but here is our fantastic YA book recommendation board, with contributions from participants, authors, library staff – and even a couple from the Mayor of Stowmarket, who kindly gave the event an official opening for us.

Zoom in for some brilliant reading inspiration, and feel free to share your own Young Adult book recommendations in the comments.

Young Adult Book Recommendations from authors and participants pinned to a dark blue board.
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Young Adult Book Festival TODAY!

It’s TODAY!

Join us at Stowmarket Library, 10.30-4pm, for our very first Young Adult Book Festival – a day of meeting authors, author panels, interviews, activities and a YA book fair.

The Mayor of Stowmarket will be opening the event at 10.30 – don’t miss your chance to take part.

The festival is for readers aged 11-16 – tickets are FREE and available now!

Book your FREE ticket!

We’re welcoming eight Young Adult authors to Stowmarket, to bring you the best in YA books, author panels and discussions – plus a chance to meet the authors, ask questions and buy signed books!

If you’re outside the 11-16 age group, but you’d still like the meet the authors, the signing tables will be open to the public at Stowmarket Library all day. Don’t miss out!

Visit our YA Book Festival page for more information.

YA Book Festival

With thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Suffolk Libraries, Paul Wright Estate Agents, Harris & Harris Books, the East of England Co-op, and Taller Books.

Tell your friends! Pass it on! We’d love to see you there …

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Young Adult Book Fair – don’t miss out!

If you’re not in the target audience for tomorrow’s Young Adult Book Festival at Stowmarket Library, don’t despair! You are very welcome to join us in the library for our FREE Young Adult Book Fair, running alongside the festival events.

Meet our fantastic authors, ask questions, pick up signed books, and find your new favourite YA read! Our YA Book Fair will be running all day in the main body of the library, 10.30am to 4pm – no ticket required.

We’d love to see you there!

Young Adult Book Fair
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Young Adult Book Festival

We’re running a YA Book Festival TOMORROW!

Join us at Stowmarket Library, 10.30-4pm, for a day of meeting authors, author panels, interviews, activities and a YA book fair.

The festival is for readers aged 11-16 – tickets are FREE and available now!

Book your FREE ticket!

We’re welcoming eight Young Adult authors to Stowmarket, to bring you the best in YA books, author panels and discussions – plus a chance to meet the authors, ask questions and buy signed books!

Visit our YA Book Festival page for more information.

YA Book Festival

With thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Suffolk Libraries, Paul Wright Estate Agents, Harris & Harris Books, the East of England Co-op, and Taller Books.

Tell your friends! Pass it on! We’d love to see you there …

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Young Adult Book Festival

We’re running a YA Book Festival!

Join us on Saturday September 14th at Stowmarket Library, 10.30-4pm, for a day of meeting authors, author panels, interviews, activities and a YA book fair.

The festival is for readers aged 11-16 – tickets are FREE and available now!

Book your FREE ticket!

We’re welcoming nine Young Adult authors to Stowmarket, to bring you the best in YA books, author panels and discussions – plus a chance to meet the authors, ask questions and buy signed books!

Visit our YA Book Festival page for more information.

YA Book Festival

With thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Suffolk Libraries, Paul Wright Estate Agents, Harris & Harris Books, the East of England Co-op, and Taller Books.

Tell your friends! Pass it on! We’d love to see you there …

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Christmas book fair TODAY!

Don’t miss today’s awesome Christmas Book Fair in the heart of Bury St Edmunds! Join 13 local authors for Festive Foreword at the Constitutional Club – next door to the Guildhall and a couple of minutes walk from Market Square.

FREE entry, open 11-4.

Our special guest authors will be signing books and selling gifts, plus we’ll have a full licensed bar (from noon) and plenty of cosy seating.

Perfect for Christmas presents – or for treating yourself!

See you there!

Book Fair Today
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Christmas book fair TOMORROW!

The team behind this year’s Foreword Festival is back to bring you an awesome Christmas Book Fair in the heart of Bury St Edmunds! Join 13 local authors for Festive Foreword TOMORROW at the Constitutional Club in Bury St Edmunds – next door to the Guildhall and a couple of minutes walk from Market Square.

Our special guest authors will be signing books and selling gifts, plus we’ll have a full licensed bar (from noon) and plenty of cosy seating. FREE entry!

Perfect for Christmas presents – or for treating yourself!

See you there!

book fair tomorrow
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Christmas book fair!

This Saturday, join the Foreword Festival team for an awesome Christmas Book Fair in the heart of Bury St Edmunds! Festive Foreword is taking place on December 9th at the Constitutional Club in Bury St Edmunds, next door to the Guildhall and a couple of minutes walk from Market Square.

13 local authors will be signing books and selling gifts, plus we’ll have a full licensed bar (from noon) and plenty of cosy seating. FREE entry!

Perfect for Christmas presents – or for treating yourself!

See you there!

Christmas Book Fair