The festival organiser's bible - Judith Spelman

Indispensable for anyone interested in starting or running a festival of any kind - Blackmore Vale Magazine

This book applies to all festivals - literary, music, folk, jazz, food, arts - big and small. It explains how to get a festival started, using local features, team-building, grants, sponsorship, networking and putting together a balanced programme.

There are 340 literary festivals and almost 400 music festivals in the UK each year, with many smaller local festivals organised by towns and villages. From the Bridport Hat Festival to Glastonbury Festival, the organisers faced the same initial decisions when they began and this book explains how they dealt with them.

Recognising the resources

Initial funding

Choosing the right venues

Creating a budget


Booking speakers, musicians and stallholders

Contracts and artistes information sheets

Running a marketing and publicity campaign

Ticket distribution

The value of social media