Business are backing the first Whitby Literature Festival, which will be taking place a year from now.

Some 30 businesses, organisations, schools and supporters took part in an event to organise and help at the inaugural event next November.

The Discovery event, hosted by Whitby restaurant and wedding venue, Hetty & Betty, included a presentation for the local community.

Festival Director Lois Kirtlan, Managing Director at Hetty & Betty, said: “We were really pleased with the turnout. There is so much enthusiasm and appetite for a Literature Festival in Whitby, and the Business Launch certainly showed that.”

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The first Whitby Lit Fest, inspired by the harbour town’s connections to famous writers, will be held from 6th to 9th November 2025 at venues in the area.

Adele Duffield, Steering Group member and Whitby Library Outreach Librarian, described the evening as “a great success.”

Representatives from Whitby’s art gallery, museums, schools, shops, venues, hotels, and businesses also joined the event, along with literary and literacy organisations and authors.

The Whitby Bookshop owner and Steering Group member Fiona Duncan said it had been a positive launch and a great way to start the Festival.

Steering Group member James Wallis of North Yorkshire Council – which is supporting the Whitby Lit Fest – said: “We’re delighted to be part of something that’s generating so much enthusiasm and will no doubt be a great event.”

Whitby Sea Salt and Made in Whitby founder ‘Archie’, added: “Great event, superb presentation. Lots of energy and enthusiasm from all the right people.”

Whitby is perhaps best known for its link to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But it has many other literary associations, from Lewis Carol and Charles Dickens to the poetry of Caedmon and the works of Elizabeth Gaskell.

The Whitby Lit Fest is supported by North Yorkshire Council, Whitby Library, English Heritage, The Whitby Bookshop and Hetty & Betty.

Meanwhile, the organisers are encouraging Whitby businesses, organisations and individuals to get involved.

To contact the Whitby Lit Fest, email info@whitbylitfest.org.uk

To keep up to date with all of the progress of the Whitby Lit Fest, follow its Facebook page: @WhitbyLiteratureFestival