A LITERARY festival will be officially launched on Sunday June 10. The week-long festival aims to celebrate poets and writers from across the county.

Worcestershire Litfest & Fringe, now in its eighth year, begins with the new Worcestershire Poet Laureate being crowned. The new Laureate will be chosen by a judging panel including current Laureate Nina Lewis.

A Worcestershire Litfest & Fringe Director, Dr Charley Barnes, said: “We’re really excited to be launching this year’s Litfest and welcoming the next Worcester Poet Laureate. There’s so much literary talent here in Worcester and the surrounding areas just waiting to be discovered. "

"Nina’s work over the past year as Poet Laureate has been simply amazing and we’re so grateful for everything she’s done – she’s been involved in so many events, including a project working with poets in America and has no doubt inspired poets just starting to realise their potential. We’re hoping that the new Laureate continues building on what Nina and previous Laureates have achieved in making Worcester a real hub for creative poets and writers.”

Miss Lewis will also be performing a reading along with the new Worcester Poet Laureate at one of the festival’s partner events, the Weorgoran Pavilion, which is part of The Ring, a project celebrating the historic waterways around Worcester.

The festival will also give poets and writers of all abilities to showcase their skills at spoken word events. These include the return of ‘A Night at the Museum’ at The Museum of Royal Worcester and the festival’s popular Speakeasy open-mic night.

Worcestershire Litfest & Fringe 2018 will be launched at The Angel Centre, Angel Place, on June 10 at 14:30. The end of festival competitions at Drummonds Bar will take place on June 16 and begin at 12 midday.

A full programme of the events at this year’s Worcestershire Litfest & Fringe and tickets for events can be accessed at worcslitfest.co.uk