LGBTQ+ literary festival returns to Brighton with packed line-up

The Coast Is Queer is an LGBTQ+ writing festival which is back and running from Thursday to Sunday at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts at Sussex University.

The festival is the first of its kind in the UK.  It was established in 2019 and "creates a space for queer readers, writers and allies to come together in a grassroots celebration of the written word".

Kemptown Bookshop will be the festival's bookseller this year (Image: Rosie Powell) This year's line-up includes events partly curated by students from Sussex and Brighton Universities, a talk on politics and hope featuring Owen Jones, a poetry open mic night, a book launch and workshops on themes such as getting published and writing a memoir. 

The festival has teamed up with Radio Reverb’s The Brighton Book Club production team to release a series of five podcasts featuring events from 2023’s festival.