A NEW festival celebrating the written word takes place this October in Looe.

A packed week of events is lined up as a celebration for readers, writers and anyone who loves words.

The week-long festival from October 1 to 6 will see local writers, poets and historians gather in the town with a full range of events accessible to all across the town.

Organisers Liz Manning and Jenny Leggott of the steering group had the spark of an idea and took to social media to gather support.

Steering group member Mark Camp, said: ”This is a totally new festival for Looe, a chance to revel in words, both spoken and written, celebrating local authors, poets and historians.

“We are starting small, but hopefully people will enjoy the events planned, and next year we can grow.

“It's not a literary festival, you don't even have to be literate to enjoy it!”

The festival begins on Tuesday with two workshops in Looe Library and the Old Sardine Factory Heritage Centre including a writing workshop by Sam Horton.

Wednesday, October 2, sees a sea-themed poetry writing workshop with Mor Poets, Kate Barden and Ella Walsworth-Bell.

Workshops, guided walks, author talks, are planned with a poetry night celebrating National Poetry Day, at St Nicholas Church on Thursday evening.

The waiting room on Liskeard station will be turned into the Looe Valley Literary lounge on the Friday ready for the special literary train which be running on the Looe Valley line. Leaving Liskeard for Looe at 11.36am and returning on 12.08am, poet and performer Sally Crabtree will offer travellers the chance to create edible art biscuits and poems from her interactive CreativiTEA catering trolley.

The event is free to attend, with no booking required, but a train ticket is needed for the train journey.

A Looe Festival Of Word Book Fair rounds off the week on the Saturday at the Millpool Centre, and includes talks from local authors such as Ellie Jackson, Lisa Woollett and newly made Cornish bard, Brian Oldham, and poetry on the rocks with Looe Marine Conservation Group at 1.30pm.

The event has the support of Looe Town Council, Looe Harbour Commissioners, Looe Development Trust, Literature Works, Welcome to Looe and Polperro, and funding from FEAST.

Cornwall Cllr Armand Toms who contributed to the event through a Community Chest grant, said: “I would like to thank everyone involved in organising this event, it shows the local passion for literacy and promotes local writers.  

“It is good for people of all ages and I know I will be attending as many of the events as possible.”

For the full line up of events, follow the Facebook page or go to the website www.looefestivalofwords.com