22/03/2026
What a Festival!
A huge thank you to everyone who supported the final day of the Swadlincote Festival of Words and helped make this year’s festival so special.
From our Programme for Schools, where 12 local schools welcomed authors and poets into their classrooms, to the incredible IMAGINATION letter display, and the many authors, poets and illustrators who shared their work across the weekend, it has been a true celebration of creativity, stories and community.
As John Hegley put it, “To deliver 12 poets/authors to as many schools is a worldwide phenomenon – it is unheard of!”
We were also incredibly honoured to host one of the final interviews by Paul Sinton Hewitt, founder of parkrun, making his session all the more special and memorable for everyone in the room.
We are so grateful to the organisations who made it possible, including Sharpe’s Pottery Museum, South Derbyshire District Council, as well as as well as People Express, Hartshorne Charities, Rotary Club of Swadlincote, Swadlincote Fire Station Station Community Fund and, of course, our our volunteers, supporters and everyone who came along.
If you’ve enjoyed the festival we would love your support. A donation will help deliver this festival and bring opportunities like this to our community in the future.
Thank you for being part of it 🙏 https://bit.ly/SFOW26-Donate
