Bookworms rejoicing as popular festival is saved.

Bookworms across the county can rejoice as the annual Lincoln Book Festival is saved – thanks to intervention from the Echo.

The future of the festival, which attracts about 7,000 visitors a year, had been thrown into doubt following a review of the City of Lincoln Council’s tourism, marketing and arts services.

However, it has now been announced that the festival will go ahead thanks to negotiations between the city council, the Echo, Visit Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire County Council and other partners.

The festival’s programme will once again see writers from across the globe descend on Lincoln, celebrating both historical and contemporary works spanning from Lincolnshire’s past with the Magna Carta and Tennyson, to new writing.

Lincolnshire Echo editor Jon Grubb said he was “delighted” the book festival had been saved.

He said: “The next stage is for local residents to put the date in their diary and support the festival.

“It will bring an array of talents to Lincoln, from award-winning journalists and authors, to comics and playwrights.”

Councillor Keith Weaver, portfolio holder for health and recreational services at the City of Lincoln Council, explained that the festival was nearly axed in a bid to cut back on spending.

“The Book Festival is an important part of the city’s calendar,” he said.

“However, we reluctantly had to prioritise other services as part of our challenge to save £2.5m.

“We are still providing significant funding for this year’s event and are glad the partnership has made the festival so successful, which has resulted in it being rescued this year.”

Ongoing negotiations have been made with Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts in England, to secure funding for festivals this and next year.

Despite the good news, artistic director for the book festival project team, Sara Bullimore, said there was still a lot of work to be done.

She said: “We are looking for sponsorship from businesses and support from the public who can join as Friends Of The Book Festival. “

The Lincoln Book Festival will take place from Wednesday, May 12, to Sunday, May 16, at various venues across Lincoln and will feature a programme of events for the whole family, including themed days, workshops, theatre, poetry and performance.

Details of authors attending the festival have yet to be confirmed. For more information, visit www.lincolnbookfestival.co.uk

Bookworms across the county can rejoice as the annual Lincoln Book Festival is saved - thanks to intervention from the Echo.

The future of the festival, which attracts around 7,000 visitors a year, had been thrown into doubt following a review of the City of Lincoln Council’s tourism, marketing and arts services.

However, it has now been announced that the festival will go ahead thanks to negotiations between the city council, the Echo, Visit Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire County Council, and other partners.

The festival’s programme will once again see writers from across the globe descend on Lincoln.

Lincolnshire Echo editor Jon Grubb said he was “delighted” the book festival had been saved.

“The next stage is for local residents to put the date in their diary and support the festival,” he said.

Councillor Keith Weaver, portfolio holder for health and recreational services at the City of Lincoln Council, explained that the festival was nearly axed in a bid to cut back on spending.

“The Book Festival is an important part of the city’s calendar,” he said.

“However, we reluctantly had to prioritise other services as part of our challenge to save £2.5million.

“We are still providing significant funding for this year’s event, and are glad the partnership has made the festival so successful resulting in it being saved for this year.”

Ongoing negotiations have been made with Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts in England, to secure funding for the 2010 and 2011 festival.

The Lincoln Book Festival will take place from Wednesday, May 12 until Sunday, May 16 at various venues across Lincoln, and will feature a programme of events for the whole family, including themed days, workshops, theatre, poetry and performance.

Details of authors attending the festival have yet to be confirmed.