Welcome

The Hull Literature Festival is back for the new millennium with a new name and an even greater range of local, national and international talent.

Kingston upon Hull has a great tradition of standing up and being counted, of speaking up against injustice and for basic freedom of speech. The City has a wealth of talent that is crying out to be heard. THE HUMBER MOUTH will celebrate this talent.

The Humber Mouth is still at heart a literature festival and will continue to be so, but there will also be music, dance, drama and visual arts in venues across the City. Throughout all of these events the common thread is the written and spoken word and how they are developed, used and interpreted through lyrics, scripts, prose, poetry, exposition and discussion.

The festival will explore the ways in which language and literature can let loose creative expression, and how ideas can be exchanged through the briefest of phrases.

Partnership with Yorkshire Arts has enabled this year's festival to feature some of the finest wordsmiths and most outspoken talents to be found anywhere and includes personal appearances by Germaine Greer, Louis de Bernieres, Simon Armitage, Carol Anne Duffy and Garry Schofield. There will be music at Holy Trinity, Blues at Hull Truck, film at Hull Screen, crime writing, ghost walks and gothic horror and even storytelling on hospital radio through Kingstown Hospital Radio.

So whatever your interest or age there is something for you in this year's festival.

Councillor Stephen Bayes
Portfolio Holder for Quality of Life

Thanks
The festival would like to thank all the individuals and organisations who are lending their support to The Humber Mouth in one way or another. The list is long and includes the festival steering group, the arts organisations, writers groups, artists, schools, libraries, the visiting writers and performers. Special thanks to those who created new work for the festival. Special thanks also to Maggie Hannan who has been very generous with her advice and time and to the staff at all the festival venues, particularly at Hull Truck and Hull Screen. Thanks to Yorkshire Arts for their substantial extra support this year which allowed the Hull Literature Festival 2000 to expand and become The Humber Mouth.