The festival:

• Delivered 22 online events,
• Involving 77 artists (local and international).
• And was attended by 614 customers across 24 countries.

 Some key highlights for 2021 included: 

• BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac in conversation with writer Wendy Erskine discussing her debut novel ‘Mother, Mother’ which is set in Belfast;
• Ian McElhinney who joined literary biographer Roy Foster to explore the work of Seamus Heaney;
• Glenn Patterson chatting with author Conor O’Callaghan;
• Author of the novel Brooklyn, Colm Tóibín and Paul McVeigh to read from and discuss a new anthology of Irish fiction Queer Love
• Multi-award winning author and Belfast Book Festival patron Lucy Caldwell joined us to talk about her new collection of short stories
• Two of Northern Ireland's most respected political journalists Susan McKay and Amanda Ferguson came together to discuss Susan’s new book, ‘Northern Protestants: On Shifting Ground’;
• and a special recorded performance from the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, Lemn Sissay, who also joined us for a second event where he chatted with political commentator Alex Kane.  

Oh my goodness, only a short way into this and I’m in tears listening to Alex Kane telling his story with Lemn Sissay. Beautiful - so glad I haven’t missed this Belfast Book Festival. Audience Member

Brilliant talk online at The Belfast Book festival on magical realism with Jan Carson - intrigued about the point of magical realism emerging as a coded language from countries which were colonised or oppressed - profoundly subversive way of writing challenging dominant realist narrative.  Audience Member

It’s really lovely when a panel and the chair just gel. One of the most fun gigs I’ve done in a long time.  Alex Kane