Medway River Lit 2025 summary
- makeswordswork
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
This post is a summary of Medway River Lit 2025, a yearly festival of words, set in Medway, Kent, UK, which started in 2023. This year the festival ran throughout November.
Amplifying Local Voices and Neurodiversity
The festival launch on Saturday 1 November was attended by the Mayor of Medway at Chatham Library. With a poetry performance from festival patron Theresa Lola, and a talk about the scheme to republish 'Kalomera', a lost work of sci-fi by a Medway-based writer, and speeches from festival co-director Sam Fentiman Hall and representatives from Medway Council; Vince Maple, Paul Cowell, and Irina Fridman. We were also proud to present the prizes to some of the winners of the Medway Youth Laureate competition 2025.
That evening we welcomed multi-award winning comedian Robin Ince to a sold-out Huguenot Museum - our venue for a range of literary 'Nights at the Museum'. Robin read heartfelt poetry from his debut poetry book "Ice Cream for a Broken Tooth" and talked about his book 'Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity', both about about becoming aware of his neurodivergence later in life.
"Robin captivated the room with a mixture of clever, funny, inspiring and heartbreaking stories, poems, observations and anecdotes, flavoured with honesty about his neurodivergence and childhood trauma. Signing books with warmth and a kind word for all, he came across as a thoroughly lovely human being."
Exploring Diverse Genres and Themes
On Thursday 6 November at the Huguenot Museum, we watched a short film inspired by 'The Whale Tattoo' Jon Ransom's Polari Prize-winning novel, followed by a discussion with the producer and director.
Friday 7 November saw our first poetry 'Night at the Museum', with Kent-based poets Katy Evans-Bush (Joe Hill Makes His Way Into The Castle') and Philip Kane ('The Decipherment of Nature') reading from their latest poetry collections.
Saturday 8 Nov, we presented memoirs from two more Medway-based writers, Maria C McCarthy ('Learning to be Irish') and Simon Mills ('Oi, You an artist?') at Rochester Library. That evening we returned to the Huguenot Museum, for a beautiful evening of togetherness and poetry from poet Samatar Elmi ('The Epic of Cader Idris') supported by Kent-based poets Jon Terranova and Setareh Ebrahimi.
"Brilliant evening. Really interesting to hear perspectives through poetry from different cultural backgrounds, especially in the current political climate."
The weekend finished with our first workshop at Nucleus Arts, with playwright and Eastenders writer Natalie Mitchell on writing for TV and Stage.
'It was a great workshop. Natalie was inspiring, motivating, and informative. Thank you so much.'
On Monday 10 November, we hosted a takeover from Chika Jones and Medway Poetry Night at the Huguenot Museum, where Chika performed a headline set, followed by an open mic.
Our third weekend: Carbon Literacy, Poetry and Budgie
Thursday 13 November was a worldwide initiative - Carbon Literacy Action Day. In the runup to the day, we were excited to collaborate with Spotlites Theatre to produce an event, including art and sound exhibition, and short plays devised by Spotlites Theatre's young members. After the performance, there was a Q+A with a representative from the Carbon Literacy Trust, Sarah Booth. Read more about this event in a previous blog.
On Friday 14 November we were back at the Huguenot Museum for poetry from one of River Lit's patrons, Caroline Bird ('Ambush at Still Lake'), supported by local writers Barry Fentiman Hall ('Austerity Soup') and Charlotte Ansell ('Deluge').
On Saturday 15 Nov, we heard from Kent-based poet and winner of the 2024 Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize, Connor Sansby ('Where The Land Forgets Itself'), supported by Ciarán Barata-Hynes at Sun Pier House's lovely room overlooking the River Medway. Then it was over to Chatham Library, to hear from Abi Daré ('And So I Roar'), interviewed by playwright and Archers writer Sarah Hehir.
'It has so far been a very rich series of events. I particularly enjoyed today's conversation with Abi Daré.'
Saturday's final talk was with the drummer probably best known for his time with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Budgie, who charmed us with his in-depth conversation with poet Jess Mookherjee, about his memoir 'The Absence'.
"Budgie kept his Chatham Library audience captivated with entertaining tales of life on the musical road, along with excerpts from his brilliant, if sometimes brutally painful, memoir. Like his writing, his warmth radiated throughout and ultimately, demonstrated the timeless strength of the human spirit to not just survive, but flourish and thrive."
The finish to the third weekend was a workshop with novelist Zahra Barri, on presenting forgotten voices in historical fiction and practical advice on finishing a novel.
Celebrating Punk Poetry and Illustrators: our fourth weekend
On Friday 21 Nov, we welcomed punk poet and legend, Attila the Stockbroker, back to Medway, this time in the gorgeous setting of Sun Pier House's cafe gallery. Performing songs, poems and telling stories from his long career including from his latest book 'A Lifetime Of Football Writing'. He was supported by local poet MC Knuckles.
"Creative, political, and health awareness rolled into poetry, song, and humour."
We were delighted to host Observer cartoonist, Simone Lia, at Chatham Library on Saturday 22 November. She talked about her graphic novel 'How To Make Life Better When It Feels Like It's Getting Worse', about the growing pains of bunny Fluffy Pulcino. We also heard from legendary illustrator, artist and writer, Dave McKean, about his long career. It was truly an honour to hear about all his incredible work.
"More of this please. How brilliant to meet Simone and hear from Fluffy's mouth. Fantastic that River Lit is on our very own Medway doorstep. Thank you."
On Sunday 23 November, comic creator Shane Melisse gave us a workshop on his comic creating process and attendees made a 1-page comic.
On Tuesday 25 November, we held our second open mic takeover - this time led by Medway stalwarts Big Trouble. Two electric guest performers, Desree ('Altar') and Naomi Wood ('Gobbess') headlined each half, followed by opportunities for the audience to share their work.
Our final weekend: Poetry, Local Authors and Climate Change
As the festival drew to a close, on Friday 28 Nov, we were treated to a rare Medway performance of mostly new material from poet Malika Booker, supported by Kent-based poets Maggie Harris and Jessica Taggart Rose.
Saturday 29 Nov saw our Author Fair, unfortunately torrential rain might have kept people away, but thanks to the soggy visitors who braved the weather! In the evening Melissa Todd, told hilarious stories from her new book 'Gag Writer', which is her collected columns from Love it! magazine.
Our last day, Sunday 30 November, festival patron Theresa Lola ('Ceremony For The Nameless'), led a workshop on Didactic Poems, which was inspiring for the attendees. In the evening, we welcomed our last author, Dr Matt Winning ('Hot Mess'), who is a climate economist and comedian. His hilarious and thought provoking show was a great way to end the festival.
"Thanks so much to the MRL team for their fabulous festival that brings such love and learning to the part of the world in which I've grown up. Absolutely inspiring!"
What Made Medway River Lit 2025 Special
Several factors contributed to the success of Medway River Lit 2025:
Diverse lineup: The festival balanced local voices with national figures, established authors with newcomers.
Community engagement: Events took place in accessible venues across Medway, encouraging broad participation.
Interactive sessions: Workshops and Q&As allowed audiences to connect directly with writers.
Focus on place: Many works reflected the unique character of Kent and the Medway river, grounding the festival in its setting.
Environmental commitment: Authors and works about the climate crisis provoked discussion and positive action.
These elements combined to create a rich, immersive experience that celebrated literature’s power to connect people and places.
Looking Ahead
Medway River Lit 2025 demonstrated the strength of Medway's literary scene and the value of festivals that bring writers and readers together.
The festival’s success also highlights the importance of supporting literary arts in regional communities. By attending events, purchasing books, or participating in workshops, readers can help sustain a vibrant cultural landscape.
If you missed any of the performances, please do purchase their books from a bookshop of your choosing!
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