City literature festival attracts bumper numbers

A record-setting 200,000 attendees took in the 12th edition of Bradford Literature Festival.

Fatima Bhutto, David Larbi, Lemn Sissay and Jeremy Corbyn were among the headlining writers at the 10-day festival, which hosted 762 events.

Founder Syima Aslam said the event aimed to be a "place where people who are too often spoken about could speak for themselves".

"Literature is language, imagination, memory, argument, beauty and truth. Literature is how we understand ourselves, and how we begin to understand each other," she said.

In an talk on growing up autistic, Heartstopper star Bradley Riches spoke about being non-verbal until the age of 10, and how finding drama allowed him to communicate.

Green Party MP Hannah Spencer gave a "funny and frank" conversation about her life in politics to date, organisers said.

Bradford Virdee author A A Dhand launched his new novel, The Kingpin.

International media platform Doha Debates held discussions of AI, collapse of historic civilisations and the possibility of intelligent life beyond Earth.

Mark Musolf, acclaimed tour guide at the Brontë Birthplace, led a talk on the newly opened museum in Thornton.

Artists Zainab Al Shibani and Wadha Al-Athba exhibited miniature paintings inspired by classical Islamic visual traditions in a show hosted by Bradford Libraries.

The 2027 event is due to run June 11-20.

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