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About Our Supporters
Our festival would not be gearing up for its sixth year without the support of our patrons, partners and sponsors.
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A huge thank you to all those who have supported Bury Literature Festival over the last five years.
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If you would like to find out more about opportunities for you or your company to support us then please contact us to chat through options for partnership, sponsorship or donation.
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Founding Patrons
A message from our patrons, Mike & Judy Spenser-Morris
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"Judy and I are delighted to be Patrons of the Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival. This is now its sixth year and we are gratified to have helped it become an established part of the town's cultural fabric.
This year's programme will provide literature enthusiasts of all ages with opportunities to hear from the many wonderful authors who are making their way to Bury St Edmunds. Having the opportunity to hear from them how they conceive and write their books and poetry will be a fascinating experience, and we are thankful that they are all coming to talk to us.
To organise our Festival takes a monumental effort and we are, as ever, extremely grateful to Julia Wakelam, Kate Sawyer and the rest of the team for their incredibly hard work.
We look forward to meeting you and the many other visitors who will be attending the wide variety of exciting talks and events on offer at the 2024 Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival. "
Judy & Mike Spenser-Morris
Honorary Patrons
Author, Nicola Upson
A message from our honorary patron Nicola Upson
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“With the isolation of recent years still so fresh in our minds, festivals feel more precious than ever, and the one in my home town is particularly special – so I’m thrilled to be looking ahead to this year’s Bury Litfest for the first time as one of its patrons. Growing up in a beautiful town where there’s a story around every corner is a wonderful gift for a writer. Stories are important. They enrich our lives and show us new possibilities. They help us understand who we are and who we’d like to be. And, as this year’s Abbey celebrations have shown, they connect us to our past and lay hopeful foundations for the future."
Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist, and is the author of two non-fiction works and the recipient of an Escalator Award from the Arts Council England. Her debut novel, An Expert in Murder, was the first in a series of crime novels whose main character is Josephine Tey, who – along with Agatha Christie – was one of the masters of Britain’s golden age of crime writing. Nicola was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2018 for Nine Lessons, and was longlisted in 2021 for The Dead of Winter. She is the Curator of Cambridge University Library’s exhibition Murder by the Book (February–August 2024).
A message from our honorary patron Margaret Meyer
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"I’m delighted and honoured to become a Patron of the Bury St Edmund’s Literary Festival. Since its beginnings in 2017, BuryLitFest has established itself as one of East Anglia’s most engaging. The setting, the venue, the bookshop, the stellar author line-ups and accomplished interviewers simply can’t be bettered. Each year, the programme brings new writing and new voices to avid readers and the result is a dynamic three-day conversation in which everyone can take part. I’m greatly looking forward to contributing to this year’s Festival as well as doing all I can to help this wonderful event prosper and grow."
