About us
1991-
2024
Our history
The UEA Literary Festival was founded in 1991, and in the decades since it has made a significant contribution to Norwich’s cultural life, attracting world-class writers and thinkers, and over 6,000 book-lovers each year.
That first festival featured the powerhouse line-up of Arthur Miller, P. D. James, Doris Lessing, Salman Rushdie and Ruth Rendell. Today, over 500 established and emerging writers have followed in their footsteps to inform and inspire our audiences, including alumni from the world-renowned UEA Creative Writing programme.
A festival fit for Norwich
We are immensely proud to be part of the thriving literary landscape of the region, facilitating events that are open to all. In 2012, UEA supported the bid to make Norwich England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, joining cities such as Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City, Dublin and Reykjavik, as part of a prestigious international network.
In 2020, we embarked on a new chapter as UEA Live.
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
Empower
Inspire &
A literary legacy to be proud of.
A bright future to inspire.
UEA Live has local roots and global reach, aiming to inspire and empower audiences with a bold, ambitious, and engaging event experience that’s open to all. We’re expansive and inclusive – sharing candid, colourful conversations with writers on a wide array of topics and inviting speakers of all genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
- We create events that bring people together (virtually or in person) to learn, to laugh, and to look at the world differently.
- We give bright and brilliant speakers the opportunity to have varied and exciting conversations and reflect on what it means to live in the world today.
- We champion the best of British and international publishing along with home-grown authors whose talent was nurtured at UEA.
- We celebrate our region’s rich literary heritage, promoting authors with close ties to Norwich and supporting the great writers and thinkers of tomorrow.