Festivals co-founder receives BEM for services to literature

A man who has been at the forefront of Lynn’s literary festival scene for decades has been awarded a British Empire Medal.

Tony Ellis, co-founder of King’s Lynn Literature Festivals, was revealed as a recipient of the medal in the first King’s Birthday Honours List, which was published on Friday.

Mr Ellis, 81, of Lynn, who has been awarded with the medal for his “services to literature”, said the honour was a “public acknowledgement of the two festivals” – one centred on poetry and another on fiction.

“It’s a very nice tribute to the festivals, I think,” the retired solicitor said.

In response to the news, a post from the King’s Lynn Lit Fests Twitter account said: “Huge congratulations to our festival’s founder, Tony Ellis, for being on today’s King’s Birthday Honours List.

“In recognition of his services to literature, he will receive the British Empire Medal (BEM). Very well deserved.”

Mr Ellis founded the events in 1985 with George MacBeth, when the first poetry iteration was held, followed by the fiction festival in 1989. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the events in 2020 and 2021, but Mr Ellis said they have now held around 75 festivals.

Following the death of poet Mr MacBeth in the 90s, Mr Ellis was also helped in the organising of the events by Malcolm Bradbury, who was a Professor of Creative Writing, who died in 2000.

Over the years, the events have attracted such names as Sir William Golding, Stephen Spender and J P Donleavy, with writers from all over the world, such as Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North Africa, often on the bill.

“It’s always extraordinary to me how we were able to get really big names to come here because they felt it was well organised,” Mr Ellis added.

“We invite eight to 12 writers to come here for a weekend and we keep them here. They often promote their work and they join in general discussion and other events. They sort of team up together.”

The fiction festival was held in March, with the poetry version coming up in September, held between 22 and 24 at Lynn Town Hall, featuring names such as Hugo Williams, Wendy Cope, Kit Wright and John Fuller.

For more information, visit http://www.lynnlitfests.com

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