Cause UK specialise in supporting ethical businesses, good causes, festivals and the arts with award winning public relations services.
Cause UK is thrilled to be partnering with the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest to help programme and promote the first festival. Check out the full press release below... Whitby Lit…
Cause UK is thrilled to be partnering with the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest to help programme and promote the first festival.
Check out the full press release below…
The ethical agency Cause UK, which has a reputation for supporting the arts sector, has announced a new partnership to help produce and promote a new literary festival in Yorkshire.
The inaugural Whitby Lit Fest is hosted 6 to 9 November 2025 in venues across the seaside town.
The event is an initiative by the Whitby community, with a steering committee of local businesses The Whitby Bookshop, Hetty & Betty, North Yorkshire Council Libraries, Visit North Yorkshire, and English Heritage, who look after Whitby Abbey.
Lois Kirtlan, Committee Chair of the Whitby Lit Fest, said: “Whitby Lit Fest will honour the past and inspire future generations of authors, celebrating the many literary connections to the coastal town. The event will be held in November to extend the tourism season beyond the summer and encourage visitors during a traditionally quieter time of the year.”
Loise added: “The inaugural festival will be a strong mix of celebrating writers with links to Whitby, alongside flagship guest authors and literary events with local schools and community groups. The creative economy is hugely valuable, not just in terms of boosting visitors during the traditionally quieter month of November to local cafes, restaurants, and hotels, but it can also inspire local people too, with access to quality cultural talks and literary events, which might inspire their own creativity.”
Books can have a transformative effect, and are often a rich source for the TV and film industry.
Clair Challenor Chadwick, Director of Cause UK, said: “Whitby is a brilliant example of how just one book can result in a remarkable legacy. Bram Stoker’s Dracula has to be one of the most influential stories of all time, and it is a valuable anchor for Whitby’s tourist economy, so having a literary festival in the town is a brilliant way to build on that.”
Cause UK has provided PR for a number of literary festivals, and currently represent Ilkley Literature Festival and CrimeFest in Bristol and literary clients including the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA).
It’s also supporting the national charity, The Reading Agency, launch its annual flagship ‘Quick Reads’ scheme for World Book Night, which helps lapsed and non-readers back into the habit. Recently, it launched a major press campaign for New Writing North helping secure £5m funds for a new centre for writing to be built in Newcastle.
Clair also created and ran a Dicken’s Festival in Malton with Selina Scott and Miriam Margolyes for a number of years, helping the town reclaim its historic links to Dickens’s seminal book, A Christmas Carol.
Ann Chadwick, Director of Cause UK, said: “Through our work at Cause UK, we know that reading can have a transformative effect, personally and on a wider societal level. We’re really excited to be helping to bring the festival programme together, and promote what hopefully will become a fixture on the UK’s literary calendar. You can’t beat a warm Whitby welcome of books, fish and chips, and coastal charm.”
Evidence shows that regular reading has far-reaching social impacts; improving health, wellbeing, life chances and social connections.
Studies have shown that reading for pleasure enhances empathy and understanding. Those who read for pleasure also have higher levels of self-esteem, better sleeping patterns and more resilience.
Adults who read for just 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction.
Details of the inaugural programme will be announced this summer.
ENDS
For further media info contact ann@causeuk.com m: 0753 489 2715.
Whitby Lit Fest – Inspired by and Celebrating Whitby
About Cause UK
Cause UK is an ethical Public Relations (PR) agency based in Harrogate.
The agency specialises in supporting ethical businesses, good causes, and the arts with award-winning PR. The welfare of people and the planet is central to the agency’s mission, and it is proud to be B Corp Certified.
www.causeuk.com