Hybrid festival campaign wins support as events organisers reveal 2022 plans

As uncertainty around live events continues in the wake of soaring Covid-19 cases, a campaign to keep literary festivals hybrid and accessible to all has garnered hundreds of signatures and an “incredibly generous donation” from author Kit de Waal to develop a how-to guide for organisers.  

The UK is currently suffering a huge wave in Omicron cases, leading medical experts to urge the public to limit physical interactions and pushing events planning over the next few months into further disarray. The Bookseller has spoken to festival directors about how they are coping with planning itineraries against pandemic-related chaos and their openness around hybrid events long-term. 

It comes after the #KeepFestivalsHybrid campaign was launched earlier this month by Penny Batchelor and Clare Christian, publisher at RedDoor Press, with an open letter, urging organisations to keep events virtual as well as in-person, ensuring accessibility could continue post-pandemic. Batchelor revealed in a comment piece for The Bookseller how lockdown had enabled her to participate more successfully in events than before but she was concerned "after a wonderful honeymoon period [these doors could] slam shut again". After a long gap of in-person events over lockdown, publicists began "cautiously" scheduling them again from last September.

The #KeepFestivalsHybrid open letter now has around 300 signatories from across the industry, including the Society of Authors, Bonnier Books UK c.e.o. Perminder Mann and novelists Beth Morrey and Ingrid Persaud, while de Waal (pictured) has pledged financial support, leaving campaign organisers feeling optimistic. "We have been delighted by the response to the campaign," Christian and Batchelor said. "It's difficult to predict how people will respond to this kind of open letter but all the signatures, positive messages and stories from authors affected by the lack of hybrid festival access we have received show that there is a very strong groundswell of support for our aim to keep festivals hybrid.  

“We will continue to urge festival organisers to keep festivals hybrid and, thanks to an incredibly generous donation from author Kit de Waal, we will create in early 2022 a simple guide to offer practical advice on how smaller festivals can make their events accessible to all as part of the campaign's next stage. We know it's not always possible to make large scale-changes straight away but if we can simply encourage organisers to include accessibility considerations early in their planning then we feel that's a very good start. In the meantime we are liaising closely with the Inklusion guide authors Ever Dundas and Julie Farrell.”

Literary events organisers talked to The Bookseller about what the future could mean for hybrid events and how they are coping with the complications of the rapidly unfolding situation from the pandemic and increased pressure for Covid passes around major gatherings. 

Hay Festival international director and interim c.e.o. Cristina Fuentes La Roche said: “We celebrate and welcome the inclusivity that hybridity offers. For decades we have recorded and shared our events through our Hay Player platform and via media partners, with demand soaring in lockdown. In the past year, the festival has attracted more than one million users online and we have invested significantly in opening festival conversations to the widest possible audience, expanding the number of events we livestream and increasing captioning and translation functions around the world.  

“At our recent Hay Festival Winter Weekend in the UK we produced more than 50 hours of captioned content online, while Hay Festival Cartagena at the end of January will see 120 events added to our digital archive. We continue to seek sustainable long-term models for supporting this work, while at the same time working to make sure that our in-person events remain as accessible as ever on the ground.” 

She revealed that Hay has already tested the use of Covid-19 passes, saying: “While the past two months have shown us that we’ve a way to go until the pandemic is over, they have also demonstrated the continued adaptability of audiences and their eagerness to engage with live events responsibly. Access to the Hay Festival Winter Weekend last month required proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow test and we found festival-goers to be comforted by the reassurance this and other precautions offered them. Demand for events was high and offered us a solid model for the return of our spring event in-person next year, which runs 26th May to 5th June. Of course uncertainty poses many challenges, but the torch keeps burning and audiences keep returning.”  

Nick Barley, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, described a steep learning curve after holding one of the first large-scale hybrid festivals since lockdown restrictions eased earlier this year. "Having created a fully digital festival in 2020, and then staged a fully hybrid festival in 2021, we have learned a great deal about presenting our author conversations online,” he told The Bookseller. 

“Thanks to the successful trial of the 'pay what you can' scheme which made our first hybrid festival financially sustainable, we have the confidence to commit to a hybrid model for our festival in 2022 and on into the future. A hybrid festival reaches audiences which are unable to join us in Edinburgh for any reason and allows them to engage with the festival and enjoy the live experience from their own homes. We are busy putting together our programme for August 2022 at the moment, and will be announcing details of all our events, both in person and online, in June." 

A spokesperson for the festival suggested they were keeping an open mind for plans next summer whilst monitoring the situation, saying: “As far as Covid-19 is concerned, we're obviously keeping a close eye on the rapidly evolving and ever-changing situation but will make any decisions relating to our own festival, which doesn't take place until August 2022, nearer the time.” 

Laura Brooke, publicity director at Cornerstone, has co-ordinated various virtual events but conceded planning them could be difficult on a budget. She told The Bookseller: “I think there is a desire for hybrid events which won’t go away though is tricky for those on a tight budget. We toured Lauren Groff and Amor Towles — both US based — this autumn and it was great to see hybrid working so well. The Cambridge Literary Festival was a socially distanced full house for Amor Towles but they also had about 80 joining online — I think the event was online for a week. 

“It’s all a bit uncertain for the new year but we are booking literary festivals and events and hoping these can go ahead in person with an online option. For Pankaj Mishra (Run and Hide, due 24th February) we are booking in-person appearances but with the plan that we’ll flip to online as necessary. The difference for 2022 is that we know we can do this.”