Eastwood, the book town

The ninth annual D.H Lawrence Festival ended last week, marking one of the largest and most successful festivals to date, as an estimated 4000 visitors to his hometown of Eastwood enjoyed a two-week programme of over 60 events and activities.

          The town of Eastwood is aiming to reinvent itself, as a Booktown: An exciting centre for the arts; attracting not only book-lovers but also writers, musicians, poets and creative people from around the world. Ambitious? Certainly, but much of the infrastructure is already in place. In addition to the D. H. Lawrence Festival, the town boasts the annual Eastwood Arts Festival, the, the D. H. Lawrence tourist trail, the Lawrence Heritage Centre and the Birthplace Museum, and craft workshops. There are also plenty cafés, inns and food outlets.
          To help crown Eastwood a ‘booktown’ the Eastwood Booktown Development Group has been established.
          The Treetops Hospice (long established bookshop) has agreed to become the official ‘booktown’ bookshop, whilst local retailers have been invited to provide shelves for the displaying of books.