The Coast is Queer: A Festival of LGBTQ+ Literature in Brighton, 15 – 18 October 2026

Brighton & Hove’s festival of LGBTQ+ writing, The Coast is Queer, returns on 15 October for four days of dynamic conversations, panels, workshops, performances, and films, celebrating the brilliance of LGBTQ+ writers at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of Sussex.

Now in its seventh year, The Coast Is Queer festival offers a vibrant space for LGBTQ+ readers, writers, and allies to celebrate the diversity of queer literature.

Highlights include appearances from Sarah Walters (Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith), award-winning writer and BAFTA winner Dean Atta, Sunday Times Bestselling Poet Nikita Gill, Juno Dawson’s Lovely Trans Sofa (also ft. comedian and performer Jordan Gray, award-winning author Nicola Ninan, and actor, writer comedian and content creator Fizz Sinclair), acclaimed playwright Martin Sherman (Bent, Royal Court, National Theatre, Broadway, I’ll Be Seeing You, Pitlochry Festival Theatre this month), body positivity writer, activist and influencer Megan Jayne Crabbe, and a rare ‘In Conversation With’ between Shon Faye and one of the foremost historians of transgender life, Susan Stryker.

The opening event on Thursday includes the screening of Dean Atta’s BAFTA-winning short film Two Black Boys, followed by a conversation with Neil Bartlett and readings by emerging queer authors Ray Filar and Remi Graves.

Friday´s focus will be on queer publishing, featuring a Meet The Agent panel with representatives from leading literary agencies and discussions on publishing for children and young adults, as well as radical queer republishing. Students from Brighton and Sussex Universities will also host engaging panels on self-publishing and queer histories. Friday also features panels on various topics, including queer body image and masculinity, with notable speakers like V.G. Lee and Kenya Sterling. The day will close with a Poetry Paradise event curated by Dean Atta, showcasing performances from talented poets.

Saturday will kick off with discussions on obsession and addiction, a look at lesbian custody battles in the 1980s featuring a film screening, and a powerful panel titled Against The Odds. Participants will also dive into themes of Queer Nature and Radical Gardens. 

On Sunday join Brighton influencers Jessica and Claudia Kellgren-Fozard, Kirsty Loehr, and Kirsty Logan for a day exploring Queer Mothering. Highlights include in-conversations with Susan Stryker, Shon Faye, Sarah Waters, and Julia Armfield, alongside discussions on queerness and hidden drag histories.

The Coast is Queer promises a rich and inclusive exploration of LGBTQ+ literature, fostering connections within the community and celebrating the written word’s ability to unite and inspire.

The Coast is Queer runs from 15 – 18 October 2026, at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of Sussex campus.