Words by the Water Pays Tribute to Festival Pioneers in 25th Anniversary Festival

Words by the Water, the celebrated literature festival which takes place annually at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake, returns for its 25th year in March 2026.

To mark the anniversary the festival features a special charity event on Cumbrian Women Writers which is a tribute to two monumental women who were the backbone of the festival since fruition and have sadly passed away in the last few months; festival founder Kay Dunbar and Bookends owner and festival partner Gwenda Matthews.

Local writers Sarah Hall, Marie-Elsa Bragg, Kelly Davis and Kathleen Jones will look at the range and legacy of female Cumbrian writers such as Harriet Martineau, Beatrix Potter, Margaret Forster and more, with a focus on their own personal influences and how Cumbria has nurtured and impacted on the work of its female writers.  Both Kay and Gwenda were instrumental in shaping the local literary community. Alongside her husband Steve, Kay started Words by the Water festival in 2001 with the aim to bring celebrated writers to Cumbria and also to nurture local talent. Over the years Kay invited illustrious speakers such as Hilary Mantel, Stephen Pinker, Germaine Greer and, of course festival president Melvyn Bragg to the Theatre and created extraordinary memories for so many Cumbrians.  Kay’s knowledge, passion and understanding of writing in the local community was remarkable and she was particularly supportive of emerging female writers.

Marie-Elsa Bragg, festival vice-president and one of the speakers participating in the event said “I am truly grateful to Kay Dunbar; she was a woman who brought the love of literature in all its forms to many generations.”

Sadly, Gwenda Matthews passed away very recently on 4 January 2026. Her pioneering and courageous approach led her business to flourish from a Whitehaven market stall to 3 bookshops which shaped the literary landscape in North Cumbria; Bookcase bookshop in Carlisle and Bookends in Carlisle and Keswick. Gwenda was the Words by the Water festival bookseller from fruition and then, alongside daughter Lucy, became a partner in 2024. Without Gwenda and Lucy’s involvement the festival would never have returned and Gwenda was delighted with the 2026 programme which she helped create.

Lucy Matthews, Bookends owner and Words by the Water partner added “I was immensely proud of my Mum; she was such an enterprising person to build a successful business from scratch and she did so much to promote local writing through the shops and author events. It was fuelled by a genuine interest in Cumbria and what Cumbrian people had to say. I feel very honoured to be continuing what she started and excited for the future of Words by the Water, which I am delighted to be running alongside joint festival partner Leah Varnell and programmer Jane Fitzgerald.”

All proceeds from the charity event will be shared between the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy association, a charity which supports those living with PSPA, as Kay did for many years and the BookTrust.

There is much to celebrate in the 25th year of the festival with a stellar line-up including Lee Child, Prue Leith, Mary Beard, Simon Armitage, MW Craven, Elly Griffiths, Val McDermid, Chris Bonington and Brian Bilston plus many more. Typically the festival covers the broadest range of topics: from Ozempic to the Arctic; medieval women to ageing; landscape art to the supernatural via Beatrix Potter and ancient woodlands.

Words by the Water Festival 2026 plays at Theatre by the Lake Wednesday 11 – Sunday 15 March. Tickets are available here.