A POPULAR Lake District literary festival has announced it will not return next year.

The popular Words by the Water festival, which saw many big name authors travel to the Theatre By The Lake in Keswick, may have reached its final chapter, as the 2023 event has been cancelled, with organisers Ways with Words saying they will cease organising events.

The organisers have blamed Covid and new 'difficult financial choices' for diminishing audience numbers in recent years - feeling that the running of events is 'no longer viable'.

In a statement, the organisation said: "Through the first year of Covid we were unable to run any festivals, and as events were allowed to run again we were only able to host limited audiences.

"From there the country has moved into an economic situation where households are facing difficult financial choices.

"We know from other colleagues and literary festivals that most literary events have seen smaller audiences and lower revenue.

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"As a small team, we have worked incredibly hard to keep Ways With Words going since 2020 but sadly we are no longer currently viable and we have had to make the decision to cease running events.

"We will cherish the many happy memories from all our festivals over the years and we thank you for all your support."

Organisers added: "We cannot say how long it will take to reply but we will respond to every email."

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