'Too soon' for Filey Literature Festival featuring guests Amanda Owen and Ian McMillan to go ahead this year

Well-known guest speakers including Dales shepherdess Amanda Owen and Barnsley bard Ian McMillian had been lined up to appear at the festival, which has now been put back to May 20-22 next year.

Many of the shows and speaker slots had sold out and social distancing would have been difficult to achieve. All tickets will carry over to 2022, and refunds are also available.

Festival chair Dr David Pendleton said: 'We had hoped that May would be viable, but as the weeks have ticked by it has become increasingly obvious that going ahead in May would be a gamble that we could not take. There's bound to be elements of social distancing in place for the coming summer, given our strong ticket sales, and small venues, it would have been irresponsible to go ahead.

"As we had to postpone in 2019, we were sorely tempted to go for May this year, but it has become obvious that putting the festival back to 2022 is the right decision. I can't emphasise enough how frustrating it is to postpone once again, but it is the right decision. I want to thank the hard-working band of festival volunteers, and our loyal ticket holders, who have stuck with us through this frustratingly difficult time.

"However, we do have some good news. We wanted to put something on this year. A festival teaser if you like. So I'm delighted to announce that our scheduled headline act, Ian McMillan, will be appearing at the Evron Centre in October."

Ian McMillan's show is on Monday October 4 at 7.30pm, with all those who had bought tickets for his festival appearance still able to attend. New tickets are available from Filey post office and can also be ordered via [email protected].