Literature Festival at Sea
A literary adventure across the Atlantic
What if your next literary adventure was at sea?
Imagine spending a week crossing the Atlantic surrounded by books, authors and people who love reading as much as you do.
The Literature Festival at Sea brings together a wonderful programme of literary events aboard Cunard's iconic Queen Mary 2, sailing from New York to Southampton.
And for the first time, you can experience it with Books in Places.
Rather than travelling on your own and hoping to meet people along the way, you'll be part of a group of fellow Books in Places readers from the moment you arrive.
Meet your fellow readers in London
The Books in Places experience starts before we even reach the ship.
We'll meet up in London the night before we fly to New York, staying together at a hotel and having dinner as a group.
It's a chance to put faces to names, meet the people you'll be travelling with and start getting excited about the week ahead.
The following day, we'll fly together to New York before making our way to Queen Mary 2 and beginning our Transatlantic Crossing.
So when you step aboard the ship, you'll already know some of the people around you.
Come for the books. Stay for the company.
One of the best things about Books in Places trips is the people you meet.
We know that a literary cruise sounds fantastic, but the idea of booking a cabin on your own and arriving on a ship full of strangers isn't quite so appealing.
So we're creating a Books in Places group on board.
You'll have a ready-made group of fellow readers to meet for drinks, meals and bookish conversations, while still having all the freedom to enjoy the cruise however you choose.
Arrive with familiar faces
Meet other Books in Places guests rather than starting the voyage completely on your own.
Share the books
We'll have our own Books in Places book discussion during the voyage, as well as plenty of opportunities to talk about the authors, talks and books we're discovering along the way.
Do as much as you like
Join the group when you want to, or disappear with your book when you fancy some quiet time.
A week designed for people who love books
For seven nights, Queen Mary 2 becomes a floating literary festival.
The programme is created in partnership with the team behind The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, bringing authors, journalists, historians and other literary guests together for a week of talks and conversations.
There will be author events, panel discussions, Q&As, book signings and other opportunities to immerse yourself in the world of books.
And in between the events, there is the Atlantic Ocean, the ship, the library, the deck and plenty of time to simply sit down and read.
Seven nights. One ocean. A lot of books.
There is something rather romantic about crossing the Atlantic by ocean liner.
Add a literary festival, a suitcase full of books and a group of fellow readers and you have the ingredients for a very unusual Books in Places trip.
There is no typical day
That's part of the appeal.
Perhaps you'll start the morning with coffee and a book, head to an author talk before lunch, meet the Books in Places group in the afternoon and then spend the evening discussing what you've heard.
Or perhaps you'll ignore the programme altogether for a few hours and find a quiet corner of the ship to read.
You won't have a sightseeing itinerary to follow. The ship is your destination.
Especially if you've always fancied a literary cruise...
...but didn't particularly fancy doing it on your own.
Maybe you've always wanted to experience a Transatlantic Crossing. Maybe the idea of a week surrounded by authors and readers sounds wonderful.
Or perhaps you've seen the Literature Festival at Sea and thought, "I'd love to do that, but who would I go with?"
That's exactly why we're putting together a Books in Places group.
You'll have your own cabin and plenty of freedom, but you'll also have people to share the experience with.
Literature Festival at Sea
2 – 9 December
Queen Mary 2
New York → Southampton
You don't have to come on your own.
We'll meet in London the night before we fly, have dinner together, fly to New York as a group and then board Queen Mary 2 for our Transatlantic adventure.
We'll also have our own Books in Places book discussion during the voyage.
We're putting the final details together now. More information about joining the group will be available soon.
