Folkestone is a Library is a three-year Arts Council England Place Partnership Programme by Creative Folkestone with additional funding from The Linbury Trust and Holiday Extras and delivered in partnership with Kent County Council, local libraries, Turner Schools and community organisations.

We’re celebrating and amplifying the town’s love of reading and storytelling – not by replacing libraries, but by carrying their spirit into streets, schools, cafés and public spaces across Folkestone.

Why now? Because 1 in 8 children in the UK does not own a book of their own – and in areas facing deprivation, children are far less likely to read for pleasure. In Folkestone, we believe creative opportunity should not be shaped by postcode.

Expect a world-record attempt beach book swap, poems glowing in shop windows, Story Benches sharing local voices, writing workshops, a Young People’s Festival and annual town-wide celebrations.

At the heart of it all is The Book of Folkestone – a living collection of stories created by the people who live here, with children and young people leading the way.

This is an open invitation. Host something. Start something. Share something.

Folkestone is already on the map for art. Now we’re putting words on it too.