A TOWN centre was transformed into a literary lover’s dream at the weekend as writers, performers and poets joined in a successful festival.

The Burnley Literary Festival, which started on Friday and finishes today, drew big crowds for celebrations of the written word.

Compelling storytellers and award-winning authors entertained appreciative audiences, while colourful shows also brought books to life. Fun creative workshops also proved a big draw.

Many venues, including the Burnley Mechanics, Burnley College and the central library, hosted events, as did the Bellissimo coffee lounge in Parker Lane, where Ashleigh Nugent spoke about ‘Locked’, a memoir about a mixed-race teenager from northern England in a Jamaican prison.

Lynn Scibetta, an owner of Bellissimo said the event had been a big success.

She said: “It was amazing. He spoke from his heart and he got a standing ovation.

“It was lovely to have something like that, everybody was just so laid-back.”

She said the festival was also a big success for the town, adding: “I think it has been great for Burnley. I don’t think a lot of people realise how many people like literary things.”

The festival ends today with a letter writing project meet-up at Little Barista, author Mike Griffin speaking about the first 10 years of a policeman’s life in the 1960s and a talk about advertising and persuasive writing.