My heart sank when I read that Edinburgh International Book Festival, Bradford Literary Festival and Cambridge Literary Festival are to cut live streaming – the hybrid option, which many disabled people, carers, those with social anxiety, those who live in rural areas, or those who can’t afford both a ticket and transport costs rely on for cultural access.

The news surprised, saddened and angered the disabled community in particular. Covid and lockdown brought an unforeseen epiphany when everything moved online, and suddenly we had equal access: disabled and chronically ill (DCI) authors could participate in author panels and festival discussions alongside their peers, and readers could see their favourite writers from home. Yes, organisers had to learn quickly and the technology was challenging, but we finally were present in the zoom room, at least. 

Publisher Clare Christian and I co-founded the #KeepFestivalsHybrid campaign in 2021 to encourage and educate all literary festivals in retaining a hybrid element. We believe the festivals’ recent move is a retrograde step, as does author Kit de Waal, who donated funds for us to commission a technical guide to putting small literary festivals online. "So few good things came out of the pandemic, but the increase in quantity and quality of hybrid events in the literary scene was one of them," she says. "It would be a massive step backwards if we didn’t find a way to continue to open our arms to as many people as possible and keep festivals online as well as in person. There are obvious cost implications but the implications of reversing all the gains we have made with inclusivity and openness is far more damaging in the long term."

When assessing financial priorities, cutting access to the 20% of the population who are disabled isn’t the answer 

Why are the three festivals cutting hybrid? Money. We know that we’re living in difficult financial times, with the cost of living crisis affecting the amount that people have to spend on luxuries such as a festival ticket. However, when assessing financial priorities, cutting access to the 20% of the population who are disabled isn’t the answer. 

Clare Wade, founder of the Society of Authors’ Authors with Disabilities and Chronic (ADCI) group, says that losing disabled access is a huge blow to disabled authors and readers. "Before the pandemic we accepted that it wasn’t possible for us to be part of events, but now we know that not only is it possible, it’s relatively easy to do. We don’t expect virtual tickets to be free, we understand there is a cost involved and we are willing to pay… now that we know that inclusion is possible, event organisers need to find a way to continue providing virtual access. This isn’t just about accessibility, it’s about equality."

Authors have said to me that online ticket options haven’t been marketed well, being seen as secondary or inferior to a physical access ticket sale. They say that options to gain extra revenue for the festivals, such as selling an online ticket with signed book, have rarely been explored, and that hybrid has been seen as a "nice to have" but inessential add-on that’s an easy option to cut. Last in, first out.  

The Edinburgh International Book Festival’s decision to cut hybrid is particularly surprising, considering that it has led the way in online and disability accessibility, including launching in 2022 the Inklusion Guide written by Ever Dundas and Julie Farrell. An article in The Scotsman newspaper on 13th August 2021 reported EIBF’s director Nick Barley as suggesting that "the city’s festivals should give equal priority to audiences attending events in person and watching online in future to help maintain their global profile and ensure they remain popular in Edinburgh." He was even quoted as saying "One thing is for sure – we are not going back to the way we did the festival in 2019". Cutting hybrid in 2023 is doing exactly that.

When it comes to finances, let’s not forget that many literary festivals in England receive funding from Arts Council England. Organisations who are successful in their bids have a requirement to ally with ACE’s four investment principles, one of which is inclusivity & relevance. Cutting hybrid reverses inclusivity and excludes many disabled people, as well as others. Is it fair to do that, particularly as they are receiving public money, which everyone contributes to via their taxes?

Amid this gloom there is however, a beacon of hope in the literary festivals who have embraced hybrid and inclusivity and are committed to maintaining or expanding their online programming in 2023, such as Huddersfield Literary Festival, which recently won a Yorkshire Post Tourism 2022 Award for accessible and inclusive tourism. Michelle Hodgson, the festival’s director, told me "Our commitment to inclusivity and representation for both performers and audiences has encouraged us to step up rather than reduce our online and hybrid provision. We set an increased ring-fenced budget for hybrid in our Arts Council bid for our March 2023 festival".

#KeepFestivalsHybrid and Inklusion Guide have teamed up to produce an online guide to 2023 Hybrid Literary Festivals, launched today, which Huddersfield and others appear in. Festivals included gain a ‘badge of honour’ hybrid badge for their website, showing that they’re allies and leaders in best practice. The guide instantly lets authors and readers know which literary festivals they’re welcome at in a hybrid fashion, and we hope that it will encourage other festivals to follow suit. 

For practical information about the #KeepFestivalsHybrid campaign and how to submit your festival for the 2023 hybrid list, go to: www.reddoorpress.co.uk/pages/keep-festivals-hybrid. We’re going to carry on fighting, campaigning, persuading and educating. As author Anna Biggs says, ‘Disabled access and widening access can’t be wish list add-ons for the good years. Do they really think that makes people feel included?’