(The report below appeared in The Daily Echo in July 2009 but, not featuring on the Echo's website, we post it's contents here, with a few ammendments/additions.

Since July 2009, planning for the festival continues apace & their website is now live at www.poolelitfest.com The festival dates are October 29th - 31st.

Latest news is that Sue Luminati got a splendid birthday present - she received news of £30,000 funding for the festival from the Arts Council.)

It is a still year and a bit away but the plans are already being forged for a Poole Literary Festival.

Michael Morpugo, the West Country author of such modern chil­dren's classics as Waiting for Anya, When the Whales Came and War Horse, is to be the patron of the planned festival, which will take place in October 2010.Morpugo was the Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005.

He is not the only top writer who has pledged to give the festival its support. Michael Rosen, Gervaise Phinn, Deborah Moggach, Mavis Cheek and Dorchester-based Minette Walters are also on board, accord­ing to Sue Luminati, of Branksome Park, Poole, who is the driving force behind the project.

As part of her campaign to advertise the festival, Sue got one of the hour-long stints on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to spread the word. Whilst battling a fear of heights, Sue's performance included handing out cup cakes as well as 'distributing' paper aeroplanes adorned with info on next year's festival as described in the Echo article linked here.

The event, which aims to complement Bournemouth's Literary Festival (which takes place in the days before the Poole Festival ie 22nd - 28th October 2010 See website here.), will be non-profit-making and will seek to cele­brate literature, aspirng to become an annual event and even a highlight of the UK literary calendar.

"We have a glorious town with so many great venues and nat­ural resources, we can raise the cultural identity and establish a wonderful festival that brings a `pride of place' to our commu­ity," said Sue, who is working closely with other bodies includ­ing Bournemouth University, The Lighthouse, Arts University College Bournemouth (for­merly the Arts Institute) and Poole Arts Development Team.

The Poole festival will last for three days with an average of five events per day, using locations such as Kube, The Lighthouse, restaurants and pubs. A website for the festival is currently under construction.

(Sue Luminati,was born in Dublin but grew up in London. Her early career was in sales, fashion and management and she moved to this area to start her own print business. A graduate from the Arts Institute, Bournemouth, she has been a part-time lecturer and has, for the past 20 years, fundraised for various causes organising events from tea par­ties to grand balls. She staged the Poole Animation Festival 10 years ago and insti­gated an exhibition called 21st Century Woman.)