A Writer's Guide to Lancaster

Lancaster University Library sits on Alexandra Square at the heart of the Bailrigg campus, about three miles south of the city centre, and it is open to all. Free community membership lets you borrow from the print collections. A leisure-reading area on A floor holds fiction and non-fiction. Special Collections are in the Archives Research Centre.

Morecambe Library is Lancashire County Council's library in Morecambe, about four miles west of Lancaster. On Thursday mornings it keeps a Quiet Hour, when visitors are asked to mute phones and devices. A lift serves every floor, and the library opens Monday to Saturday.

Heysham Library, about five miles south-west of Lancaster, runs reading, learning, craft and culture events, and most of them are free. Some need booking. A mobile library is based here, and the branch opens Monday to Saturday.

Carnforth Library is in Carnforth, about six miles north of Lancaster. It keeps a quiet hour on Saturday mornings. It opens Tuesday to Saturday.

Atticus is a not-for-profit secondhand bookshop, with a small stock of vinyl and CDs, and it supports the Tasikoki Animal Rescue Centre. Writers and musicians can use the shop as a small venue at no charge.

First Age Comics is a long-running independent comic shop in Lancaster. It stocks new comics and graphic novels as well as secondhand ones.

The council's Assembly Rooms Emporium on King Street has two stalls for readers. Zine Freak, run by comic artist Matt Simmons, sells British indie comics and zines, and Assembled Books sells books and cards. The emporium opens Tuesday to Saturday.

The Old Pier Bookshop is a long-established secondhand bookshop on the seafront at Morecambe, about four miles west of Lancaster. It takes its name from a long-gone seaside attraction. The stock runs from Terry Pratchett to back issues of the Beano and the Dandy.

Chris Wood sold books at Morecambe's Festival Market for more than a decade before he opened Lost at Sea in Morecambe town centre in 2026. Come here for crime, science fiction and fantasy. The shelves also hold war, biography and children's books.

Carnforth Bookshop, about six miles north of Lancaster, is a family-run independent founded in 1977. It sells new and secondhand books across three floors.

The community-run Gregson Centre sells a weekday work pass, and you don't need to book. It covers unlimited barista coffee or tea for up to four hours at a table near a plug socket, with free Wi-Fi. For calls or quieter work, book one of the private meeting rooms.

Folk + Co is a hot-desk workspace inside The Storey. You can book a day desk without commitment, or move to a monthly unlimited plan or a dedicated desk. It opens Monday to Saturday.

The Printroom is the café bar inside The Storey. It serves breakfast, brunch and lunch made with locally sourced products, plus cake and craft beer. Iron Press works in the same building, and the café opens Monday to Saturday.

The Dukes is Lancaster's theatre and cinema. Its café bar pours J. Atkinson & Co coffee and Lancaster Brewery beer, both from city suppliers, and offers free Wi-Fi. Litfest holds events here, including the Lancaster International Fiction Lecture. The café bar opens Tuesday to Sunday.

The Gregson's community-run café bar serves food from Toast. The arts centre around it hosts readings and talks, and folk and jazz nights too. It is open daily.

The Midland is Oliver Hill's 1933 Art Deco hotel on the promenade at Morecambe, about four miles west of Lancaster. Its restaurant holds an Eric Gill map mural. Walk in to the restaurant or the Rotunda Bar; both serve food daily.

Brewery Arts is Kendal's venue for cinema, theatre and live music, about 20 miles north of Lancaster. Its restaurant and bar cook with seasonal, locally sourced produce. They open Tuesday to Saturday.

Litfest was founded in 1978 and calls itself the UK's third-oldest literary festival. A volunteer board runs it. It aims for two festival seasons a year, in March and October, and between them it hosts the Litfest International Book Club and sells books through its website. With Lancaster University's Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Litfest presents the Lancaster International Lecture Series, held in person and live-streamed: history in spring, the environment in summer and international fiction in autumn.

Lancaster University's English Literature and Creative Writing department runs a programme of free literary events open to all. Some are on campus. Others take place in the Castle Quarter, at the Castle, the Priory, The Storey and the Judges' Lodgings. The department also offers free online courses on Wordsworth and Humphry Davy and runs the Lancaster Words YouTube channel.

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is held each October in Kendal, Cumbria, about 20 miles north of Lancaster, and runs a year-round programme for comics of every form and genre. Its foundation runs the UK Comics Laureate role. The festival also publishes the magazine Between the Lines and produces the podcast Loving the Alien.

Lancaster University's Special Collections and Archives hold rare books and original documents, among them the Bowles Atlas of the 1790s and the Socialist Pamphlets Collection (1818-1997). The Jack Hylton Archive and the Cinema Memory and Digital Archive are here too. Anyone can see the holdings by appointment, in the Archives Research Centre or through a Virtual Reading Room. Some items are online through Lancaster Digital Collections.

The Regional Heritage Centre was founded in 2014 to promote the heritage of North West England. Its study days and heritage events are open to the public. Among its archives is the Elizabeth Roberts Working Class Oral History Archive, and it leads the Victoria County History of Cumbria with volunteer researchers.

Lancashire Archives, the county council's archive service in Preston, keeps records covering nearly a thousand years of Lancashire. Search the LANCAT catalogue online, then book a searchroom appointment. If you can't make the trip, use the enquiries and research service or the digitisation service.

Carnegie Publishing is an independent Lancaster publisher of town, city and county history, along with industrial and social history and local interest. Walking guides and food titles are on the list too. Scotforth Books, a related service, handles self-publishing.

Fox & Ink Books is an independent publisher at the University of Lancashire's Media Factory in Preston, about 20 miles south of Lancaster, and it describes itself as rooted in the North. Its children's list runs from early years and chapter books through middle grade to teen and young adult. It also publishes adult fiction.

Qualitative Social Work is a forum for qualitative research and evaluation, and it brings people working on qualitative methods together with people in social work practice. Its first-listed co-editor, Lisa Morriss, is at Lancaster University; co-editor Lissette M. Piedra is at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Preparing an article for Qualitative Social Work

Palliative Medicine publishes multidisciplinary peer-reviewed research on the palliative care of patients with far advanced disease. Its Editor-in-Chief, Catherine Walshe, is at Lancaster University. SAGE publishes it in association with the European Association for Palliative Care. Preparing an article for Palliative Medicine

New Writing North gives the Northern Writers' Awards to writers at any stage of their careers who live full-time in the North of England. The awards support new work in progress. Some come as cash to buy time to write; others bring mentoring, manuscript assessment, publication, writing placements or retreats.

National Lottery Project Grants is Arts Council England's open-access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects in England. Individual practitioners can apply.

The Royal Literary Fund gives grants to professional writers who need help because of sickness, disability, age or a change in circumstances. Its paid Fellowships place writers in UK universities to help students with academic writing. It also runs Writing for Life community workshops.

Iron Press is a print studio in The Storey, with open access for experienced printmakers and workshops for beginners. Techniques run from lino and woodcut to etching and lithography. Weekend workshops need no induction, since a tutor is there throughout.

The University of Cumbria's print unit in Lancaster serves students, staff and the general public. It prints and binds dissertations and prints posters up to A1. Copying and finishing are done here too. It opens Monday to Friday.