NEXT month Bradford will be buzzing as more than 150 events turn the city centre into a literary hub.

The first Bradford Literature Festival will celebrate the district’s cultural heritage with a range of events spanning 10 days, from Roma storytelling to a yoga session for dogs.

As well as showcasing a variety of leading writers and their work, the focus is also on raising literary levels, promoting cultural diversity, health and wellbeing, and bringing people into the city centre.

For organisers Syima Aslam and Irna Qureshi, the aim is to create an annual festival that will play a leading role in the city’s cultural regeneration.

The success of last September’s taster “mini festival” weekend has boosted confidence and next month’s event is funded by Arts Council England and Bradford Council, with key partners the University of Bradford and Bradford College and sponsors the NHS, Woodhouse Grove School and Incommunities Events will take place at venues including the National Media Museum, the City Library, Bradford College, City Hall, Waterstones and the Midland Hotel.

“We want to engage Bradford and get people talking about Bradford for all the right reasons,” said Syima.

“The city centre is somewhere for families to bring their children, we want people to come and make use of what’s here. It’s cultural regeneration, tying in with the city’s economic regeneration.”

Gary Peacock, general manager of the Midland Hotel, provided some capital for last autumn’s taster event and was heartened by its success in generating footfall in the city centre. He believes next month’s festival will showcase the city on an international level.

“I’m impressed by the vision of the organisers; if we can help to nurture this festival it has great potential for international success as an event that becomes a major part of the literary calendar.

“Bradford has a significant literary heritage and this festival builds on that, as well as promoting the city’s cultural diversity. It has the diversity that other literature festivals may not have.

“With the Westfield development well under way, there is an air of optimism in the city. Now is the time to showcase Bradford on an international scale, and this festival will play a big role in putting it on the map.”

Festival events at the Midland Hotel include a masterclass in fantasy writing, a reading and talk by Will Self, and a preview of The Fabric of India, a major exhibition on Indian handmade textiles, opening at London’s V&A museum this autumn.

“The Midland Hotel was the first commercial organisation to come on board and support the Bradford Literature Festival,” said Syima.

“Gary has been fantastic in terms of his enthusiasm for the project and his passion for making positive changes happen in the city.

“For the festival, this has translated into the Midland becoming the festival hotel, which acts not only as the hub for all our writers and artists but also as one of the venues.

“We are delighted to be holding quite a few events at the Midland this year, everything ranging from Will Self and Professor Akram Khan talking about particle physics to a series of Bronte-themed events culminating in a dinner and quiz hosted by Christa Ackroyd.

“We can host everyone from world-famous authors to festival attendees with the assurance that just as they are all equally important to us, they are to the Midland as well.”

This year’s festival includes a schools programme of free events, encouraging a love of reading.

“We’re taking literacy out of the classroom,” said Syima. “It’s not enough to expect literacy to be limited to school, it’s part of life. Without literacy, every other part of the curriculum is closed to you. We hope a legacy of this festival will be that parents and children develop and continue a lifelong love of reading.”

Cultural diversity is highlighted in events such as a Holocaust memorial marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz; a look at faith and family in Bradford; and a talk on sectarian warfare in the Middle East.

“We’ll provide safe, neutral spaces for dialogue and debate, so people can talk about issues such as race, gender or disability,” said Syima.

The festival also links in with the Born in Bradford project, a long-term study of children born in the city between 2007 and 2010.

lBradford Literature Festival runs from May 15-24. For tickets or more information visit bradfordliteraturefestival.co.uk.