Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Syima Aslam – Festival Director

Bradford Literature Festival team is led by self-confessed book worm Syima Aslam, whose love of books and literature led her to create a cultural and literary extravaganza celebrating the written and spoken word. The result is a festival that will not only host renowned authors, speakers and performers from around the world to create a stimulating pageant of words, debates and ideas, but will also feature other art forms which have an intimate relationship with the spoken word such as film, theatre and music.

Syima is passionate about the importance of language and literacy, and the role it plays in enabling children and young people to realise their potential. An understanding of the English language is crucial to the understanding of every other subject in the curriculum, and the inability to effectively use and deploy language is a key reason for under attainment. However, an understanding and appreciation of language cannot come from school alone, it has to come from a love of the language in all its forms. The aim of the festival is to help take literacy out of the classroom, by inspiring parents and children, through innovative festival and outreach programmes.