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Queen Mary 2The extraordinary Literature Festival at Sea, curated by the programming team of the Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, will return once again in 2022 on board Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.

The line-up will include some of the world’s finest talent, including Bernardine Evaristo, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, Mary Beard and Richard Osman.
The seven-night crossing, which departs New York for Southampton on 3 December 2022 will include a plethora of workshops, talks and readings as Queen Mary 2 sails across the Atlantic.
Guests will hear from award-winning authors about their life and work, go behind the headlines with The Times journalists and get to improve their writing skills in workshops led by literary experts.
English scholar and one of Britain’s best-known Classicists, Mary Beard, said, “I am beyond excited to travel, speak and engage with guests on a literary festival on the high seas. I am sure there will be plenty of wonderful distractions, but the pleasures of being literally away from it all with a chance to discuss bookish things…what could be better?”.
Award-winning British writer, journalist and broadcaster, Damian Barr, who featured on the 2019 Literature Festival at Sea, and will return in 2022, said, “Books are a world away from the one we’re all in—a portal to other places, an escape.  This unique floating literature festival adds another dimension to that feeling of freedom we get when we’re lost in a good book.  Away from the world and all its concerns, I find that I think more deeply and have richer conversations with fellow writers and chance chats with passengers along the way. I am most looking forward to returning to this Literature Festival at Sea.”
The seven-night Transatlantic Crossing including flights is priced from AUD1,499 per person in an Inside Stateroom.
Lee Powell, VP of Cunard Brand and Product, said, “We are delighted to welcome the Literature Festival at Sea back on board our legendary flagship, Queen Mary 2, with an incredible roster of headline speakers and an inspiring programme of events, all underpinned by the quality of delivery that is Cheltenham’s hallmark. Alongside the festival, guests can enjoy all Queen Mary 2 has to offer and make unforgettable memories as they cross the Atlantic for this very special voyage.”

  Damian Barr


Rachel Johnson


Ian Rankin


Bernardine Evaristo


Richard Osman


Mary Beard


Alexander McCall Smith


Edited by John Alwyn-Jones, Cruise Editor