Ways With Words Ltd

What Ways With Words Ltd does

Ways With Words Ltd was a privately held, UK-based literary festival and events company founded in 1992 and headquartered in Totnes, Devon. The company organized and operated physical literary festivals and cultural events, serving a regional audience of general-public attendees interested in author readings, literary gatherings, and related cultural programming across England.

The business operated with a small team of approximately five people, including co-runners Leah Varnell and Bryony, who managed festival programming and event execution. There is no documented proprietary technology, digital product, or platform component; the offering was the in-person festival experience itself, delivered at physical event locations.

Revenue was generated through ticket-based attendance at literary festival events (classified as one-time transactions). The company's go-to-market was event-driven, with each festival functioning as the primary commercial vehicle. The firm carried no disclosed enterprise or B2B contracts, no named corporate sponsors, and no documented pricing structure. Operating scope was regional, confined to England. The company has ceased running events after determining it was no longer financially viable, following a multi-year decline triggered by the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, reduced audience capacity during reopening, and a subsequent downturn in household discretionary spending. Founders are researching future event formats but no successor entity or operating business currently exists.

Name

Ways With Words Ltd

Legal name

Ways With Words Ltd

Website

https://wayswithwords.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ways With Words Ltd was a small, Devon-based UK literary festival operator founded in 1992 that organized regional cultural events for general audiences before ceasing operations in 2023 amid post-COVID demand contraction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Festival Events

NAICS

Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI)

Keywords

• Literary festivals
• Cultural events
• Festival management
• Author events
• Community events

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Festival Events: Revenue was generated from running literary festivals and events. Audiences paid to attend festival events. The company faced reduced audiences and lower revenue due to COVID-19 impacts and subsequent economic challenges affecting household finances.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Ways With Words Ltd organized and operated literary festivals and cultural events in the United Kingdom, primarily serving audiences interested in author readings, literary gatherings, and cultural programming. The company operated for over two decades before ceasing to run events as it was no longer financially viable following the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic pressures on household spending.

Product overview

Ways With Words Ltd was a literary festival and events company. The company organized and ran literary festivals and events, operated by a small team including Leah and Bryony. The source content is a farewell announcement indicating the company has ceased running events as it is no longer financially viable.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ways With Words Literary Festivals Annual literary festivals held in the United Kingdom featuring author readings, literary gatherings, and cultural events for general public audiences; operated until 2023 when the company ceased event operations.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Hay Festival: One of the UK's flagship literary festivals, running multi-day programming of author talks, readings, and storytelling events. Highly comparable as a ticketed, audience-facing literary-festival business operating in the same UK market and category.
• Edinburgh International Book Festival: Major UK literary festival featuring author readings, panel discussions, and storytelling performances. Directly comparable in offering, target audience, and event-driven revenue model.
• Aldeburgh Literary Festival: Smaller UK literary festival focused on author talks and readings for a regional audience. Comparable in operating scale, regional UK focus, and dependence on ticketed festival attendance.
• Bath Literature Festival: UK literary festival with author events and storytelling programming, comparable in scale and regional UK footprint to Ways With Words' Devon-based operations.
• Cheltenham Literature Festival: Long-running UK literary festival programming author talks, readings, and cultural events for a ticketed public audience. Closely comparable in festival format, audience, and category.

Regional players

• Dartmouth Literary Festival: Devon-based literary festival operating in the same South West England region as Ways With Words (Totnes, Devon). Directly comparable as a regional competitor for the same local literary-event audience.

Broad incumbents

• Southbank Centre (London Literature Festival): Major UK cultural institution that runs the London Literature Festival alongside a much wider year-round arts programme. Comparable in offering literary events but at significantly greater scale and with broader institutional backing.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks6 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ways-with-words-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ways With Words Ltd