Cunard Line flagship to host 2022 Literature Festival at Sea

Cunard Line‘s flagship, Queen Mary 2, will play host to the 2022 Literature Festival at Sea, with some of the biggest names in publishing due to give talks onboard.

The Literature Festival at Sea is organized by The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival and The Times programming team.

The line-up of authors includes Ian Rankin, Bernardine Evaristo, Mary Beard, Richard Osman, and Alexander McCall Smith.

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They will talk about their life and discuss their work, and will advise The Times journalists on how they can write better.

“I am beyond excited to travel, speak and engage with guests at a literary festival on the high seas,” said Mary Beard, one of Britain’s most famous Classicists and English scholars.

“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?” she added.

“Cunard is delighted to once again host a dazzling line-up of acclaimed literary talent who will headline our 2022 Literature Festival at sea,” said Jamie Paiko, Vice President of Cunard North America.

“Our guests will truly relish this second-to-none ocean travel experience as they sail with these renowned authors amidst the elegance and style of our flagship, Queen Mary 2,” he added.

The seven-night Transatlantic Crossing will cost $1,039 per passenger, and leaves New York for Southampton on December 3rd, 2022.

This will be Cunard’s second rodeo as host to the literature festival, which is also being held for only the second time, after COVID-19 upended the 2020 and 2021 plans.

Queen Mary 2 is no stranger to the literary world, having starred in the HBO drama Let Them All Talk, which centers on a Pulitzer Prize-winning author working on her latest manuscript, played by Meryl Streep.

The movie is particularly popular among cruise enthusiasts for its generally realistic portrayal of cruise travel, and of course Queen Mary 2.

Cunard Line is the only remaining passenger shipping service operating weekly across the Atlantic between the UK and US, and has been doing so for more than 180 years, so it has also, through the years, played host to many authors, including: David Niven, H.G. Wells, Helen Keller, Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, and W. Somerset Maugham.