The Festivals

Harnessing Creativity; Inspiring Expression - Inspiring A Community of Book Lovers.

An annual September festival that aims to instil belonging and pride, and to enrich our cultural landscape.
Inspiring communities with creativity, featuring an array of outstanding authors, poets and story tellers, the author programme aims to delight audiences with delights from all genres, from historical fiction and environmentalism to Scottish fantasy and folklore.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet the very best travel writers of the year, as part of the Stanfords Travel Writers Festival, and get a copy of their books signed as part of the Destinations Travel Show.

Culture and Community, the South Downs Way! The festival features a variety of events including art trails, children’s events, community events, literature and talks, music and dance, theatre, comedy and film, walks and tours, and more.

Stockport Noir is back for its second year! Promising to be even bigger than 2025. Taking place on Saturday 31st January 2026 at the beautiful Stockport Guildhall, Stockport Noir aims to bring the biggest names in crime fiction to their readers. Join us for a day of insight, stories and laughter with over 20 bestsellers and rising stars in the crime fiction community.

The Festival offers an opportunity for people to meet their favourite authors and celebrities and the chance to learn new skills. It has an extensive community programme, works in prisons and has one of the biggest educational and outreach programmes of any literary festival.

Founded in 2016 by author Jamila Gavin, Stroud Book Festival has grown from a small local event to a full, five-day Festival, staged annually each November by a team of local authors and experienced publishing and cultural professionals. We present a programme of entertaining and thought-provoking events to engage audiences of more than 4,500 in our vibrant local community and beyond.

Sturminster Newton Literary Festival focuses on celebrating three writers associated with the town (Thomas Hardy, William Barnes, and Robert Young), current Dorset and Wessex writers, and aspiring writers of the future. The festival has a range of talks, workshops, guided walks, and collaborative events with local businesses to promote writing from the region.

Swanage Literary Festival returns this November, taking over The Mowlem’s Studio for two days.

The event features author talks and poetry workshops, with books that feature Swanage (Breaking Waves, by Emma Simpson) and Dorset (The Whalebone Theatre), Joanna Quinn and Alex Stones’ Dorset-based psychological thrillers.

The 2026 Swindon Festival of Literature will present a wide range of literature-linked events, in Swindon, and will start with the ever-popular Dawn Chorus on 4th May, and finish with the fabulous Festival Finale on 10th May.

In between, there will be a host of daily events, including fascinating author talks and presentations at the Arts Centre, at the town’s bookshops, libraries, and Lower Shaw Farm.

There are also likely to be writing workshops, poetry in a park, a fourth Flash Fiction Slam, storytelling events, a film night, and a Children & Families Activities Day on 10th May.​

​The Festival programme will be launched at 12 midday on Thursday 2nd April ‘26.

We are looking forward once again to celebrating good reading, fine writing, and free speaking, in Swindon.

Love Literature!  Love Life! ​

Bringing together authors and poets, performers, scriptwriters, activists and audiences to celebrate queer lives and writing. Presented by New Writing South in partnership with Marlborough Productions.

The friendly litfest  by the sea!

A nine-day festival in marvellous Margate

Big name authors at Turner Contemporary, creative writing workshops, poetry slam, three days of children’s events, book launches, school visits, literary walks, podcasts, ice cream, fish and chips and the loveliest skies in Europe.  And possibly donkeys as well.

The National Eisteddfod is the largest cultural festival in Europe, held in a different part of Wales every year. Join us in Eisteddfod y Garreg Las, Llantwd, north Pembrokeshire.

The Queen’s Reading Room, launched by Her Majesty Queen Camilla in 2023, is the charity working to celebrate and promote the power and benefits of reading, in the UK and beyond.

The heart of the crime fiction community. The world’s longest-running and most prestigious celebration of crime writing, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is the epicentre of the crime fiction community.

From bestselling authors to emerging voices, the Festival is dedicated to nurturing fresh talent, providing a platform for new writers to shine. It’s where the biggest news in crime fiction breaks, offering readers the chance to get the scoop on new writers before anyone else.

Ticehurst Literary Festival aims to bring world-class authors to rural East Sussex, for the enjoyment of all. We believe literature can promote understanding, provide escapism, knowledge, recognition, pleasure, and even company. Books are a meeting of the imaginations of author and reader, at Ticehurst Literary Festival the two can meet in person.

Tidelines Book Festival is a community-run charitable trust bringing world-class literary events to Ayrshire at affordable prices. The aim of Tidelines is to encourage involvement with and participation in literature in all its forms. We aspire to reach as wide an audience as possible, particularly those who might not readily think of the written word as entertainment or might lack confidence in engaging in cultural activity.

The Festival was first established in 2013 following a great idea by local Ayrshire man John Steele and runs over one weekend in late September at the Harbour Arts Centre on Irvine’s historic harbourside. Alongside the main festival Tidelines also runs a schools programme, organising free author visits to local schools within North Ayrshire’s most deprived areas, to encourage engagement with reading and literacy. We also run ad hoc community events, such as free creative writing workshops for those at risk of loneliness and isolation.

The Tobermory Book Festival is designed to celebrate Mull's place as an island book capital. What better way could there be to spend a few days than in Scotland's most beautiful small town listening to superb speakers and enjoying the best of Highland food?

The Tobermory Book Festival is designed to celebrate Mull's place as an island book capital. What better way could there be to spend a few days than in Scotland's most beautiful small town listening to superb speakers and enjoying the best of Highland food?

2026 TBC