The Festivals

Featuring events with many bestselling and beloved Children’s authors, comic and writing workshops, storytelling, craft activities and character costume appearances, the festivals will be a family-friendly celebration of stories and illustration, highlighting the joys of reading, writing, and drawing.

Each summer, Boldshaves becomes home to Wealden Festival – a weekend that brings together writers, thinkers and nature lovers in celebration of stories and the natural world. Set among gardens and ancient woodland, the festival offers space to slow down, listen and share ideas.

Wasing Estate is delighted to announce the return of its acclaimed literary festival Well Read for 2026, with a phenomenal line-up of best-selling authors, including headliners Miranda Hart, Prue Leith, and Alexander Armstrong.

Taking place on 14 June within the Berkshire estate's ancient woodlands, this exciting event promises a refreshing approach to literature, blending creative expression with the healing powers of nature.

Well Read goes beyond the traditional literary festival, offering a captivating blend of talks, readings and panel discussions alongside live music, immersive outdoor experiences and wellness offerings. A phenomenal line-up of broadcasters, authors, actors and presenters will inspire, entertain, and explore topics ranging from the environment, sustainability, health and wellbeing, personal growth, and the emotional power of classical music.

The Festival promotes a love of reading, of the pleasure to be found in picking up a book and discovering new worlds, fresh ideas or fascinating characters within its cover. For more than 30 years Wells Festival of Literature has attracted a wide range of writers, from novelists to scientists, politicians to poets, to come and inspire its audiences. 

And it doesn’t stop there as the Festival works year-round with local schools and colleges.  An exciting programme of author visits and classroom workshops all help youngsters to discover the joy of reading for themselves.

Established in 2014, WhitLit has built a large and loyal audience, drawn by its distinctive mix of high-quality literary events and its relaxed coastal setting. What began as an annual festival has evolved into a year-round programme, offering regular opportunities to engage with writers, ideas and storytelling in an intimate and welcoming environment.

Events throughout the year.

In its inaugural year, Whitby’s Literature Festival is a celebration of writing and authors, past and present, in many genres, including novels, short stories, plays and poetry, some of which have been inspired by Whitby along the way.

A ten-day literary celebration in Scotland's National Book Town. Our flagship event, Wigtown Book Festival welcomes international audiences and a prestigious cast of authors each year.

Founded in 1999, the festival is now one of the UK's best-loved literary events with over 200 events, including music, theatre, food and visual arts.

Wimbledon BookFest brings the very best of global art and culture to South London. Our annual festival takes place every October in central Wimbledon and attracts audience of 20,000, including over 100 author events. Our year-round schools programme reaches children’s from over 70 primary & secondary schools each year, including pupils facing the most disadvantage.

Co-founders Sophie Liardet and Sian Searles share an unwavering passion for bringing the most exciting and thought-provoking authors to Winchester—a city steeped in culture and the perfect setting for a world-class books festival.

Their bold vision and ambition for the Winchester Books Festival shines through their creative and forward-thinking partnerships.

Wirksworth Book Festival celebrates the joy of books.

The festival features national and local authors talking about their work. Genres include historical fiction, poetry, crime and the outdoors. There will also be writing workshops, drop-in craft activities and a poetry slam.

A two day festival where you can meet and listen to talks by authors of children’s books. Learn about the process of writing and have a lot of fun!

Wolverhampton Literature Festival is an annual event held on the first weekend of February, hosted by the City of Wolverhampton Council with funding support from Arts Council England.

The festival aims to amplify and celebrate the voices of authors, poets, writers, storytellers, and publishers from across the UK. Over the course of a weekend, the festival hosts a line up of well known authors & speakers alongside local writers, artists and creatives, coming together to celebrate art, culture and literacy within the city.

As a community-driven literary organisation,  the Worcestershire Literary Festival and Fringe CIC was established in  2010 with the goal of promoting literature and poetry in the region.  Inspired by the success of similar events in other cities, we saw an  opportunity to bring together writers, readers, and performers in  Worcestershire through a series of events and activities.

One  of our main objectives is to provide a platform for emerging talents to  showcase their work and connect with like-minded individuals. We do  this through regular open mic nights where anyone can sign up to read or  perform their work.

The book festival has been an important feature on the Keswick community calendar for 25 years. 2024 saw an exciting new adventure with Words by the Water in partnership with the independent Keswick bookshop, Bookends and Theatre by the Lake. The festival is a place to come together and share ideas, learn, discuss and discover.

The Wrexham Carnival of Words is an annual literature festival held in the city of Wrexham, North Wales, for one week at the end of April each year.

It's organised each year by an enthusiastic band of book addicts, each with their own knowledge, skills and expertise. Our mission has always been to deliver inspiring cultural experiences to Wrexham and its communities through a varied programme of events about books and reading. We incorporate every genre of literature and host events in both Welsh and English.

Also incorporates a children's festival.

We produce opportunities for writers and artists of all backgrounds to develop their skills and experiences, with a specific clear focus and remit to support Black, Asian and ethnically diverse creatives on their artistic journeys.

We also produce activities and events for people of all ages and backgrounds to learn about the heritage, culture and arts of diaspora communities, specifically Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people in the UK.

As Liverpool’s longest running writing and literary festival, Writing on the Wall (Wow) aims to put creativity, social justice and community at the heart of everything we do.

Writing is for everyone. It’s turning up, sharing our stories and creating change on the page. We host two annual literature festivals, WoWFEST in May and Black History Month in October, which welcome writers, activists and artists. All of our creative writing projects support our communities and schools all year long.

The Yeovil Literary Festival presents an exciting programme of literature, comedy and arts events from well-known literary figures, comedians, celebrities and exciting new writers. The festival is a not-for-profit partnership between The Octagon Theatre & Westlands Entertainment Venue(part of Yeovil Town Council), Waterstones, Yeovil Community Arts Association and Somerset Library Service.

The Festival prides itself on having a diverse range of events including talks, lectures, panels, debates, performances, storytelling pieces and workshops. It features both fiction (literary, contemporary and genre-based), non-fiction and poetry while focusing on a number of themes including history, current affairs and a small programme of events for children.

This year we are excited to announce events including Susanna Clarke, writer of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi; celebrated Irish writer Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul, Panenka and Ghost Mountain; writer, activist and journalist Laura Bates and Tim Minshall, Professor at the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, on an illuminating journey through the world of manufacturing and its transformational influence on our lives – and the world around us.