The Festivals

Recognised nationally and internationally as one of the UK’s leading arts festivals, Buxton International Festival is a summer celebration of the very best opera, music and literature at the heart of the beautiful Peak District.

Cambridge Literary Festival is a much-loved and regular highlight drawing large audiences from Cambridge and the rest of the UK.

Thousands of wordsmiths, writers and authors have graced our festival stages and have enthralled, entertained, educated and sometimes enraged our audiences. We now welcome over 350 writers and speakers to Cambridge each year and stage events that cover a huge variety of topics.

We debate current issues, present the literary greats alongside debut writers, host scientists, artists, politicians, comedians, historians, journalists, poets, and a vibrant programme of events for our younger audiences.

What Do We Do?

* Bring you an exciting programme of events celebrating storytelling in all its forms.

* Look for ways to engage with children and teens of all ages, seeking to connect with them on their wavelength and inspire the ways that they learn

* There are so many different ways to enjoy stories, through books, audiobooks, storytelling, treasure hunts and in ever increasing digital ways too - we want to explore all of them with you in our festival.

* Utilise the rich variety of venues across the city of Canterbury to provide different types of events

* Involve bookshops and local businesses​

* Have fun!

Capital Crime is one of the world’s largest celebrations of crime and thriller fiction. We invite you and all the best creatives, writers we all love to read, filmmakers we all love to watch to spend two days in our Capital together; delivering a packed schedule of entertaining and thought-provoking events.

We know what counts in the best crime and thriller fiction – engaging characters, a believable storyline, gripping plots, with endings that leave you begging for more. And we know that you want to meet these amazing creatives. So we’ve created this festival just for you. Meet the authors and filmmakers you love and discover new ones.

Cardiff's dedicated literature festival for children is an exciting and fun-filled event aimed at budding bookworms from ages 3-12. Since the first edition in 2013, our festival has sought to entertain young people and enthuse them about the magic of reading with a playful programme of family friendly authors, illustrators, and workshops.

Our biennial Literary Festivals have been held in Chalfont St Giles since 2006 and we look forward to welcoming you to The Chilterns for the next festival. Events take place in some of our oldest and most interesting buildings. You are welcome to visit for a few days. We have a choice of top-class restaurants and inns, as well as a varied selection of everyday and gift shops, right here in our picturesque village!

Set in the heart of the stunning Wiltshire countryside, the Chalke History Festival – the UK’s leading celebration of history – will return from 22nd to 28th June 2026 to bring the past vividly to life through a rich programme of top-class talks, wide-ranging discussions, striking performances and dynamic living history experiences.

A hugely popular annual event, attracting large numbers of visitors from home and abroad, Chalke is a celebration of curiosity, critical thinking and the power of storytelling, bringing together many of the world’s most respected historians, authors and thinkers to explore the people, events and ideas that have shaped our world. 

From ancient civilisations to modern global history, the festival offers audiences of all ages the chance to engage directly with history’s biggest stories, the debates they continue to inspire today, and an opportunity to meet expert historians face-to-face in an informal, festival atmosphere. All the time experiencing the very best local food, drink, live music and the chance to camp under the stars or chat with fellow history buffs around an open fire.

Bold voices and brilliant minds share stories, spark ideas and make sense of our ever-changing world over two weeks at Charleston Farmhouse, home of the Bloomsbury set.

Cheltenham Literature Festival is the world’s longest-running literature Festival, leading the way in celebrating the written and spoken word, presenting the best new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats and high-profile speakers.

This annual nine-day festival brings acclaimed poets and rising stars to  venues around the Regency town of Cheltenham in a programme of  readings, workshops, performances and open mics.

Established in 2023, the Chesham Literary Festival is a vibrant celebration of writers and poets from the local area and beyond.  Each year, 'ChesLitFest' organises a variety of creative workshops, readings, writing competitions and performances, designed to inspire and entertain. It also has a regular podcast.

We are delighted to announce the first ever Cheshire Crime Writers Festival!

The two day festival will bring you all things literary crime, murder mystery, police procedural, cozy crime and more. 38 authors over two days with talks, book signing and a chance to socialise with hundreds of atedees at the festival.

The festival includes best-selling authors, broadcasters, poets, performers and more, alongside workshops, performances lectures and storytelling throughout the festival.

The festival invites audiences to explore the power and joy of reading and libraries.

Chiltern Kills is the single most intense one day of crime & thriller writing entertainment, with many of the biggest names in crime writing & celeb moderators, all together with @centrepointuk to help young people escape and avoid homelessness.

Chipping Campden Literature Festival was founded in 2010 by Vicky Bennett, and since that time has become renowned for presenting a series of thought provoking, original, and wide-ranging events featuring some of the world's greatest writers.

Our 2026 programme featuring events, many moderated by experienced journalists and practitioners, on the written and spoken word: play script; memoir; biography; fiction; non-fiction; poetry; and translation.

Ever since the first Chiswick Book Festival in 2009, we’ve been bringing together top authors and their readers for a week of history, poetry, biography, creative writing, fiction, thrillers, food, wine, politics and children’s books.

Chorlton’s annual celebration of all the best reading and writing. There’ll be the usual mix of fiction, fact, history, poetry, family fun and er…. cake!

This year's 10th Anniversary edition of the Clapham Book Festival will take place at the Omnibus Theatre Clapham.

Organised by Clapham Writers, a registered charitable organisation., the festival brings books and writing to Clapham through an annual festival and online Zoom talks, as well as raising income from local sponsors and public donations to present free events at Clapham Library and elsewhere.

The LitFest will be a destination for quality cultural offerings for everyone here in Clevedon, for our visitors, and for the residents of North Somerset and Bristol.

Enhancing and enriching our community, bringing a greater sense of connection and belonging, as well as individual wellbeing.

Clifton LitFest - a weekend of discussion, ideas and stories in the heart of Bristol, presented by Friends of Clifton Centre and Library (FoCCaL)