The Festivals

Each year the irrepressibly curious Essex Book Festival hosts over 100 author and artist events, workshops, performances and walks in 40+ venues across Essex. 

Extending from Layer Marney Tower near Colchester, one of Henry VIII's favourite Tudor palaces; The Gibberd Garden, a hidden gem tucked away on the edge of Harlow; Albert Sloman Library at the University of Essex, a shining light of  20th Century Brutalist architecture; Grays Library in Thurrock; Hot Box Live music venue and bar wedged under the Chelmsford viaduct, and new for 2026, Colchester Community Football Ground, Essex Book Festival's mission is to take authors and audiences on an unforgettable month-long odyssey around one of the UK's most fascinating counties. 

As festival patron and award-winning author Sarah Perry says, "Essex Book Festival takes the books to the people, rather than making the people come to the books." Come and join in the fun.

At Falmouth Book Festival there’s something for everyone: renowned authors in conversation; high energy poetry readings; children's events at local schools; and interactive workshops.

Funded by Farnham Town Council and organised by the Blue Bear Bookshop, we are delighted to also be offering a rich programme for local schools. 

The festival is a celebration of Farnham itself, our wonderful community hubs and interesting buildings, with more venues in use than ever before. Whether you are a seasoned literary festivalgoer or a first timer, come and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere as you listen to great author talks, panels, readings and performances.

Started in 2018 Faversham Literary Festival offers a week-long programme that is eclectic, thought-provoking and fun, with jam-packed events and plenty of rabble-rousing energy! It offers an exciting mix of well-known authors, leading thinkers, up-and-coming writers, and local talent, plus writing competitions for all ages, workshops, spoken word, slam poetry, children's and family events. The quality and scope of the programme is what gets us excited and makes it a festival that people want to come to.

The festival contributes to local charities and has made donations to Abbey Physic Community Garden, Faversham Community Boat Build and Cinque Ports Rowing, Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group, and others. We run a schools' outreach programme with creative competitions for children and students, providing books for school libraries and offering opportunities for young adults to get involved.

Launched in 2013 Felixstowe Book Festival is a celebration of “Books by the Sea”.

Authors and audiences love this festival’s unique intimate, welcoming atmosphere. They appreciate the chance to combine a weekend packed with author events with seafood suppers, walks along the prom with its colourful beach huts (said to be the oldest in the country), a wander in the award winning seafront gardens and even a bracing swim.

Author events are followed by book signings and the chance to meet a favourite author. There’s a mix of genres, fiction, non fiction and poetry and events for children. You can meet  very well known, award winning fiction authors and also get the chance to discover debut writers. We are joined by experts who can talk knowledgeably and absorbingly about the environment, politics, history, science, art, economics and more.

A month-long celebration of the arts running in June and July each year, bringing a glittering series of around 100 events to the city, from concerts to theatre through to a whole range of talks, poetry and guided walks.

Our event plays a crucial role in fostering a sense of community and promoting a love for literature. The fact that it’s managed by volunteers from the Fishbourne area adds a special touch, as it demonstrates the dedication and commitment of local residents to creating a vibrant cultural space.

We're excited to announce the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words, a major new cultural initiative for this western side of the City of London, with a programme of leading authors spanning multiple genres. Fleet Street Quarter is an area steeped in the heritage of literature and publishing, a place where stories have always been born.

The Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words will spotlight this storied history whilst exploring the ability of words to shape our world. From the ways that words can shift the balance of power, through the control of words by censorship or through freedom of speech, to the shift in communication and knowledge driven by technology and AI, the themes that the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words will explore have never been more relevant or important.

Creative writing with, for and by women, the festival is a celebration of women writers over 50. Two days of inspiring workshops and thought-provoking panel discussions in Brighton and Crawley.

This boutique annual festival is Britain’s only traveling Literary Festival. The next Garden Museum Literary Festival will take place at Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June 2026, hosted by the Marquis and Marchioness of Lothian. With sweeping lawns, charming avenues, and captivating vistas, Melbourne Hall is a true treasure of early 18th-century English garden design.

Join us for two days of conversation and inspiration, with talks by garden designers, writers and makers celebrating the best in garden writing and what inspires us in gardens, with plenty of time to explore the gardens at Melbourne Hall in between.

In four short years the Festival has established itself as an important and joyous fixture in the town calendar. The events and activities are ever more impressive, with famous names, new voices and exciting opportunities all packed into an incredible weekend.

Thanks to the imagination and drive of a dedicated team of local volunteers, the Festival’s contribution to the social life of Girvan has grown. Throughout the year a host of exciting projects will link communities, delight audiences and inspire real cultural growth.

Gladfest brings together beloved local voices, emerging talent, and passionate readers for an intimate weekend of stories and conversation. 

Think fireside musical performances, thoughtful events, and meaningful moments between writers and their audiences.

We run an annual celebration of zine culture and a weekend-long programme of DIY arts events.

Glasgow Zine Library believes in the radical power of DIY culture. Established first as a small festival run by two pals in 2013, GZL is now a charity, a self-publishing library and community arts space in Govanhill, Glasgow. GZL is the largest independent zine library in the UK with an international collection of over 4,000 zines. We welcome around 9,000 people each year, across over 150 events, delivered in partnership with hundreds of artists. We are run by a small dedicated local team with the support of over 60 volunteers.

Zines (self-published magazines) are part of the rich history of radical self-publishing. They are small-scale publications that can be made by anyone. Often they are the only records of subcultures, countercultures, and alternative movements. Zines are used for creative expression and to share information, distribute resources and build community – on topics from fan culture to social justice. GZL was founded to preserve these stories, create opportunities to tell new ones, and celebrate DIY arts culture and zine heritage.

Granite Noir is inspired by the incredible popularity of crime fiction in all its forms, by the fantastic contribution that Scottish writers make, by our love affair with Nordic Noir, on the page and on screen, and most of all inspired by Aberdeen, which is the perfect backdrop for the festival – steeped in history, atmospheric, quirky and with a strong sense of place.

DARE TO BE THERE!

Granite Noir is produced and curated by Aberdeen Performing Arts.

The Guernsey Literary Festival is one of the highlights of the island’s arts calendar bringing some of the world’s greatest writers, speakers and thinkers to Guernsey. With events for all interests and ages, the Festival is a unique opportunity to come together to celebrate the written word.

The festival attracts speakers from a wide range of disciplines, from literature to politics, from history to sport, from the environment to food, from biography to travel. We also organise a full education and community programme, together with workshops for local writers with renowned visiting authors.

Discovered by writers like Victor Hugo and Mervyn Peake, the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s beauty and history makes it the perfect literary travel destination.

Annual festival of books and ideas in Guildford.

Crime Cymru is the brainchild of Alis Hawkins, whose idea it was to bring the crime writers of Wales together for a mutually supportive group in 2016. But after discussions with fellow crime writers Matt Johnson and Rosie Claverton, in 2017 Crime Cymru was officially born with a much more ambitious remit – not only to support each other but to develop new crime writers and to take Welsh crime writing to the world! From that meeting onwards, the membership grew steadily and the group now has 40 published crime writing members and more than 30 associate members (as of 2025).

The Hastings Book Festival celebrates writers and lovers of the written word - a welcoming and open place for everyone. Our first festival took place in August 2018, and has now become a regular and welcomed event on the local calendar.

Every book, story and person is unique -  very much like Hastings  - and the festival will give you the time and freedom to pause, think, connect, and be inspired.

The Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival (HULF) is a series of public events celebrating books and reading. Founded by local author Debbie Young, it is now a permanent fixture in the Cotswolds’ cultural calendar.

HULF was originally launched in 2015 on World Book Night (Shakespeare’s birthday), the global celebration of books and reading that is focused on readers rather than authors. Its purpose was to provide an enjoyable and inclusive literary event for the local community, but soon grew to become a major event in multiple venues around the village attracting speakers and audience members from a very wide radius, including France and Australia.

One of the world’s leading cultural charities, Hay Festival was founded in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1987, providing audiences with dynamic platforms to come together to share ideas, different perspectives and provoke conversations that can create a better world. 

As part of its mission, Hay Festival works year-round in the UK and around the world to offer free access to events for audiences in need, including successful engagement programmes for young people, reaching more than 15,000 pupils annually.