The Festivals

Deepings Literary Festival is a 4-day event which is part of the South Kesteven District Council’s festivals and events calendar.

Our programme runs at venues throughout the Deepings, with a fabulous mix of entertaining and informative sessions.

Run by Spread the Word in collaboration with independent creative producer Tom MacAndrew, Deptford Literature Festival celebrates the diversity and creativity of Deptford and Lewisham through words, stories and performance. It is a festival with the local community and accessibility at its heart.

Our Festival programme is aimed at appealing to all ages and interests with a range of events, including some with a particular Derby resonance, with themes including railways, science, local history and architecture, cycling, walking, birding, cricket - and even real ale.

We pride ourselves on presenting a broad, diverse programme which attracts internationally renowned writers, poets, historians, politicians, broadcasters, illustrators, storytellers and musicians, whilst also providing support and opportunities for local authors and those taking their first steps towards publishing.

In addition to our two annual Festivals, our work also includes our year-round community programme with three main strands: Shared Reading, Shared Writing and our Schools programme. These enable us to share the joy of books and reading with school children, refugees and asylum speakers, disadvantaged young people, people in residential care and those accessing our city’s libraries.

Set up by writers, and with more than 40 events covering a wide range of subjects spread over an action-packed week in a glorious county town, the Dorchester Literary Festival aims to provide something for all tastes in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.  

If you're interested in  history, science, politics, memoir, health and the natural world, or cosy crime, or poetry, or  brilliant fiction, there'll be something to tempt you. Since it started 12 years ago the festival has showcased many leading writers, thinkers and high-profile celebs and has become established as an unmissable cultural beacon among the literary festivals of the south west.

The annual Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival was founded in 2022 and has gone from strength to strength in that time, bringing a wide range of highly-acclaimed authors of all genres to share their books, their writing and their ideas with diverse and ever-increasing audiences from across the South West. The festival is held over a long weekend in a number of venues around this charming market town, which is also known as the Gateway to Exmoor.

Audiences have said how much they enjoy the fascinating thought-provoking programme each year, and feel inspired and enlightened by the author talks. 

The feedback from the 2025 festival was phenomenal, with audience members and speakers describing it as a “tour de force” and an “impressive and inspiring literary weekend - a gem in Exmoor’s crown”. With the inaugural Festival Schools Day added to the programme in 2025, the event now achieves its core aim to offer ‘an Exmoor festival for story-lovers of all ages’.

For ten glorious days of performance, literature, music, talks, family events and visual arts across Dulwich and surrounding areas.

Whatever you’re into, whatever your mood, we’ve got you covered!

For one long buzzing autumn weekend, Durham invites you to celebrate the transformative power of words.

Get ready to be challenged, inspired, entertained, and swept away as some of the hottest names in books descend on the city.

With over 25 events across three days, delve into history, humour, poetry, and philosophy.

The UK’s award-winning East and South East Asian literary festival  returns to Foyles Charing Cross Road on Saturday 19 September 2026 for a  day of conversation, panels, workshops, and book signings

Ealing has a long and rich literary history. Many celebrated authors have connections to the area and to this day Ealing remains home to a large community of writers.

Ealing Book Festival grew out of a desire to establish an annual celebration of literature that enables authors - both from across the borough and elsewhere - to showcase and discuss their work, whilst allowing audiences of all ages to connect with fellow book lovers and explore Ealing’s vibrant literary scene.

The East Riding Libraries team brings you popular and new authors from near and far, for events and talks that can be thrilling, cosy, and sometimes fantastical! With loads of authors, activities, and games for you to get involved with, this is sure to be the best weekend you'll have had so far this year - we might be a bit biased though...

Events take place across East Riding Libraries and other local venues. 

A vibrant gathering of readers, writers, and thinkers of all ages, coming together to explore the transformative power of literature in the most beautiful town on the South Coast. More than just a celebration of books—it's  an immersive experience where stories come alive, ideas flourish, and communities are built.

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is a charity which exists to celebrate and share the power of writers, their ideas, and the words they craft to illuminate, challenge, and inspire.

The fair will be made up of book stalls, activist stalls, events, workshops and more. Ranging from topics such as the cost of living crisis, effective activism, queer ecology, lives in protest and prison, feminist utopias, fighting the rise of the right and much more.  There will also be plenty of joy-giving performances and word-smithery and a community meal!

The Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival is a new literary festival celebrating writing for, by, and about women.

We are an inclusive event and welcome everyone who finds joy in reading women's fiction - commercial, romance, historical, literary, book club and beyond.

Our festival showcases authors of genres that are often overlooked, and our aim is to give readers the opportunity to connect with their favourite writers.

Dive into NEW challenges, BRILLIANT author events, EXCITING content and so much more! Hosting live events online as well as pre recorded events ready to watch on demand!

We believe empathy is a beacon of hope in a divided world. We are the first organisation to build children’s empathy and social activism through a systematic use of high-quality literature. Our strategy is based on scientific evidence showing that empathy is learnable and that books are a powerful tool to build it.

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.

Whatever your interest – writing, reading, author talks and interviews, meeting like-minded folk – the Festival really does offer something for everyone, with an exciting and varied programme at numerous locations in and around Evesham.

Also have events throughout the year.

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.