The Festivals

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).

A week of literature, music, spoken word and live performances.

Gŵyl Lên Llandeilo Lit Fest presents a rich and varied programme of authors, poets, playwrights, storytellers, artists and musicians, with events in both Welsh and English. It is one of the few festivals in Wales to embrace bilingual programming so fully, reflecting the diversity and vitality of Welsh cultural life.

Across the weekend, audiences can enjoy thought-provoking talks, poetry readings, live performances and interactive creative workshops. A vibrant children’s festival runs alongside the main programme, offering imaginative storytelling, hands-on making and playful creativity for young audiences and families.

Two days of FREE creative events for children and young people of all ages. There will be loads of hands-on art, craft and live performances.

HEA Fest is Europe's largest romance book festival,  bringing together the best parts of a traditional book signing and a  festival experience. Think Glastonbury, but for book lovers!

Spend  the weekend meeting your favourite authors, discovering new books,  chatting with fellow romance readers, attending panels and discussions,  browsing our pop-up bookshop, and so much more.

When  the signing day comes to an end, the festival continues. Enjoy live  music and entertainment, carnival games, fairground rides, and plenty of  opportunities to celebrate your love of books with thousands of other  romance readers, all the way through until 11pm.

The  event takes place at the iconic Aintree Racecourse, home to one of the  world's most famous sporting events, the Grand National, providing a  truly unforgettable setting for a weekend dedicated to romance books and  the community that loves them.

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.

The third annual Reading Minds weekend of wellbeing through books is organised by Helensburgh Community Hub, Jean’s Bothy mental health hub and Helensburgh and Lomond Carers Centre.

A festival spokesperson said: “This year’s Helensburgh Book Festival features more events and big name authors as we become established on the Scottish book festival calendar, so we are really excited that writers like Chris Brookmyre and Jenny Colgan are coming to our town.

“But at its heart the weekend is about people connecting over books, chatting to each other and eating cake while listening to fascinating discussions on topics as wide as men’s mental health, fantasy fiction, poetry and more.”

Join us in Helmsley for a highly entertaining weekend with writers, theatre and music, finishing with a literary quiz night!

One of the UK's leading literary festivals with pop-up events in addition throughout the year.

Discover the Hereford Military History Festival, a unique event celebrating the power of storytelling in understanding war, conflict and military heritage.

Now in it's 7th year, The Hertford Literary Festival is one of Hertford's best kept secrets. Set in the beautiful English country garden of The Hertford Club, our two-day event is an intimate affair, celebrating the art of spoken word, poetry, writing and music.

Over the years we have had some incredible (and some pretty well known) guests join us - each with their own unique story to tell.

The Herts Book Festival is an annual festival for the benefit of the people in Hertfordshire. Our county is home to dozens of authors. Hertford and Ware alone account for more than 22 book clubs, at least 15 booksellers, two amazing libraries and tens of thousands of potential readers.

We are a small committee of volunteer multi-taskers. We believe in the power of strong community spirit. And we love books.

Drawing our inspiration from the number of talented published authors we have on our doorstep, the Herts Book Festival is a free event for people of all reading ages and abilities – because we believe books are for everyone.

We’re currently working on an inspiring and thought-provoking programme and we can’t wait to share it with you!

2026 also marks the twentieth year of the festival, so we hope you’ll join us to mark this milestone.

LitOct is Southlands Arts Centre’s month‑long literary festival, running throughout October. We specialise in intimate, salon‑style events – small rooms, close conversation, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere where audiences can meet writers up close. Our programme brings together novelists, poets, memoirists and cultural thinkers for one‑night‑only evenings of readings, discussion and Q&A. With only around thirty seats per event, each salon is designed to feel personal, thoughtful and immersive.

We promote a love of books and reading to all children and teens using a wide range of national and local authors tailored to the interests of local children and have a strong focus on accessibility so that wherever possible children are not disadvantaged by cost or additional needs.