The Festivals

Just when you think the Morpeth Book  Festival can’t get any better another one comes along to prove you wrong! The fourth editoin of the event takes place in March with a fantastic line up. See you there!

Nairn Book and Arts Festival is the annual celebration of literature, art, music, drama and film in the Scottish Highlands. Staged in the historic seaside town of Nairn on the beautiful Moray Firth, each year the festival presents a unique and innovative programme of events. 

Starting in 2017 as a two-day event that brought authors, illustrators and readers together, Newark Book Festival is now a firm favourite and a cultural highlight in the Market Town's annual calendar! A rich and diverse collection of events for everyone who loves a good story, whether it’s fantasy and fiction, crime and thriller, history, nature, music or comedy. 

We do hope you can join us to celebrate another international crime fiction festival of deliciously dark criminal delights in the Toon!

In conjunction with our long-standing partner in crime Newcastle City Library, we have brought together a fine range of author panels featuring 40 local, national and international authors, including Mari Hannah, Trevor Wood, Kate Rhodes, Martin Edwards, Nina Bhadreshwar and Ørjan Karlsson.

In addition, on Friday evening, we’re hosting a fabulous proof-drop at the Tyneside Coffee Rooms celebrating Sunday Times bestselling author Essie Fox’s dazzling, unforgettable new novel (this event is free but tickets must be booked via Eventbrite).

Established in 2014, Noirwich explores, interrogates and promotes progressive and inclusive crime writing, in person and online.

Noirwich is about the reading and the writing of crime fiction, the critical study and practical application. We explore how this most dynamic of genres works and where it is going, thanks to our unique connection with the University of East Anglia’s Creative Writing department, and the British Archive for Contemporary Writing.

Noirwich is part of a vibrant, world-leading crime writing studies ecosystem, centred at UEA. The part-time MA Crime Fiction is taught online, through flexible and specially designed modules that can work around your schedule. The online elements are supplemented with three short, high-intensity residential periods a year.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a charity (no. 1164424) and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. Made up of one of the country’s longest running arts festivals and a region-wide programme of creative engagement that particularly focuses on improving the cultural offer for children and young people.

For 17 days each May, the Festival transforms our public spaces, city streets, performance venues, parks, forests and beaches, bringing people together to experience the same brilliant and inspirational events. The flagship arts festival for the East of England, our world-class programme spans music, theatre, literature, visual arts, circus, dance and free outdoor events.

We bring some of this festival spirit to our year-round work where we collaborate with communities, schools and artists to bring outstanding events and projects that provide inspiration and nurture creativity in those who need our support most.

A literary feast for all on the beautiful North Cornish coast.

The North Cornwall Book Festival is Endelienta Arts’ annual literary festival, curated this year by author Tiffany Murray. This intimate weekend-long event includes author events, live music, workshops, an art exhibition, a local artisan market and an ever-popular pop-up café.

Welcome to North London Book Festival 2026 – a vibrant literary gathering featuring debut and iconic authors across multiple stages at Alexandra Palace. Expect an inspiring mix of readings, panel discussions, Q&As, workshops, and book signings. It’s a true marketplace of stories for every genre and every reader.

Throughout the festival, you can mingle with your favourite authors, get books signed, and network with fellow readers and writers. Enjoy readings over a bite to eat and a glass of wine.

Since 2013 this unique festival has taken place in libraries and schools across the North East. Over two weeks the festival connects over 100 schools and more than 1200 children and young people with some of the UK’s top writers and illustrators to inspire, engage and ignite a passion for reading.

Delivered by the University of Sheffield, Off the Shelf Festival of Words is one of the most vibrant literary festivals in the North, bringing the best in local, national and international literary talent to Sheffield.Every autumn, Sheffield bursts into life, becoming a vibrant hub for literature and ideas as Off the Shelf Festival of Words takes centre stage.  Prepare to be captivated by an extraordinary line up of live events, offering you the unique opportunity to connect with celebrated authors, artists, and media personalities.

Off the Shelf isn’t just a festival; it’s a cornerstone of South Yorkshire’s cultural landscape. We’re dedicated to bringing you face-to-face with some of the most influential voices shaping our world, forging connections and inspiring new perspectives.

The Orcadian Story Trust was formed in 2000, and – after a break of a few years – has been reawakened to promote and encourage storytelling in Orkney.

The aim of the Trust is to preserve, promote and develop the traditional culture of the Orkney islands through stories and storytellers, and to offer events that are underpinned by a strong local representation and enhanced by visiting storytellers. We also try to preserve and record material that may otherwise be lost to future generations.

Although the main focus of the Trust is on storytelling, we also work to draw together traditional strands of Orkney culture such as music, song, art, dance and drama. Furthermore, we aim to nurture global cultural connections, and support and encourage the storytelling activities of indigenous cultures throughout the world, in particular linking to areas such as Scandinavia, Scotland and Ireland.

Oundle Festival of Literature hosts literary events throughout the year, in the picturesque market town of Oundle, Northants. Our annual programme showcases a diverse range of speakers from within the literary arts; from big name authors, to academics, early career and local authors, with speakers from across the fiction and non-fiction spectrum.

​

During March, we host our annual KidLit Festival around World Book Day. Daily events in local schools, and other venues around the town, feature top children's authors covering every age group from reception to year 6.

For 28 years the Oxford Literary Festival has been committed to freedom of speech, debate and diversity, maintaining a tradition of courteous dialogue, allowing for contentious and difficult subjects to be publicly discussed and examined.

The Oxford Literary Festival is a place where intellectual curiosity is nurtured and standards are set. It is conceived as a platform for dialogue, where the big ideas of the world can be freely debated in an intellectual but congenial atmosphere. Attendees are given access to some of the world’s leading thinkers, and the opportunity to question and debate with them. In an era when there is an increasing desire to shut down free speech, the festival is a platform for free expression.

Thousands of people enjoyed Paisley Book Festival 2025 – with events including enthralling sessions with top Scottish writers and poets to family fun activities and an entertaining schools programme.

Thanks to all who supported us. It was a fantastic festival – and we’re looking forward to doing it all again in 2026. We can’t wait to see you there!

The Pentlands Book Festival is an annual festival with talks by local authors held in local venues. It runs each autumn and coincides with Book Week Scotland and is organised by local people for the community in conjunction with Currie and Colinton Libraries.

Our mission is to entertain our audiences and nurture a love of reading and books in the local community. Since 2010, Penzance LitFest has delivered a diverse programme of events from music to mystery, humour to history, and poetry to performance art. Famous faces, new local writers, and our renowned writing workshops have all surprised and delighted our audiences.

Covering the widest range of literary genres, the Petworth Literary Festival welcomes some of the biggest names in fiction, politics and current affairs, the natural world, culture and lifestyle

The Phoenix is a weekly magazine for 7–14 year olds that’s packed with incredible comics, drawing guides, and plenty more that inspires kids to get reading, writing, and drawing!

Get ready for a weekend packed with comics, creativity and family fun. Meet the creators of kids’ top comics – including Jamie Smart from the #1 bestselling Bunny vs Monkey series – and enjoy interactive live shows, hands-on workshops and comic signings.

Play on Words celebrates everything to do with the spoken and written word. Join us for poetry & jazz, ghost stories, spoken word, creative walks, a sci-fi fantasy quiz night, comic creating, writer development and much, much more in New Milton, Lymington and across the Forest.

Portobello Book Festival was started by a group of local people who are interested in books and wanted to share their enthusiasm. It takes place each year over the first full weekend in October.

Our festival is based on the principle that everything is free and nobody is paid. That has been possible, partly, because of our fruitful collaboration with the local library, where many of the events are held. Events usually take place in various venues, and we try to make sure there is something for everyone.