The Festivals

Portsmouth BookFest 2026 returns from 16th February to 8th March, celebrating the power of stories and the joy of reading across the city. This year’s festival promises an exciting mix of author talks, workshops, performances, and community events. 

We'll be marking the centenary of Portsmouth born comedian Peter Sellers, celebrating 50 years of punk, and presenting a range of events from politics to sports heroes to events for children. Whether you're a lifelong book lover or a curious newcomer, BookFest offers something for everyone—uniting readers, writers, and thinkers in a vibrant celebration of books and ideas.

Our female-led literary festival is for the curious and the open-minded. We are writers and readers, rebels and restless, feminists, thinkers and dreamers. Our empowered community is for people of all genders and backgrounds and people with both seen and unseen disabilities. Primadonna’s packed festival programme promotes inclusivity and our stellar line-up proudly demonstrates diversity.

Push the Boat Out is an award-winning arts festival with a focus on poetry, which forms a unique and vital part of Scotland’s arts ecology. Fresh, vibrant and innovative, it strives to increase the diversity of poetry – in form, cross-artform pollination, voices platformed and who feels welcome as audiences and participants. Its mission is to bring artists, audiences and participants together to access, create, celebrate and make meaning through vibrant contemporary poetry and related artforms, both at an annual festival and via a year-round programme, with a strong community engagement element.

As one of only two poetry festivals in Scotland, we are inspired by the vibrancy of contemporary poetry, lyrics and spoken word from Scotland, the UK, and beyond. We aim to give poetry a new platform, creating an environment where all variations of this vital art form can grow, evolve and collide. We explore inventive ways to bring poetry and audiences together, challenging perceptions of what poetry is, how it can be enjoyed and who it is for.

Queen’s Park Book Festival is a vibrant and exciting celebration of literary arts in the heart of London. An area with deep literary history, Queen's Park has been a home to authors, artists, poets and actors for generations. Every year authors are welcomed by thousands of audience members for a weekend of events in the beautiful park.

We celebrate great writing and leading thinkers, sharing stories to as wide an audience as possible with a diverse programme designed to entertain, inspire, educate, challenge and amuse. Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival is recognised for championing up-and-coming talent along with attracting best-selling authors, politicians, historians, journalists, comedians and stars of the screen.

There’s just something about animal lovers and books! Whether you’re into thrillers, romance, historical, non-fiction or children’s literature, there’s really something to satisfy the interests of every type of reader, as well as the opportunity for budding authors to get advice from incredible established names, and new authors who are just coming through.

Halesworth Bookshop are kindly joining us on site and of course, no event at Redwings would be complete without meeting some of our rescued residents.

A weekend of curated, eclectic arts events spread over three days in early July. Founded in 2017, we’ve come a long way since our first festival, building on our initial success by adding more artists, new events and new venues within our beautiful historic location. 

Be inspired: meet celebrated authors, discover new ones and engage in a full programme of morning and evening book events.

Be invigorated: explore the beautiful Northern Dales in autumn - enjoy daily walks for amblers, ramblers and serious walkers led by friendly guides, keen to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the Dales.

We have a great selection of graded walks to choose from each day, you can embark on an ambitious climb one day and enjoy an historical stroll the next. Some of the talks may relate to the local area you're visiting and some may take you off in into completely different subjects.  There are also often more participatory events such as a Poetry Open Mic and Book Club discussions.

Enjoy 10 inspiring panels with Sunday Times bestselling authors, award-winning writers and publishing professionals, covering everything from live pitching to romantasy and book marketing. Book 1-2-1s with agents and editors, or join editors for afternoon tea at the Russell-Cotes Museum. The lively Author Marketplace, beach walks, yoga, and literary tours are all included. 

VIP packages feature a Friday masterclass and dinner with Katie Fforde, two nights’ seaview accommodation, spa access, and VIP seating (deadline tonight). The festival concludes with an evening networking reception with the Mayor of Bournemouth. Join us - write by the sea!

Our Festival is Rye’s principal annual arts event. It has developed over the past 54 years into one of the most successful and respected small festivals of its kind, dedicated to high quality performances in music, literature, theatre and other art forms, coupled with a range of activities in heritage and the environment.

The Scottish International Storytelling Festival explores Scotland’s northern identity, sharing tales, songs and myths from the world’s northern arc, which bridges Finland to Iceland and connects Germany to Norway, with Scotland in between.

Over 11 days, some of the North’s most celebrated storytellers will join leading voices from Scotland to bring a feast of world-class storytelling, music, workshops, and shared experiences to Edinburgh and venues across Scotland.

The theme 'Reading the Land' is an invitation to share in the passion, experience and insight of our authors as we explore the best of nature writing. We bring togethers authors for whom our natural world has significance, whether through observation, participation or experience.

​

We hope to stimulate positive ways of living with nature, and encourage the audience to share our passion for the landscapes, coasts, and flora and fauna.

While our horizons may have drawn in, travel writers have continued to reach out, rediscovering and reinterpreting the world for a new age. The Sherborne Travel Writing Festival was the first travel literature festival to be held in the UK for many years and has developed its own unique character.

At its heart is the idea – and the timely theme – of empathy.

​

'Travel writers are bridge builders, venturing out into the world to understand different peoples, cultures and times. Empathy lies at the heart of our work, and the fundamental belief that through better understanding others we can better counter the division and isolation of the present day,'

writes festival founder and curator Rory MacLean.

Shetland Noir is back, celebrating all things crime writing over 4 days in June 2026, with a programme packed full of internationally known writer events, workshops and panel discussions.

The festival will return to Mareel from the 11th-14th June 2026, bringing Shetland’s unique voice to the global stage of crime writing, with a programme packed full of author talks, workshops, panel discussions and special events.

Join us for our exciting festival of words featuring creative writing workshops, literary talks, theatrical performances, nature walks, and musical entertainment in the heart of Shoreham-by-Sea.

The Small Publishers Fair is the annual gathering of books by writers, artists, poets, musicians, book designers and their publishers. It takes place in London’s historic Conway Hall, centre of humanism and literary Bloomsbury. Admission is FREE.

Throughout 2026 South Downs Poetry Festival, SDPF, is an annual pop-up festival which – uniquely – spans many miles: the length and breadth of the beautiful South Downs National Park and the surrounding area. The festival is organised by Focus Arts. 

Key dates are: Thursday 25 June 7.30pm for The Poetry and Jazz Cafe with Kate Noakes and Martyn Crucefix in the Assembly Room, Chichester; Tuesday 7 July 7pm for Poetry and Music in the Novium Museum; Friday 17 July 3pm for The Skylark and the City with Linda-Kelsall Barnett (guitar) and Barry Smith (words) in St John's Chapel.

St Andrew’s Book Festival is brought to you by Scots in London, an umbrella organisation for Scottish cultural societies, sports clubs, alumni groups, charities, churches and the Scottish military in London. The Scots in London mission is to co-ordinate our members’ events, promote Scottish heritage, culture and the arts in the London area, and to support relevant charities, as well as running events of our own.