The Festivals
* Genres are for dedicated festivals only. All festivals may have an element of these.
Linton Children’s Book Festival
16-17th May 2026
Since 2006, we have been inspiring young readers from the village of Linton and surrounding communities in South Cambridgeshire. Our biennial festival is packed with FREE fun activities for children aged 2-12: creative workshops, storytelling, presentations by favourite authors, poets and illustrators, hands-on arts & crafts, music…and so much more!
Linton
Cambridgeshire
England
LitFest - Lancaster
2027 TBC
Litfest is a volunteer board-run organisation operating in Lancaster and the surrounding areas. Originally founded in 1978, we’re the UK’s third-oldest literary festival!
We put on a full festival programme every year, and we’re also involved in a whole host of other events and projects. We’ve been lucky to have lots of exciting authors, poets and illustrators involved with the festival over the years, and we can’t wait to continue that legacy in the future.
Lancaster
Lancashire
England
Literary Leicester
2027 TBC
Literary Leicester is the University’s annual free literary festival, open to all. Brought to you by the School of Arts, Media and Communication and the Centre for New Writing, the festival hosts events at the university and right across the city, in cinemas, theatres, community halls, schools and more.
Since 2008, up to 5,000 attendees a year join us to participate in events with Booker Prize winners, celebrated cultural commentators, novelists, poets, historians, biographers and much more. We discuss important, fun and fascinating contemporary topics across a wide range of subjects. In our multicultural city, our ongoing themes include inclusivity, diversity and accessibility. We are a festival for everyone.
Leicester University
Leicester, Leicestershire
England
Little Felton Book Festival
2027 TBC
Four days. One village. Many stories.
What began as an idea has become something we look forward to all year. Familiar faces. New voices. Conversations that stay with you long after the last chair is stacked.
A Childrens day alongside it.
Little Felton
Northumberland
England
London Children’s Literature Festival
27 - 28 June 2026
Because we believe that every child should have the opportunity to experience live literature we’re very proud of the fact that we use the income from every ticket you buy to provide the largest free literature festival schools programme in the UK and this year we’ll provide over 21,000 places at our awesome author and illustrator events free for state primary schools all over London. We’re for love, not profit, all the way.
Barnes is put on by families for families so we’re 100% committed to making sure your tribe has an amazing time. As well as bringing you all your favourite authors and illustrators, we’re always pushing the boundaries of traditional literature festivals to create loads more space for the family-friendliest fun.
At Barnes we programme books as theatre, music, maths, science, art, craft, cookery, film, football, whatever it takes to bring the magic of reading and writing to the kids.
Barnes
London
England
London Literature Festival
Wed 21 Oct – Sun 1 Nov 2026
London Literature Festival unites readers of every age to celebrate the written and spoken word.
The longest-running celebration of the written and spoken word of its kind in the capital presents prestigious names alongside rising literary stars, every autumn.
Southbank Centre
London
England
Louder Than Words Festival
13th – 15th November
Louder Than Words Fest has been described as 'The UK's biggest music based literature festival'. We're bringing together authors, artists, poets, performers, lyricists, journalists, DJs, bloggers, publishers, fans and aficionados of music and popular culture for in conversations, panel discussions, meets and greets, workshops and more!
Manchester
England
Love Stories etc.
TBC 2026
Love Stories Etc… launched in 2024 with a one-day festival held at Manchester Central Library, with panels, workshops and book signings, aimed at encouraging romance readers to discover new authors.
For 2025, there will be events across two days, with an impressive mix of bestselling brand authors, emerging stars and debuts writing in the romance space, including Taylor Dior-Rumble, Beth O’Leary, Mike Gayle, Mhairi Macfarlane, Alexandra Potter, Suzan Holder, Sareeta Domingo, Laura Wood, Justin Myers, Lizzie Huxley-Jones and Jendella Benson confirmed to appear.
Manchester
Greater Manchester
England
Mallaig Book Festival - A Write Highland Hoolie!
6 - 8 November 2026
A Write Highland Hoolie is Scotland’s friendliest book festival. It combines literature, poetry and music under one roof in a unique immersive, unforgettable weekend of fun, friendship and fine food. Guests describe the Hoolie as, ‘great craic’.
We hope you will join us. You will be guaranteed A Write Highland Hoolie!
Mallaig
Lochaber
Scotland
Manchester Literature Festival
9 - 25 October 2026
Manchester Literature Festival offers unique experiences for audiences to interact with some of the finest writers and thinkers from across the globe.
It’s a welcoming place where people come together to share their passion for language, to be entertained, to learn and reflect on their connections with place, politics and people.
Manchester Literature Festival is a two-week festival taking place each October in a variety of prestigious and atmospheric venues across the city and complemented by a programme of digital activities.
Manchester
Greater Manchester
England
Mannington Book Bash
25 - 27 September 2026
Big names. Great ideas.
Beautiful surroundings.
And a moat.
Curated by award-winning independent bookshop, The Book Hive.
Mannington Hall, Itteringham
Norfolk
England
Manx LitFest
September 2026 TBC
Manx Litfest’s mission is to foster a vibrant and inclusive literary community in the Isle of Man by organising events that encourage residents to engage with books, reading, writing, poetry, storytelling and illustration and provide the opportunity to meet with people who work in the literary field.
Isle of Man
Marlborough Literature Festival
24 – 27 September 2026
The 2026 programme has something to tempt everyone from lovers of biography, history, memoir, music, politics, nature and gardening. Topics range from Beethoven to Russian spies and Ukraine, from psychiatry to shopping and how to navigate modern day etiquette and our digital world.
Marlborough
Wiltshire
England
McLellan Book Festival
3rd - 6th September 2026
Its aims, in partnership with other organisations on the island, are to foster the visual, literary and performing arts on Arran, to further opportunities for professionals in the arts, create experiences which raise skills and awareness and improve access at community level, develop opportunities for young people and encourage new work, both on Arran and beyond through the annual McLellan Poetry Prize and the McLellan Arts and Book Festivals.
Arran
Scotland
MeetCute
4 July 2026
Welcome to the uk's first romance book festival!
Meetcute book fest started in 2024 in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Our first year was in the Bushey Rose Gardens, and it was a free festival for writers and readers of romance. Joined together in our love of the genre, we celebrated with over 200 of us, watching 30 authors on 6 panels, 5 Q+As, 3 workshops, and some excellent stalls, cocktails and treats.
Bushey
Hertfordshire
England
Mere Literary Festival
12 - 18 October 2026
The Literary Festival of Mere in Wiltshire, UK has been held annually since 1997 and features unmissable events, where esteemed interviewers sit down with our authors to delve deeper into their work, ideas and inspirations.
Expect lively discussion, thoughtful insight and the unique chemistry that only a great conversation can spark.
Mere
Wiltshire
England
Milton Keynes Children's LitFest
2027 TBC
A dedicated day festival for children's workshops, author talks and discovering the fun of reading!
Milton Keynes Literary Festival is a fabulous festival of books, words, writers and ideas. Our year-round programme includes in-person and online author presentations and interviews, community and bookshop-based events, writing workshops and masterclasses, events for children, themed evenings of local and regional writing, literary walks, writing competitions and print/ebook anthologies with launch events.



















