8 Lovely Literature Festivals To Book This Year
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2 weeks ago
Books, glorious books: from the nation's oldest to a one-day affair in the capital, here are eight literary festivals we're excited for in 2026
Reading more in 2026? Good books, author talks, great conversation: there’s no better way to celebrate the joy of the written word than at a literary festival. Here are the eight we will be booking in 2026.
Best Literature Festivals 2026
The Women’s Prize: Women’s Words, From Page To Stage at Chelsea Arts Festival 2025.
Chelsea Arts Festival
Extra! Extra! London’s new arts festival will return for its second annual instalment this autumn, once again taking over Chelsea for a jam-packed weekend of joy, hedonism and lightbulb moments. Think literary salons, author panels, workshops, film screenings and debates on the pertinent issues of today, all backdropped by Chelsea’s historic streets and captivating venues. Speakers for 2026 are still to be announced but you can read 2025’s recap for a taste of the action.
Details: Chelsea Arts Festival will take place from 17–20 September 2026 across Chelsea. Stay up to date at chelseaartsfestival.com
The Conversation
Another new London festival has returned in 2026: The Conversation at St Martin-in-the-Fields, curated once again by former Hay Festival director Peter Florence. Expect a selection of the UK’s brightest minds to take to the stage and grapple with some of the biggest political, social and environmental challenges of our time. This year that includes Sarah Churchwell, Carole Cadwalladr, Hallie Rubenhold and Mya-Rose Craig. And then The Conversation’s quirk: once the headliner has finished their hour-long talk, the audience is invited to keep the conversation going around small tables.
Details: Tuesdays from 6.30pm until September 2026 at St Martin-in-the-Fields (Trafalgar Sq, London WC2N 4JJ). Tickets are £15 in person or £10 for a live stream link, and can be booked at stmartin-in-the-fields.org
Lemn Sissay & Alex Clark
Cambridge Literary Festival
This picturesque city is home to a whole host of literary events throughout the year, but the bumper Spring Festival is not to be missed. This year is set to be a star-studded affair, with headline speakers including Zadie Smith, Mary Berry, Booker shortlisted author Andrew Miller and none other than the criminally Faithful crime writer Harriet Tyce. Elsewhere Merlin Holland, the grandson of Oscar Wilde, will discuss his definitive study of the rise and fall of the writer after his death, while beloved writer Deborah Levy will deliver the annual Room of One’s Own Lecture, Rachel Clark takes on the State of the Nation Lecture and Caroline Lucas delivers the inaugural State of Nature Lecture. And plenty more.
Details: 22–26 April 2026 across Cambridge. Tickets for individual events can be booked at cambridgeliteraryfestival.com
The 2024 speakers at Sherborne Travel Writing Festival
Sherborne Travel Writing Festival
The fourth annual Sherborne Travel Writing Festival will take place in this beautiful Dorset abbey town this spring. Characterised by its intimate, friendly atmosphere, the festival is put together by Rory Maclean, himself a celebrated travel writer, who has assembled a cast of distinguished speakers, all practitioners of the genre; this year that includes Peter Frankopan, Margaret Busby, Sara Wheeler and Lonely Planet‘s Tony Wheeler. The festival illustrates how travel writing has changed over the last 30 years, from a genre previously regarded as an exclusively male preserve to the number of women who now command the heights.
Details: 10–12 April 2026 in Powell Theatre (Abbey Rd, Sherborne DT9 3AP). For more information and to book your tickets, visit sherbornetravelwritingfestival.com
© Mary Perez
Hay Festival
The UK’s flagship literary festival has to be Hay, and of course it is returning for another year in 2026. A whole host of incredible authors, broadcasters, researchers, poets and more are on the line-up, including Emerald Fennell, Maggie O’Farrell, Douglas Stewart, Ocean Vuong, Michael Morpurgo, Jack Edwards, Prue Leith, Elizabeth Strout, Bear Grylls, Tim Spector and plenty more – all scattered across a pretty site on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Read our full guide to the action here.
Details: 21–31 May 2026 in Hay-on-Wye. You don’t need a ticket to enter the vibrant site, but tickets for specific talks and panels should be booked in advance at hayfestival.com
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (© Richard Maude)
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
Crime fiction takes centre stage once again in July with the return of Theakston Old Peculier. Hosted at the historic Old Swan Hotel – the very site where queen of crime writing Agatha Christie was found after her famed disappearance – readers, bloggers, writers, agents and publishers all gather for a packed programme of panels, talks and creative workshops, with Ann Cleeves, Branda Blethyn, Gillian McAllister, Anthony Horowitz, Nadine Matheson, Holly Jackson and Chris Brookmyre all on the line-up.
Details: 23–26 July 2026 at the Old Swan Hotel (Swan Rd, Harrogate HG1 2SR). Tickets can be booked at harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
Cliveden Literary Festival
One of our favourites on the autumn calendar of literary festivals is Cliveden, with its insightful talks all backdropped by very pretty, very British countryhouse scenery. In 2025, Ian Rakin, Salman Rushdie, Richard E Grant, Elif Shafak, Anthony Horowitz, William Boyd and plenty more were on the line up. Expect writers from across politics, fiction and more.
Details: Cliveden Literary Festival is expected to return to Cliveden House (Taplow, Berkshire SL6 0JF) in September 2025. Stay tuned for dates and details. clivedenliteraryfestival.org
Cheltenham Literature Festival
This one’s a biggie. Cheltenham Literature Festival is the oldest and longest-running literary festival in the whole of the UK. The line-up is always stellar, with more than 100,000 visitors flocking to the city for the 2024 75th anniversary edition. The 2026 line-up is still to be announced, but 2025 speakers included Peter Frankopan, Katie Piper, Hamza Yassin, Shon Faye, Raymond Blanc and plenty more. Check out our guide to the action here.
Details: 9–18 October 2026 at select venues across Cheltenham. Stay up to date at cheltenhamfestivals.com
