11 Lovely Literature Festivals To Book This Year
By
3 months ago
Books, glorious books: from the nation's oldest to a one-day affair in the capital, here are 10 literary festivals we're excited for in 2025
Reading more in 2025? 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 10 on our radar in 2025.
12 Literature Festivals To Book For 2025
Chelsea Arts Festival
Extra! Extra! A brand new arts festival is coming to London this summer, and it’s set to take 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. Read all about it here.
Details: Chelsea Arts Festival will take place from 19–21 September 2025 across Chelsea. Stay up to date at chelseaartsfestival.com
The Conversation
A brand new series of talks is being hosted weekly at St Martin-in-the-Fields this year, with former Hay Festival director Peter Florence curating a show-stopping line-up of the UK’s brightest minds, tasking them to tackle some of the biggest political, social and environmental challenges of our time. Think Robert Macfarlane, Tom Holland, Hanif Kureishi and more. 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: Every Tuesday from 6.30pm from 14 January–22 April 2025 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 in 2025. Diane Abbot, Booker laureate Samantha Harvey, Richard Ayoade, Ian Hislop, Ash Sarkar, David Larbi, Kit de Waal and plenty more are all on the bill, making up 100 speakers across 55 events and five days. In 2025, Cambridge Festival will also present its very first free children’s festival.
Details: 23–27 April 2025 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 third annual Sherborne Travel Writing Festival will take place in the 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 12 distinguished speakers, all practitioners of the genre. 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. Among the speakers this year are Victoria Hislop, Sophy Roberts, Xiaolu Guo and Horatio Clare.
Details: 11–13 April 2025 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 2025. A whole host of incredible authors, broadcasters, researchers, poets and more are on the line-up, including Elif Shafak, Matt Haig, Jojo Moyes, Michael Morpurgo, Susie Dent, Stacey Dooley, Naga Munchetty, Robert Macfarlane, Michael Rosen, Katherine Ryan, Chris McCausland and plenty more – all scattered across a pretty site on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. Read our full guide to the 2025 action here.
Details: 22 May–1 June 2025 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
Women’s Prize Live
Last year, more than 800 bookworms gathered in Bedford Square Gardens to celebrate women and their words. Leading the charge was Women’s Prize founder Kate Mosse, joined by a star-studded line-up of literary ladies, from Helen Fielding to Mishal Husain, Deborah Moggach to Nina Stibbe. The special day will return again in 2025, with details set to be revealed in March, but expect all the classics – interviews, panels, talks, book clubs, workshops and more – to take place.
Details: Wednesday 11 June 2025 in Bedford Square Gardens (London WC1B 3HH). General admission tickets start from £95 and can be booked at womensprize.com
Capital Crime
Goldsboro Books’ co-founder and managing director David Headley is back with another bumper edition of Capital Crime, hosting crime’s brightest stars over two days at the Leonardo Royal St Paul’s. Think Linwood Barclay, Ruth Ware, Richard Armitage, Chris Chibnall, Ram Murali and more.
Details: 13 & 14 June 2025 at Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s (10 Godliman St, City of London, London EC4V 5AJ). Day passes start from £95, or book a weekend pass for £185 at capitalcrime.org
Bradford Literature Festival
As the UK’s 2025 City of Culture, it’s a big year for Bradford – so we can expect a bumper edition of the city’s beloved literary festival to boot. Think big-name authors and speakers, community-focussed events and fun for all the family.
Details: 27 June–6 July 2025 across Bradford. Stay up to date at bradfordlitfest.co.uk
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 Lee and Andrew Child, Irvine Welsh, Paula Hawkins, Kate Mosse, Steph McGovern, Val McDermid, Mark Billingham and Slow Horses creator Mick Herron all on the line-up.
Details: 17–20 July 2025 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.
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
Henley Literary Festival
This picturesque waterside literary festival will return in October, drawing a selection of top names to the town. Think talks, panels, workshops and more – though the 2025 details are still under wraps.
Details: 4–12 October 2025 in Henley. Stay up to date at henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk
Cheltenham Literature Festival
Another big hitter on the literary festivals scene is Cheltenham – 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.
Details: 10–19 October 2025 at select venues across Cheltenham. Stay up to date at cheltenhamfestivals.com
