Explore Events

Hundreds of events for adults, teenagers and children feature authors, illustrators, musicians, poets, policians, thinkers, prize-winners and rising stars every August.

Refine Search

Showing events on Sat 27 Aug.

Use one or more of the search filters below to find events.

Browse this year's themes

Only events for adults

Only Baillie Gifford Children's Programme

Children aged to years

For any age (no filter)

Only BSL interpreted

Only Captioned events

Only Learning disability friendly events

Planet Citizen! Create Your Own Planet

Saturday 27 August 11:00 - 11:45

Book

Attend in person

What would the planet look like if you designed it? This was the question Ryan Van Winkle, our Schools Writer in Residence, has been exploring with local pupils as part of Citizen, our long-term creative programme. Drop in anytime between 11:00 and...

Meet Elmer

All Ages

Saturday 27 August 11:00 - 11:20

Book

Attend in person

Meet David McKee’s wonderful Elmer the Patchwork Elephant in real life. Join in with songs and games as we celebrate this classic story of embracing difference and loving who you are!

Ian Eagleton: Confidence, Kindness and Shakespeare

Age 3-6

Saturday 27 August 11:30 - 12:30

Ian Eagleton: Confidence, Kindness and Shakespeare

Book

Attend in person

Join as author Ian Eagleton reads his beautiful story, Violet’s Tempest, about a girl who manages to overcome anxiety and stage fright. This is a heart-warming story of kindness and finding your inner strength, peppered with the words of Shakespeare....

Erica McAlister: A Bug's World

Families & 6+

Saturday 27 August 11:30 - 12:30

Book

Attend in person
Watch online

Did you know that flies can help us solve crimes? Spiders can be astronauts? Moths are the ultimate fashion designers? Discover the extraordinary things that bugs do for us with Dr Erica McAlister, the Natural History Museum’s senior entomologist....

Celebrate Pride with Mama G!

All Ages

Saturday 27 August 11:30 - 13:30

Book

Attend in person

Join storytelling panto dame Mama G, plus some very special guests, for stories and songs as we celebrate acceptance, inclusion and love on the 50th anniversary of London Pride!

Jessica Au & Stephanie Sy-Quia: Dreams of a Common Language

Saturday 27 August 12:15 - 13:15

Book

Attend in person

Novelist Jessica Au and poet Stephanie Sy-Quia consider relationships across the generations and the possibilities of language in two spellbinding works of art. Winner of the 2020 Novel Prize, Au’s debut novella, Cold Enough for Snow, meditates on the...

Make a Pride Flag with Harry Woodgate

Age 5-8

Saturday 27 August 12:30 - 13:30

Book

Attend in person

This year the London Pride parade is back and turns 50 years old. Many Pride parades have had to be cancelled over the last few years, so celebrate with us by making a flag to wave outside in our Festival Village and take home with you! The workshop is...

Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: Imagine Another Country

Saturday 27 August 13:00 - 14:00

Book

Attend in person
Watch online
Captioned

Two years ago, inspired by Book Festival discussions about the necessity of imagination for political change, Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp invited a diverse group of people to share their ideas. This summer a post-pandemic...

Close Read: Julia Armfield on The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Saturday 27 August 13:00 - 14:30

Book

Attend in person

Take a deep dive into this classic of 1990s fiction with acclaimed author Julia Armfield. The Shipping News is a paean to the rugged and uncompromising Newfoundland landscape. Armfield explores the imagery, themes and singular prose style in Annie...