There are events for just about every age and interest at the Book Festival, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion. Over 900 authors appear in around 800 events, including novelists, poets, scientists, sportsmen, illustrators, comics creators, historians, musicians, biographers, Nobel and Booker prize-winners and many more besides.
Two performance poets offer queer perspectives on British experience. In January 1981, thirteen teenagers died in a house fire in New Cross. Jay Bernard’s award-winning Surge: Side A traces a line between that horrific fire and the Grenfell Tower fire...
Broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove rounds off his superb 60s soul trilogy with Harlem 69. The area at the heart of the Black Panther movement became a byword for crime, but was also a furnace for black creativity that defined popular music for decades,...
Grab a drink from the bar and settle in for some serious literary revelry. An enticing line-up of talent (revealed in The Skinny and on our website in July) plays with words, music and a lot more every night of the Festival.
Join one of our Festival authors each morning for a magical half hour of storytelling, poetry, song or rhyme. This daily changing event is suitable for children of all ages. Appearing today: Petr Horáček.
Much-loved master of mischief Horrid Henry is back! His award-winning creator Francesca Simon brings you an interactive event bursting with Henry’s hilarious stories, including latest adventure Up, Up and Away. Prepare to giggle your socks off with...
A small yet perfectly formed reading from one of our Festival authors to start your day. Check the screen in the Entrance Tent to see who's reading today.
Meet the hero of the inky deep for a high-powered under-the-sea adventure. The team from Deep Sea TV never seem to notice Stefano, but can this ordinary squid dig deep and find the superhero inside? Wendy Quill author Wendy Meddour and The Bear Who...
War-time family secrets lie at the heart of Madeleine Bunting and Jing-Jing Lee’s debut novels. Award-winning journalist Bunting’s Island Song focuses on families under siege in Nazi-held Guernsey. Lee’s How We Disappeared begins in the author's...
Roald Dahl Funny Prize winner Peter Bently delivers an entertaining canine caper with creative crafts for little paws. Hear him read from the 10th anniversary edition of The Great Dog Bottom Swap, unravelling the mystery of why dogs love to sniff each...
Every January, a selection of Turner’s watercolours are exhibited at the Scottish National Gallery. Bequeathed in 1899 by Henry Vaughan, these works cement Turner’s status as one of Britain’s most innovative, beloved artists. Director of European...
2019 Programme Launched: We Need New Stories 
