Literary festivals around the UK

Girl reading a book under an umbrella at Hay Festival — From Bath to Bradford, these are the best festivals for bookworms

(Image credit: Andrew Fox / Getty Images)

Reading is often a cherished solo activity but attending a literary festival can be a great way to connect with other bookworms, meet your favourite authors and discover new books. Most UK cities host their own dedicated events, spanning everything from crime writing and historical fiction to poetry. These are some of our favourites.

Cambridge Literary Festival

This excellent event is a great excuse to plan a weekend trip to Cambridge. The five-day festival includes an eclectic mix of talks from leading writers, thinkers and speakers. Among the highlights this year is a talk by Frances Wilson about the enigma of Muriel Spark; a lecture from former leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas about the state of the natural world; Alan Hollinghurst reflecting on the books that have inspired his work; and Zadie Smith discussing her exhilarating new essay collection “Dead and Alive”. On the final day of the festival, The Observer is hosting an event with debut novelists the paper considers to be rising stars of fiction.

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This year promises another stand-out line-up of speakers in the historic city of Bath. Look out for talks by Sarah Wynn-Williams on her bestselling memoir lifting the lid on her time at Facebook; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall discussing his campaign to get people to eat more fibre; and Anthony Horowitz talking about his latest gripping thriller with author Joe Haddow. The festival is also hosting a series of guided walking tours, including a Jane Austen-themed event where visitors will be taken to explore locations featured in the celebrated author’s books. And there are some wonderful workshops on offer for budding writers too.

As the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon is the perfect setting for a literary extravaganza. Its spring iteration returns in May with an exciting calendar of events. Food writer Felicity Cloake is on the menu, discussing her first foray into fiction, while Tim Spectre has a new book on the power of fermented food. Former chancellor and home secretary Sajid Javid is appearing, having written a critically acclaimed memoir, and Blake Morrison will be reflecting on the art of life writing. There is also a range of special events for children including a vibrant production of “Rumpelstiltskin” and a writing masterclass with “Witch Light” author Zohra Nabi.

This popular literary event recently unveiled its star-studded line-up for this year, with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Gisèle Pelicot and Emma Thompson among the headline names. The programme is bursting with fascinating conversations, including Ali Smith discussing her latest novel “Glyph” with filmmaker Sarah Wood; Yvette Edwards talking to Bernardine Evaristo about her book “Good Good Loving”; and crime queen Val McDermid joining author Fflur Dafydd to introduce her thriller “Silent Bones”. Other literary stars making an appearance include Ian McEwan, Maggie O’Farrell and Douglas Stuart. There will also be a jam-packed schedule of panels, genre-themed events and conversations about book-to-screen adaptations with the likes of Emerald Fennell discussing her take on “Wuthering Heights”. It’s not to be missed.

Bradford was named the UK City of Culture for 2025 thanks in part to this stand-out literary festival. Dedicated to ensuring culture is accessible to all, the 10-day event offers a wide range of concession tickets. While the programme is yet to be announced, if 2025’s line-up is anything to go it’s one to watch. Last year the festival hosted more than 700 events with talks from the likes of Lemn Sissay, Grace Dent, Ash Sarkar and Celia Imrie.

Irenie Forshaw is the features editor at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.