Henley Literary Festival 2026

About the Henley Literary Festival 2026

Founded in 2007, the Henley Literary Festival has firmly established itself as one of the UK’s most-popular literary festivals, bringing together punters and pundits from far and wide in an annual meeting-of-minds set across its stunning riverside hometown.

Henley Literary Festival is established as one of the UK’s biggest book festivals. Previous speakers have included John Mortimer, Doreen Lawrence, John Major, Julia Donaldson, Richard E. Grant, Candace Bushnell, John Sentamu, Cressida Cowell and Graham Nash.

The Henley Literary Festival 2026 festival will take place from Friday 02 to Sunday 11 October at venues across Henley-on-Thames with 130 talks, performances and conversations for adults and children, with the majority available to watch online as well as in-person.

Highlights from 2025

Tickets

Visit the events website for the full line up of this year’s main festival, as well as the children’s festival.