Literary festivals in Oxfordshire and beyond
There are around 350 literary festivals in the UK throughout the year. Many of these are small local events featuring local authors and emerging talent. Others attract well-established names in literature, publishing, politics and show business.
There’s always plenty for book lovers to celebrate at literary festivals in Oxfordshire and beyond, and we hope you’ll find one or more that meets your interest. Here are the must-visit literary festivals in Oxford and across Oxfordshire – and some within easy reach of Oxford.
Henley Literary Festival 2024
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.
Festival lineup: TBC
Oxford Literary Festival 2026
The Oxford Literary Festival offers nine days of talks, debates and cultural events across Oxford’s most iconic venues. Celebrated for its world-class lineup, the festival nurtures open dialogue and welcomes thinkers, writers and performers from around the globe.
Blackwell Hall at the Weston Library will host the festival hub, complete with bookshop, café and exhibitions. With international programmes, accessible venues and expanded schools outreach, the 2026 festival promises an exceptional celebration of literature and ideas.
Not yet updated for 2024…
Wantage Literary Festival 2025
Following the success of previous festivals, the 2025 festival will see the return of some great names, poetry events, history and fiction panels, along with more free family-friendly activities.
Literary festivals beyond Oxfordshire…
Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2024
Bath Children’s Literature Festival – Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival – will return from 27 September to 06 October 2024 with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. Artistic directors John and Gill McLay have secured a world-class lineup that will thrill young book lovers.
The festival takes place across various locations in what is the largest city in the county of Somerset, some 80-odd miles from Oxford (just under a two-hour drive). There’s something for everyone at this autumn’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival, which brings a host of writers and illustrators to the city for live, interactive events for young people of all ages.
Marlborough Literature Festival 2024
The Marlborough Literature Festival brings together some of the UK’s finest writers in this historic market town about 45 miles (a one-hour drive) from Oxford from 26 – 29 September 2024. The festival aims to celebrate the best writing in all its forms and demonstrate that books and reading can bring people together, whatever their views.
With an exciting mix of live and online events – author talks, workshops, performances, visits and competitions – the 2022 festival programme will include established names in fiction as well as new and emerging writers. There is something for all ages, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry and the annual Big Town Read.
Birmingham Literature Festival 2024
Taking place from 03 to 06 October 2024, the Birmingham Literature Festival is a leading festival in the Midlands, showcasing the very best writers, speakers, thinkers, activists and artists from the UK and across the world. The festival brings together writers, artists, commentators, readers, and thinkers – to share, learn, connect and enjoy 3 days of great creative writing.
The programme will include a wide range of innovative literature and literature-inspired work, creating unique opportunities for audiences to experience high-quality events via an annual festival programme and associated projects. This is one festival where everyone is sure to find something that intrigues and excites them.
Cheltenham Literature Festival 2024
Established in 1949, Cheltenham Literature Festival is one of the oldest literary events in the world. For ten days every Autumn, Cheltenham is transformed into a literary lover’s dream as it welcomes over 600 of the world’s finest writers, actors, politicians, poets and opinion formers – to help celebrate the joy of the written word.
Cheltenham Literature Festival is part of Cheltenham Festivals – a charity delivering a pioneering year-round educational programme culminating in four internationally-acclaimed Jazz, Science, Music and Literature Festivals. Cheltenham Festivals creates experiences that bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities and inspire change.
Cliveden Literary Festival 2024
With a unique and extraordinary history of politics and intrigue, aristocracy and espionage, sex and scandal, Cliveden is a magnificent English country house in Berkshire about 35 miles (one-hour drive) from Oxford. And following the sell-out success of previous years, the Cliveden Literary Festival will return to this magnificent house.
The agenda-setting literature festival embodies Cliveden House’s long tradition as a political and literary salon – and will again feature a high-profile line-up of writers, historians, politicians and cultural figures. Declared by Ian McEwan as “probably the world’s best small literary festival” and hailed by Alain de Botton as “the most dignified and beautiful literature festival on the planet”, this is one festival not to be missed.
London Literature Festival 2024
There’s always a heavyweight lineup of the biggest authors and speakers at the capital’s most talked-about literary festival of the year. Previous speakers have seen the likes of Hilary Clinton, Philip Pullman, and Tom Hanks take to the stage for individually ticketed events. This year’s festival reflects on what it means to be friends today.
Taking place from 23 October to 03 November 2024 at the Southbank Centre – the largest arts centre in the UK and one of the county’s top five visitor attractions – London Literature Festival is always full of encounters with the writers shaping our cultural life and a lineup of eminent authors alongside rising literary stars.
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.
With events for all ages, the programme is always rich in its variety and quality. Previous speakers have included John Mortimer, Doreen Lawrence, John Major, Julia Donaldson, Richard E. Grant, Candace Bushnell, John Sentamu, Cressida Cowell and Graham Nash.
Held during the October school holiday, the Wantage Literary Festival is an eclectic and lively mixture of events covering literature, poetry, comedy, history, science, the arts and much more.
Celebrating ‘all things literary’ – with talks, workshops, themed evenings and family-friendly shows – this year, events will be held at The Beacon and Cob & Pen, to promote the love of literature in all its forms to everyone in Wantage, Oxfordshire and beyond.
Oxford Literary Festival is a world-class literary event that brings together leading authors and public figures in a magnificent setting in the central university area of Oxford city each year.
The festival events mostly take place around two vibrant hubs in Oxford City Centre, namely the Blackwell’s Marquee, next to the Sheldonian Theatre, Bodleian Library and Weston Library, and Worcester College, in Walton Street. There is a ten-minute walk between the two hubs.
Since 2012 Chipping Norton has held its Literary Festival each April, celebrating writing and reading in attractive venues at the heart of this charming Cotswold town.
ChipLitFest has earned its reputation as one of the friendliest and most innovative festivals, bringing a wide-ranging array of writers, poets, public figures and creative people to the town and drawing large and lively audiences from a wide area.
The Thame Arts and Literature Festival is an inclusive, community-driven arts and literature festival that takes place in the picturesque market town of Thame.
Events include Author Talks, Music, Literature, Plays, Readings, Debates and much more, plus several special events for younger readers in various venues across Thame in Oxfordshire – with most of the venues within a few minutes’ walk of each other.
2021 saw a hybrid festival experience with a combination of live performances and live-streamed events. Sadly, there will not be a TAL Festival in 2022. After 12 fantastic years, the organisers are taking a well-earned break while they consider the best route for future festivals.
The Althorp Literary Festival 2021
October 2021 (to be confirmed)
The Althorp Literary Festival has hosted countless bestselling authors, writers, entrepreneurs and thought-leaders who provoke debate, laughter and enthusiasm. The festival takes place against the backdrop of one of England’s most beautiful private, historic houses and the final resting place of Princess Diana, a mere 50 miles (an hour and twenty minutes drive) north of Oxford.
The festival has international acclaim, hosting a stellar line up of authors and celebrities such as chef, writer and The Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith; historians Dan Snow, Dan Jones and Helen Rappaport; author of the hugely successful Sharpe novels, Bernard Cornwell; politicians and authors Paddy Ashdown and Kenneth Baker; and acclaimed mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington.
PLEASE NOTE: With the house and grounds open for 2021, we await confirmation on whether the 16th Althorp Literary Festival scheduled for last Autumn will go ahead this year.
