UK best literary festivals and book fairs in 2024

London Book Fair

12-14 March 2024; londonbookfair.co.uk

Organisers of the London Book Fair announced that its 2024 event will be moved to 12-14 March, Publishers Weekly reported, to avoid any clash with the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April. Held at Olympia London under the theme “defining the future of creative content”, the London Book Fair will host more than 100 seminars across three days as well as conferences and awards.

Oxford Literary Festival

16-24 March 2024; oxfordliteraryfestival.org

Taking place each spring in “one of the world’s oldest cities of learning”, said Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey on Fodor’s, the Oxford Literary Festival is “one of the best around”. Reasons to attend include the “prestigious” schedule of talks, debates and performances by well-known authors and thinkers.

Stratford Literary Festival – spring edition

1-5 May 2024; stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk

As the “much-lauded” birthplace of William Shakespeare, said Bolthole Retreats, it’s “fitting” that the ancient market town of Stratford-upon-Avon plays host to “one of the most significant literary festivals in the UK”. Twice a year, in May and October, “the great, the good and the unsung” of the book world participate in a “diverse schedule of literary debates and ideas interwoven with celebrity author events and interactive workshops”.

Hay Festival

23 May-2 June 2024; hayfestival.com

One of the “most famous and prestigious” literary events in the world, the Hay Festival takes over a “lovely small town” in Wales each year, said Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey on Foder’s. Bringing together literature and the arts, UK names “dominate” the event, but global authors are “always present”. The “best thing” about this festival is the setting. Hay-on-Wye is a “book town filled with antiquarian and second-hand bookstores, little pop-up libraries, and many specialist stores”.

Borders Book Festival

13-16 June 2024; bordersbookfestival.org

Held in the Scottish Borders town of Melrose, this “four-day extravaganza”, said Scotland Starts Here, welcomes some of the “biggest names from the world of literature, entertainment, and politics”. Organisers of the Borders Book Festival are expected to release an “early peek” at some of the headliners in the first quarter of 2024.

Bradford Literature Festival

28 June-7 July 2024; bradfordlitfest.co.uk

Yorkshire’s biggest literary event offers talks from “famous names” alongside “intriguing mini-fests”, said Claire Biddles in Big Issue. The festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary year, has also introduced “ethical ticketing”, allowing free entry to anyone who may not have the opportunity to attend otherwise.

Penzance Literary Festival

3-6 July 2024; pzlitfest.co.uk

Dubbed the UK’s “friendliest literary festival”, the Penzance LitFest is expected to take place at an array of venues “around the beautiful Cornish town”, said Proper Cornwall. It has grown into a “diverse and fascinating” celebration of the “wonderful written word” and should be “pretty star-studded” in 2024, too.

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

18-21 July 2024; harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

The UK’s “largest event for fans of crime and thriller writing” takes place each summer in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said the Harrogate Advertiser. Expect a programme of special guests, talks, workshops and crime writing’s “most wanted accolade”, the Crime Novel of the Year Award.

Edinburgh International Book Festival

10-25 August 2024; edbookfest.co.uk

Taking place in a “pop-up village” in the heart of the Old Town, Edinburgh’s literary festival offers both a “seriously impressive programme” and a “utopian hideout” for book lovers during festival season, said Claire Biddles in Big Issue. Visitors can “browse the bookshops” and “attend inspiring talks” from authors and world-leading thinkers.

Jane Austen Festival, Bath

13-22 September 2024; janeausten.co.uk

Home to a “few classics” and “inspiration to many more”, Bath hosts the Jane Austen Festival every year, said Visit Britain. Come for the Regency-era dress and stay for the 10-day long immersive experience. Join fellow Jane Austen enthusiasts on guided walks, lavish balls, theatre shows, and teleport back to the Georgian era for a chance to truly dive into Austen’s world.

Bath Children’s Literature Festival

27 September-6 October 2024; bathfestivals.org.uk

The city will be “buzzing”, said Total Guide to Bath, as more than 100 children’s authors and illustrators are welcomed for the city’s popular children’s literature festival.

Cliveden Literary Festival

September-October 2024 TBC; clivedenliteraryfestival.org

Cliveden continues to be the “most glamorous literary festival on the map”, said Tatler. Set at England’s “most dazzling Italianate mansion”, it brings together the “greatest thinkers, writers and politicians” to “chew the fat” before a “fabulously well-dressed audience”.

Henley Literary Festival

30 September-6 October 2024; henleyliteraryfestival.co.uk

Founded in 2007, Henley has “firmly established itself” as one of the UK’s most popular literary festivals, said VisitThames.co.uk. The event features talks, performances and conversations for adults and children, plus a number of pop-up events.

Cheltenham Literature Festival

October 2024 TBC; cheltenhamfestivals.com

It’s not just horse racing that Cheltenham is “best known” for, said Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey on Fodor’s, but also its annual literature festival, which was, in fact, the “world’s first literature festival”. Having started in 1949, this makes it the “longest-running festival of its kind”. The event celebrates the written and spoken word, and hosts new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats and high-profile speakers.

London Literature Festival

23 October-3 November 2024; southbankcentre.co.uk

The capital’s “most talked-about literary festival of the year”, said Rebecca Cox in Country & Town House, always has a “heavyweight line-up” of the biggest authors and speakers.

Kendal Mountain Book Festival

November 2024 TBC; kendalmountainfestival.com

Held each year alongside the “hugely successful” and “multi award-winning” Kendal Mountain Festival, said CreativeTourist.com, the Kendal Mountain Book Festival celebrates the “very best in nature and mountain literature”. A festival bookshop, literature awards and talks can be enjoyed by visitors to Cumbria.

Literature Festival at Sea

13-20 November 2024; cunard.com

Take the chance to “set sail in more than the imagination” on this seven-day cruise from Southampton, said Visit Britain. Dive into more than just a few pages aboard Cunard’s flagship “Queen Mary 2” and explore the high seas with fellow bookworms and mingle with authors, journalists, critics and historians. Celebrate literature and culture surrounded by like-minded peers.