Bath Literature Festival 2026

Come and join the conversation.

Welcome to the 2026 Bath Literature Festival. This is my third year as guest curator, and it’s my huge pleasure to present a programme that celebrates great books and great ideas, from history and health to politics and poetry, and from Austen and art to the very best in fiction. And at a time of domestic and international fragility, with war in Europe, a climate in crisis and a world on the move, we look to the arts, to books and culture for answers to the question - how did we get here and where are we going? This year’s festival promises to challenge, inspire, entertain and delight and we’d love you to be a part of it.

Saturday 16 May

Workshop Nature

Writing

with Amanda Tuke

Bath Central Library | 10:30am–12:30pm

£30 | £25 conc* | BFL1

Collect field notes on a short nature ramble to write pieces of prose exploring urban nature. If possible, download the free Merlin bird app and your preferred plant identification app.

Hallie Rubenhold Maddie Pelling

Feminist History Forgotten Voices

Guildhall | 11am–12pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL2

Hallie Rubenhold (The Five and Story of a Murder) gives voice to the women silenced by Jack the Ripper and Dr Crippen, and Madeleine Pelling (The Hoax) confronts the uncomfortable truth behind who gets remembered and why. In conversation with Ali Millar.

Fiction

Jane Harper

Guildhall | 11am–12pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL3

International bestselling author Jane Harper (The Dry) discusses her new crime novel Last One Out which reveals the truth behind a disappearance in a small Australian town.

Fiction

The Meaning of Home

Patrick Gale

Guildhall | 2–3pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL4

From the Canadian prairies to post-war Liverpool and Yorkshire, Patrick Gale’s latest novel Love Lane examines the meaning of home and family, across three generations marked by war, trauma, and courage. In conversation with fellow author Rachel Joyce.

History

The Scramble for America

Guildhall | 2–3pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL5

From the origins of the Revolution and the establishment of the Constitution, to the dispossession of the Native Americans, and the moral crisis over slavery, Clement Knox tells the untold history of how America’s lines were drawn—and who paid the price.

Workshop From Concept to Story

Bath Central Library 1:30–3:30pm

£30 | £25 conc* | BFL6

Join Ali Millar’s two-hour writing workshop and transform your ideas into finished stories. Learn structure, develop your process and create a pitch for your project.

Memoir

Identity and Belonging

Guildhall | 4:30–5:30pm £16 | £13 conc* | BFL7

Former Conservative Chancellor Sajid Javid’s childhood was defined by poverty, racism and the tension of trying to conform to two cultures. His memoir, The Colour of Home is an inspiring story of hope, determination and survival. In conversation with Stephanie Wessell.

Sajid Javid

Saturday 16 May

Non Fiction

The Good Russian

Guildhall | 4:30–5:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL8

What does it mean to be Russian today? Jana Bakunina’s return to the country and the people she loves, reveals what it’s like to live through authoritarianism and war. In conversation with James Long

Sponsored by The Norie Trust

Poetry

Sometimes Only A Poem Will Do

Guildhall | 6:30–7:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL9

If it’s guidance you need, or simply a moment of beauty, William Sieghart’s Poetry Pharmacy provides solace, joy and inspiration, one verse at a time. In conversation with Laura Beatty.

Sponsored by The Norie Trust

Is It Too Early For Champagne? Remembering

Jilly Cooper

Guildhall | 7:30–8:30pm

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL10

Join us for a joyous celebration of the much-loved author Jilly Cooper. Rivals actress Victoria Smurfit, journalist and author Daisy Buchanan and Kat Brown, founder of the Jilly Cooper book club, lead fangirl tributes to the jolly super creator of some of our favourite bonkbusters!

Sunday 17 May

Biography

Elizabeth II

Daughter. Wife. Mother. Sovereign.

Guildhall | 11am–12pm £16 | £13 conc* | BFL11

Robert Hardman’s biography of the late Queen is a story of drama and devotion, triumph and tragedy, humour and conflict. Join the author to hear why Elizabeth II was not merely the most famous woman in the world, she was one of history’s all-time greats.

Romantic Fiction

Kate Fforde

Guildhall | 11am–12pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL12

Author of over 50 novels, Katie Fforde talks to Ali Vowles about living in the countryside, about her characters, and why she believes that falling in love is the best thing in the world.

Art How To Live An Artful Life

Guildhall | 2–3pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL13

Join art historian Katy Hessel, and poet and novelist Victoria Redel for a celebration of art, the women who make it, and for a lesson in how to live an artful life. In conversation with Daisy Buchanan

Sport

The History of Cricket

Guildhall | 2-3pm | £16 | £13 conc* | BFL14

Join Richard Heller and Peter Oborne as they draw on their many years of experience as cricketing historians, commentators and fans to bring us a potted history of the sport.

Sunday 17 May Friday 22 May

Crime

Ripping Yarns

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL15

Comedian and author Ben Miller talks about the inspiration behind his new novel A Very Dangerous Pursuit, dubbed as ‘007 meets Tintin.’

Music

A Hard Day’s Night

The BeatlesA Genuine Classic

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL16

Join journalist and broadcaster Samira Ahmed in conversation with Joe Haddow about the iconic 1964 film made to capture a pop phenomenon.

Non Fiction

Inside Facebook

Guildhall | 7–8pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL17

Sarah WynnWilliams’s global bestseller Careless People is a shocking insider account of what it was like to work for Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook. In conversation with Ali Vowles.

Non Fiction

George Sand A Uniquely

Modern Figure

Bath Central Library 11am–12pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL18

Cigar smoking, gendernonconforming, bisexual, polyamorous and the intellectual equal of any man, George Sand was the beating heart of the Paris literary scene. Fiona Sampson reassesses this uniquely modern figure, 150 years after her death.

Fiction

Fake News

The Pepys Conspiracy

Guildhall | 12:30–1:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL19

James Long’s historical thriller The Pepys Conspiracy sets out to redress the huge injustice inflicted on Balty St. Michel who saved Pepys from the Tower, only to be exiled himself. Join the author to hear why Balty’s fate has preoccupied him for almost 20 years.

Memoir A Life On England’s Waterways

Bath Central Library | 2–3pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL20

Living Well

King of Veg

Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall

Guildhall | 3–4pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL21

Many of us aren’t getting enough fibre in our diets, but Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shows us how simple and delicious it can be with High Fibre Heroes - 100 easy recipes that celebrate 12 everyday vegetables. In conversation with Gaby Huddart

Biography

Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall To

Jo Bell - poet, boat-dweller and the UK’s first Canal Laureate, reads from her memoir Boater and talks to Lucy English about life on England’s waterways.

Marilyn Monroe

Portrait of an Icon

Guildhall | 3–4pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL22

Marilyn Monroe’s life and death continue to fascinate us, 100 years after her birth.

Andrew Wilson’s biography, I Wanna Be Loved By You is a dazzling blend of reportage, interviews and oral history and an engaging new portrait of an icon.

Friday 22 May

Nature

The Spirit of Stone

Wyl Menmuir

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL24

Do rock and earth form part of who we are?

Bestselling author of The Draw of the Sea Wyl Menmuir weaves together interviews, folklore, and personal encounters, and reflects on how our landscapes continue to define us. In conversation with Paul Venables.

Fiction

Howard Jacobson

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL23

Howl, Booker prize winner

Howard Jacobson’s latest novel is a devastating psychological portrait filled with wit, dark humour and tragedy.

History Lives of the Caesars

with Tom Holland

The Forum | 7–8pm

£25 | £20 conc* | BFL25

Travel back to the Roman Empire with the star of the podcast, The Rest is History. Tom Holland celebrates his translation of Suetonius’s influential Lives of the Twelve Caesars and reveals the shocking truths behind Rome’s most notorious emperors.

Sponsored by Postscript Books

Master of Mystery

Anthony Horowitz

Guildhall | 7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL26

A Deadly Episode is the latest Anthony Horowitz thriller to feature the prickly investigator Daniel Hawthorne.

The creator of Foyle’s War, Moonflower Murders and Close to Death discusses his metafiction crime series with Joe Haddow.

Memoir Behind the Shop Window

Guildhall | 7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL27

Mary Portas, Queen of Shops, talks about her life, her career as a retail revolutionary, and why emotional connection remains central to meaningful commerce. In conversation with Alicia Carey.

Saturday 23 May

Floral Workshop Everlasting Blooms

With Layla Robinson

Bath Central Library 10:30am–12pm

£70 (includes all materials) BFL28

An exclusive workshop with floral artist Layla Robinson. Create your own unique dried floral panel to take home.

Saturday 23 May

Debate

Europe: Where Do We Go From Here?

Guildhall | 11am–12pm

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL29

In June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU, re-shaping Britain’s place in the world. A decade later, with war on the mainland and unpredictable shifts in global power, is it time to build a new Europe?

Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland is joined by Lib Dem MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse and author David Marsh (Can Europe Survive?) to ask: where do we go from here?

Fiction

The Climate

Fiction

Prize

St Swithin’s Church

11:30–12:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL30

The Climate Fiction Prize was established last year to track climate fiction’s emergence as a vital and necessary new genre. Judge Simon Savidge talks to last year’s winner, Abi Daré about the current shortlist ahead of the winner announcement.

Workshop Poetry

With Jo Bell

Meet at the Temple of Minerva, Sydney Gardens

11am–1:15pm

£30 | £25 conc* | BFL31

A short walk by the canal, followed by a poetry workshop in the Sydney Gardens Pavilion.

Generate new poems about water, from mallards to mermaids, and from childhood memories to the broad rivers of myth.

Workshop

Building Worlds

Fantasy Fiction with Natasha Pulley

Bath Central Library

1:30–3:30pm

£30 | £25 conc* | BFL34

Bring your world to life on the page. A workshop led by expert fantasy writer Natasha Pulley, shows how to capture your magical idea and scale it up around you in your written world.

Debate Making Russia Great Again?

Guildhall | 2–3:15pm

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL32

What does Russia really want? Global recognition as a great power, or simply more territory? Strategy expert Andrew Monaghan, Eastern European specialist Jade McGlynn and Professor in Conflict and Security at King’s College London, Tracey German explore why understanding Russia’s true objectives is essential to global stability in an increasingly fragmented international order.

History

Stories of Resistance

St Swithin’s Church | 2–3pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL33

In The Traitors Circle, Jonathan Freedland’s stories of courage and resistance under Hitler illuminate the enduring power of moral defiance in the face of darkness. In conversation with Dr Tim Rideout.

Saturday 23 May

Shaken Not Stirred

Celebrating

James Bond

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL35

Join us for a celebration of all things Bond… James Bond! Vaseem Khan has the blessing of the Ian Fleming estate for Quantum of Menace, featuring Q after leaving MI5. Kim Sherwood’s Hurricane Room is the final thrilling adventure in the Double-O series and actor Genevieve Gaunt is the voice of The Spy Who Loved Me audiobook. We’ve been expecting you...

Non Fiction

The Truth About The Small Boats Crisis

St Swithin’s Church | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL36

In We Came By Sea Horatio Clare exposes the gap between perception and reality of the small boats crisis. Most people in the UK support asylum for the deserving, yet press reports continue to drive fear and hysteria. What is the truth about small boats? In conversation with James Long Sponsored by The Norie Trust.

Fiction

Joanna Cannon

Guildhall | 7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL37

The Sunday Times best-selling author of The Trouble With Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie, talks to writer Clare Chambers, the author of Small Pleasures and Shy Creatures, about Joanna’s new novel The Unlikely Visitor

Music

How Music Shapes Us

St Swithin’s Church

7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL38

Experience a unique blend of music and storytelling as BBC radio host, Tom Service and author, Elizabeth Alker explore the intersections between sound and narrative. An enlightening journey for readers and music lovers alike.

The Sunday Papers with Marcus Brigstocke and friends

Guildhall | 10:30–11:30am

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL39

Join comedian, writer and broadcaster Marcus Brigstocke, comedian Jayde Adams and friends for a perusal of the Sunday papers. Expect sharp observation on politics, acerbic impressions of world figures and a refreshing view of life’s absurdities.

Forever Jane: An Austen Celebration

With Rachel Parris, Cariad Lloyd and Jessica Bull

Guildhall | 1–2pm

£18 | £13 conc* | BFL40

A trio of Janeites discuss the enduring appeal of the writer whose books were full of obstinate, headstrong girls and acutely observed human behaviour.

Sunday 24 May History

Crime Fiction

Chris Brookmyre & Liz Nugent

Guildhall | 3–4pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL41

These two titans of the crime fiction genre talk to Joe Haddow about their new novels and their writing - how they plot and unsettle their readers, and who inspires them.

Biography

Gwen & Augustus John

Artists, Siblings, Visionaries

St Swithin’s Church | 3–4pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL42

Their experiments with form and colour created some of the most memorable work of the early twentieth century, but as siblings, and in temperament, they could not have been more different. Biographer Judith Mackrell brings these two remarkable individuals to life in her latest book.

Climate Crisis

Sink or Swim?

Guildhall | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL43

The world needs to adapt to climate change – but how?

Former diplomat Arthur Snell (Elemental: The New Geography of Climate Change and How We Survive It) explores the geopolitics of climate change, while Susannah Fisher (Sink or Swim: How the world needs to adapt to a changing climate) lays out the changes needed to preserve our living planet.

Fiction

Re-Telling Stories

St Swithin’s Church | 5–6pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL44

Myth and legend explored for a new generation. Saara El-Arifi and Rosie Hewlett reveal the importance of reshaping ancient stories to reflect contemporary truths. In conversation with Georgina Moore.

Fiction

Douglas Stuart

Guildhall | 7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL45 Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart, (Shuggie Bain, Young Mungo), talks to Max Porter about his latest novel. Set in a tight-knit Hebridean community, John of John examines the weight of family expectation, the compromises made for love, the lies people tell in order to survive and the cost of a life unlived.

BabylonLong-Lost City

St Swithin’s Church 7:30–8:30pm

£16 | £13 conc* | BFL46

Historian Lloyd

LlewellynJones evokes a long-lost world in Babylon: The Mother of All Cities. In legend

Babylon was a byword for decadence - the site of the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel. This vivid account brings the reality of this teeming city to life.

And on Monday 1 June

An Evening with Maggie O’Farrell

The Forum | 7–8pm £16 | £13 conc*

Maggie O’Farrell celebrates the release of her latest novel, Land, an intimate and epic story of buried treasure, overlapping lives, and persistent ghosts.

Walks

We are delighted to be working with Fred Mawer Tours, Bath Urban Treescape and the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath to bring you a programme of ten fascinating walks in and around Bath.

The walks cover the city’s spa history, its links with the 18th century slavery economy, the Bath Blitz, Jane Austen, Five Georgian crescents, Bath on screen, Bath’s treescape and, new for this year, Walcot Street’s history and Walking with Death.

How to book

Each walk is approximately two hours long, and is priced at £20. Most take place multiple times throughout the festival week. The walks are gentle paced, on pavements, with frequent stops and, with the exception of Five Georgian Crescents and Bath’s Botanical Gardens, are suitable for wheelchair users. Most are led by professional Blue Badge-qualified tour guides.

Please visit the website for full details.

Phone Bath Box Office: 01225 463362

Online bathboxoffice.org.uk

Visit Bath Box Office counter, open Monday–Friday, 10am–5pm 1a Forum Buildings, St James’ Parade, BA1 1UG

All orders are subject to a booking fee of £1.50.

*Concession prices offered see website for details. Free essential companion (carer) ticket available to those who need them across all prices.

Group discount: one free ticket for every ten purchased for the same event when booked at the same time. T&Cs apply.

Our Partners & Sponsors

Thank you for your support

Bronze:

Silver:

Gold: Festival offer: book more, save more!**

5% discount when you buy tickets for three or more events

10% discount when you buy tickets for five or more events

15% discount when you buy tickets for eight or more events

**Applies across both Music and Literature Festivals

And grateful thanks to William Keeling, Catherine May, Ian and Christa Taylor and Nicholas Wylde. Many thanks to all our Patrons, Friends and especially our Funding Partners for their generous support across all our Festivals.

The Coles-Medlock Foundation

David and Karin Embleton

Andrew Fletcher

Elaine Marson

Mayden Foundation

Trevor Osborne

The Roper Rhodes Family Charitable Trust

Jimmy and Hiroko Sherwin

Colin and Theresa Skellett

Ian Tarr

And a big thank you to all our volunteers who give their time so generously. Cover artwork & brochure design: Lauren Millington | lauren-millington.design