Full programme announced for literature’s longest-running festival
The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2023 announces this year’s must-see line-up, consisting of 500+ events encompassing art and design, classic literature, current affairs, faith and philosophy, fiction, poetry and spoken word, history, memoir, food and drink and more. Join the likes of Brian Cox, Jojo Moyes, Elizabeth Day, Charlie Mackesy, Sadiq Khan, Liv Little, David Mitchell, Heather Morris, Tim Peake, Clive Myrie, Yomi Adegoke and so many more.
From Friday 6 to Sunday 15 October, the Festival will offer visitors the opportunity to take the pulse of contemporary culture, hosting thought-provoking discussions and exploration of emerging trends across politics, culture and lifestyle. World-class novelists, incisive global thinkers, bright new voices, bold explorers and conversation-starting creators all await them this October. The Festival, with a history spanning more than seven decades, continues to break new ground with a programme featuring the world’s foremost writers, thinkers and performers. They will all descend on the vibrant spa town when the Festival village returns to the heart of Regency Cheltenham.
Returning for 2023 is the Festival’s Read the World theme, which has been spotlighting international literature at Cheltenham since 2021, offering visitors a passport to global voices and ideas.
As well as playing host to a striking number of leading authors across all genres, the Festival is and always has been, a place to discover new talent and emerging voices. Cheltenham’s signature proof parties introduce audiences to upcoming novelists before they are published.
Cheltenham’s VOICEBOX programme is back for its third year, bringing youth voices and ideas to the forefront through a free programme of talks, workshops, panels, music, comedy and more. VOICEBOX will also see a takeover led by the Black British Book Festival and the launch of a new policy initiative by women and girls’ rights campaign group This Ends Now.
The lively Festival village, in Cheltenham’s Montpellier Gardens, is the perfect setting for a family day out, with a bumper programme of events, free activities and workshops. It features the greatest storytellers and illustrators, sure to inspire a love of reading in children of all ages and stages.
Across the Festival village, visitors can enjoy pop-up culinary adventures. These will include events at The Daffodil, Cheltenham’s iconic food and lifestyle destination venue that is housed in an Art Deco former cinema. Visitors will be able to eat brunch, lunch and dinner with well-known names, from Michel Roux to Sarah Raven and Arthur Parkinson.
Booking for the Literature Festival opens to Cheltenham Festivals Members on Wednesday 30 August and general booking opens on Wednesday 6 September 2023.
Further Information: Literature | Cheltenham Festivals