Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival returns later this year with its biggest and most ambitious programme to date, with five days of inspiring conversations, fresh ideas and unforgettable stories.

Now in its ninth year, the festival, which runs from October 8 to 11, will bring together acclaimed authors, emerging voices and curious readers for a packed programme of talks, panel discussions, workshops, guided walks, film screenings and live performances across the town.

Curated by artistic director Kate Sawyer, this year’s festival offers a brilliant roster of names including Rachel Joyce, Sarah Winman, Louis de Bernières among many more.

The 2026 programme also introduces exciting new additions to the festival, including a brand-new Food Programme that celebrates Bury St Edmunds’ reputation as a culinary capital, and a new Festival of Nature partnership with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

There is also a free events programme for children and young people, ensuring all tickets for under-18s remain completely free of charge.

Bookings for the festival open on Friday, July 3, and the programme includes:

• Acclaimed author events and panels: The fiction programme brings together bestselling authors such as Rachel Joyce, Sarah Winman, Abi Daré, Louis de Bernières, Nussaibah Younis, T.M. Logan, Monique Roffey and Damian Barr. Panel discussions will introduce fresh voices alongside recognisable names, exploring diverse subjects like family life, modern love, football fiction, the life of Marilyn Monroe, and romantasy. There is also a special showcase event celebrating reading groups with national book club The Book Taster.
• A brand new food programme: For the first time, the festival features a dedicated Food Programme curated by food writer Nic Miller. This new addition celebrates Bury St Edmunds’ reputation as the Food Capital of East Anglia by pairing the town’s literary identity with its culinary culture.
• Festival of nature partnership: In a new collaboration with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, the festival will bring nature writing and environmental storytelling to the forefront. This partnership includes events with nature writers like Michael J Warren, Stephen Rutt, and Robert Ashton.
• Writing workshops and literary walks: Attendees can develop their own craft through various workshops on researching a novel, writing crime, writing poetry, and goal setting with a rich selection of workshops, delivered in partnership with Gold Dust Mentoring and Poetry Aloud — offer participants the chance to develop their own craft. The festival also offers guided literary walks in partnership with the Bury Tour Guides to uncover the town’s centuries-old relationship with writers and storytelling.
• Film screenings: To complement the author programme, Abbeygate Cinema will host special screenings of The Unexpected Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and The Prince and the Showgirl.
• Free programme for children and young people: The festival champions the next generation of readers with an extensive free programme across all four days, featuring interactive storytelling, graphic novel workshops with Jack Noel, and myths and legends sessions with Kevin Crossley-Holland. Furthermore, as part of their Children’s Creative Writing Competition, the festival is pledging 100 books to three local schools.