Winchester Books Festival 2026

Friday 17 - Sunday 19 April 2026

Hello and welcome to the Winchester Books Festival.

Winchester is a city steeped in literary history and famously the resting place of one of the UK’s most beloved authors, Jane Austen. Our festival is a vibrant celebration of books, authors and the power of words.

Each April, we bring together an extraordinary line up of authors for a weekend filled with inspiration, imagination and lively discussion. From captivating fiction and thought-provoking non-fiction to enchanting children’s stories, we aim for our festival to have something for everyone.

In addition to our annual festival, we also host special events throughout the year to keep the magic of books alive in Winchester.

We look forward to you joining us as we celebrate the best of books and the writers who create them.

Behind the scenes with Dame Mary Berry

Watch behind the scenes of our incredible evening with Dame Mary Berry.

It was an evening brimming with heart-warming anecdotes, practical baking wisdom, trademark humour—and absolutely no soggy bottoms.

Mary’s brand-new cookbook, Mary 90 —featuring 90 of her most iconic fuss-free recipes is out now from BBC Books to coincide with a major new BBC TV series.

We were thrilled to have been selected to host one of very few of Dame Mary’s events this autumn.

Here’s a glimpse of how the evening went. Why not come and join us at one of our future events with world renowned authors in our Winchester venues.

Watch behind the scenes with Dame Mary Berry (1.05 min)

Never miss a thing!

Rosalind Freeborn and her book Prince George & Master Frederick

Winner of our Open call for authors

We are delighted to host a diverse range of authors at Winchester Books Festival (WBF). As you can imagine, we receive a high volume of requests each year.

Following the success of last year’s Open Call – when authors were invited to present themselves and their books to a panel – we once again held auditions on Friday, 12 December, offering the opportunity to secure a place at WBF26.

We would like to thank all the authors who attended. The standard of pitches was exceptionally high, and the panel was greatly impressed by the quality of submissions.

We are pleased to announce that our winning author is Rosalind Freeborn, with her book Prince George & Master Frederick.

Follow our newsletter and social media for further details about Rosalind and her event at WBF26.

Delighted to be a BAFA Member 2025

We are thrilled to have become a BAFA member.

As a new festival we have be bowled over by the support of local people and sponsors.

“BAFA support and inspire arts festivals to fulfil their creative ambitions, on their own terms. It’s not just about the festivals, but the people who run them.”