Winchester Books Festival 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.
‘Open call’ for authors
We are delighted to host a range of authors at our festival but as you can imagine, we receive a lot of requests.
Last year, we hosted an ‘Open Call’ for authors to present themselves and their books to a panel. The winner was children’s author Carrie Sellon, who we hosted at Winchester Guildhall.
The ‘Open Call’ audition for a place at the 17-19 April 2026 Winchester Books Festival will be taking place on next Friday, 12 December at 10am – 12pm
Thank you for all your applications, our list has now closed. We look forward to sharing details of our winning author in the next few weeks!
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 for an event with world renowned authors in our Winchester venues.
Our April 2025 Festival Authors
Jeremy Bowen
Federica Amati
Patrick Grant
Pollyanna Wilkinson
Tom Holland
Lady Carnarvon
William Hanson
Dame Kelly Holmes
Claire Douglas
Susie Dent
LV Matthews
Kate Kemp
Joanna Miller
Simon Heffer
Andy Hussey
Margaret Sturton
Nicky Smith-Dale
Sohail Husain
Rob Eastaway
Marcel Dirsus
Chris Jackson
Kathryn Sutherland
Ben Pentreath
Carrie Sellon
Maz Evans
Judy Murray
Judith Heneghan
Tom Bromley
Kate Nicholson
Franco Fubini
Eleanor Mills
Hannah Bourne-Taylor
Ferdia Lennon
Claire Fuller
Ben Macintyre
David Nicholls
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.”
Explore the Winchester Books Festival.
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