What’s On

Talk of Englishness is dominated by the right – by cheerleaders of English exceptionalism, aggressive nationalism and imperial nostalgia. Can we reclaim it? Join Caroline Lucas, former leader of the…more

Join one of Britain’s most exciting poets, Ted Hughes Award winner Raymond Antrobus, as he reads from his new collection. Looking backwards to his late father and forwards to his…more

Is the sun finally setting on the West’s outsized influence over the rest of the world? Strategy advisor and former UK diplomat Dr Samir Puri explains how the world is…more

Celebrities inspire us with their music, move us with their words and influence every corner of society, from fashion to politics. But what happens when the famous figures we love…more

“I recently saw something in a petrol station toilet southbound on the M1 that I can never unsee…” With headlines like that, is it any wonder Adrian Chiles’s weekly Guardian…more

When Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in 2017, her son Paul Caruana Galizia began a quest for justice. Who was responsible for Daphne’s murder? And who stood to…more

Robert Hornsby, associate professor in modern European history at the University of Leeds, tells the remarkable story of the ‘Soviet sixties’, an era of reform, controversy, optimism and Cold War…more

Do you know your Pride and Prejudice from your Sense and Sensibility? Your Margaret Drabble from your Margaret Atwood? Quiz Master Mel returns by popular demand with her annual book…more

Architect Laura Jane Clark, from the smash-hit TV series Your Home Made Perfect, is here to make your house a home. Clark, who has spent over 15 years designing, remodelling,…more

Architect Laura Jane Clark, from the smash-hit TV series Your Home Made Perfect, is here to make your house a home. Clark, who has spent over 15 years designing, remodelling,…more

Brimham Rocks and its heather moorland are magnets for geologists, naturalists, climbers and walkers. Join National Trust & Word Up North Writer in Residence Natalie Anastasia Davies for a mindful…more

In an event exclusively for Friends of the Festival, poet, writer and chair extraordinaire James Nash will celebrate his stand-out memories from his years helming Ilkley Lit Fest events. Interspersed…more

Meet two of the next big names in fiction and get your hands on their exciting debut novels before they’re published at John Murray Press’s proof party! Clare Leslie Hall’s…more

Hear all about the present and future of literature festivals and the UK literary ecology. Director of the National Poetry Centre and former Director of the Edinburgh Book Festival Nick…more

Hear all about the present and future of literature festivals and the UK literary ecology. Director of the National Poetry Centre and former Director of the Edinburgh Book Festival Nick…more

We’re thrilled to be joined by Jodi Picoult, the globally bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper and Nineteen Minutes. To date, 40 million copies of Picoult’s books have been sold…more

We’re thrilled to be joined by Jodi Picoult, the globally bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper andNineteen Minutes. To date, 40 million copies of Picoult’s books have been sold worldwide….more

“We’re all in it together”, so went the Tory slogan. But after 14 years of Conservative governments, Britain is facing sharp social divisions, vastly increased inequality, a stagnant economy and…more

Writing a memoir but not sure if your story stands out? Need help capturing your work’s USP in a proposal? Or do you have a gripping true crime manuscript that’s…more

Think you know your royal history? Think again. Meet Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Henry VIII and mother to James V of Scotland, whose dramatic life laid the groundwork for…more