What’s On

Join the much-loved and totally awe-inspiring Dame Jacqueline Wilson, author of over 120 books for children. Discover how she started her writing career, how she created some of her best-loved…more

A brilliant theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking lived one of the most extraordinary lives of the past century. And yet, none of this should have been possible. Aged 21, he was…more

VENUE CHANGE: DIFFERENT FROM BROCHURE – EVENT NOW TAKING PLACE AT CHURCH HOUSE What if we learned to live with nature rather than simply in it? How does that marry…more

VENUE CHANGE: DIFFERENT FROM BROCHURE – EVENT NOW TAKING PLACE AT ALL SAINTS CHURCH Journalist and travel writer Tom Fort makes a splash with his love letter to the lido….more

Journalist and travel writer Tom Fort makes a splash with his love letter to the lido. Join Fort on a fun-packed journey around the UK’s lidos past and present –…more

For 40,000 years, we have been carving and moulding, shaping and chiselling, exploring our sense of the world through sculpture. Join renowned art historian and curator Jo Baring to find…more

In Reds, journalist, writer and political strategist Paul Mason tells the global history of communism, going beyond the turmoil of the 20th century, and exploring communist ideas, movements and regimes….more

Workshop leader JC Niala is an award-winning writer, environmental historian and anthropologist specialising in human/nature interactions. Her workshop is for anyone curious about starting – or developing – a nature…more

If you’ve ever been awed at the power and vastness of the seas, you’ll have wondered what kind of person voluntarily sets sail to save others. RNLI volunteer Dominic Gregory,…more

To be human is to be a walking chemical reaction. Everything we see and feel is a chemical compound, or collection of compounds. Inventor and educator Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu takes…more

If you’ve ever been awed at the power and vastness of the seas, you’ll have wondered what kind of person voluntarily sets sail to save others. RNLI volunteer Dominic Gregory,…more

Restless for a new adventure, travel writer Simon Parker decided to cycle through all 15 of the UK’s national parks. His days within the parks, from Dartmoor to Cairngorms, via…more

Over one winter, writer and biographer Cathy Rentzenbrink reread each of the Agatha Christie mysteries in publication order. She became captivated by the enduring mystery of her 11-day disappearance in…more

Keith Brymer Jones takes a very personal journey through the history of ceramics. From wine jars to ink pots, Brymer Jones enthrals and entertains with his knowledge of pottery and…more

Hormones animate every aspect of our lives, controlling our milestone moments as well as our day-to-day emotions. Join leading endocrinologist Dr Saira Hameed as she shares extraordinary stories from her…more

Hormones animate every aspect of our lives, controlling our milestone moments as well as our day-to-day emotions. Join leading endocrinologist Dr Saira Hameed as she shares extraordinary stories from her…more

Ageing as a runner is no joke: as comedian and writer Paul Tonkinson can attest. In running, as in life, you are gradually overtaken by a stream of younger people…more

Why does Cinderella, one of the oldest fairy tales, still have such resonance to this day? A glass slipper, a fairy godmother, a transformed pumpkin, lizard footmen and seamstress mice:…more

Simon Armitage returns to Ilkley Literature Festival to launch his exhilarating new verse translation of the ancient epic poem Gilgamesh. The Poet Laureate has spent over a decade working on…more

The perfect pre-Halloween writing workshop! Drawing on local legends or folklore from your family heritage, you’ll learn the key elements of the classic ghost story, how to build suspense, and…more