Cheltenham Literary Festival announces full programme for 2025

Posted on Wed 03 Sep

The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival returns Friday 10 - Sunday 19 October with a must-see line up across 400+ events. The world's longest-running literature festival continues to lead the way in celebrating the written and spoken word. With a jam-packed programme over 10 days, this year it brings together the best new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats, stars of stage and screen, incisive political thinkers, plus a vibrant family and schools programme, performances and literary happenings scattered across the town.

World-famous names will sit alongside brand-new voices, emphasising the Festival’s commitment to look towards - and help create - the future. This is the fifth year of the ‘Read the World’ theme, which has a dual meaning in bringing together a range of international participants, joining live events both digitally and in-person; and celebrating the Festival as a platform to better understand the world we live in, and the biggest issues facing our society today. These timely and urgent topics include the dangers of the internet, the power of big tech, life longevity, and Afghanistan’s free press.

After a decade-long hiatus, The Big Read returns to the Festival this autumn, bringing readers together through the shared experience of reading a compelling novel by an exciting debut author. For its 2025 relaunch, the Festival is spotlighting British-Cambodian writer Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time - the #1 bestselling debut novel of 2024. With the campaign having launched last month (Wednesday 23 July), Bradley will be making an appearance at the Festival in October to celebrate The Big Read and the future of literary talent more widely.

There will be a series of events and unique dining experiences at The Nook on Five, Cheltenham’s spectacular rooftop restaurant; and Dunkertons Taproom will host a vibrant programme of discussion, tastings, spoken word and music.

Alongside ticketed events across the Festival’s many stages, including The Times and Sunday Times Forum, The Cunard Stage and Attivo Garden Theatre, Festival-goers can enjoy a day out to explore everything the Festival Village has to offer, with 30% of the overall programme free of charge. This includes events in The Huddle and The Snug and Bookshop Crawls across Cheltenham in the Locally Sourced programme.

Booklovers can also immerse themselves in captivating tales with BBC Audiobooks or delve into incredible stories and see the impact of charitable giving in the Benefact Group Lounge. There are numerous drop-in family events and activities in The Wild Wood, including Tales from Acorn Wood Trail, celebrating 25 years of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved series with interactive storytelling and hidden surprises. Times Radio will broadcast live interviews from Times Square, so passing visitors can enjoy hearing further conversation from their favourite speakers.

IMAGES: Still Moving Media for Cheltenham Festivals

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Brand-new for 2025 is the Return to Wonderland-themed Wild Wood adventure. The Festival will celebrate 160 years of Alice in Wonderland with free storytelling, arts and crafts and a chance to step into the world of Alice with a Why by Anna James to meet the Mad Hatter. Comic makers unite to inspire young artists to create their own characters and comics in workshops and events and the new Comic Corner.

Taking place in a dedicated space at the Literature Festival, VOICEBOX returns for its fifth year for a vibrant free programme aimed at 18 - 30s that amplifies young voices, turns up the volume on big issues and creates change through culture. Featuring well-known names and emerging talent and spanning topics from pop culture to politics, mental health and wellbeing, the full line-up will be announced in September in the VOICEBOX zine and online.

These offerings are a core part of the Festival’s commitment to widening accessibility to the arts. It also inspires over 12,000 school children with a love of books through the Literature for Schools programme, in line with Cheltenham Festivals’ year-round mission to bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities and inspire change. For aspiring writers, there are workshops to offer inspiration and guidance, such as writing historical fiction, crafting a pitch, and how to self-edit.

CELEBRATING 80 YEARS

Cheltenham Festivals is commemorating 80 years since the inception of its very first Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, which was one of the first arts festivals to be established in post-war Britain. The charity is marking the occasion with a year-long campaign to gift the joy of culture to 80,000 school children - reaffirming its commitment to changing lives through the arts.

Ahead of the Literature Festival, the current total reached stands at 37,652.

CHAMPIONING THE FUTURE OF READING

2025 will see the return of The Future of Reading Conference, which will bring together authors, illustrators, poets and industry voices including experts from Empathy Lab, Inclusive Books for Children and National Literacy Trust, Waterstones Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Comics Laureate, Bobby Joseph and author Sharna Jackson - all united by a shared passion: inspiring children, young people, and their teachers to discover the joy of reading.

Booking for the Festival will be open to the public on Thursday 4 September.

FULL PROGRAMME GUESTS

GUEST CURATORS

FAMILY AND YOUNG ADULT PROGRAMME: