Welcome to
our Festival
Save the Date
16-24 October 2026
Set up in 1992 to celebrate the written word
Wells Festival of Literature
Celebrating its 34th Year in 2026
Wells Festival of Literature is a registered charity entirely run by a committee of volunteers, funded by ticket sales, competition entries and generous local sponsors and Friends.
IN 2025
VISITORS A YEAR
Education projects
Fleur Hitchcock visits Longvernal Primary
Dicheat School Book Club meet to discuss The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll
St John’s enjoy a visit from Tracey Corderoy
Wookey Sch reading their new books
Waterstones visit by Bishop Henderson Sch
Emily Lloyd-Gale at St John’s
Following a visit from A.F. Harrold:
“It was an enriching session that enhanced our pupils’ appreciation and understanding of poetry. Huge thanks to the Education Team at The Wells Festival of Literature for organising and funding this visit!”
Fairlands Middle School – Cheddar
News
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Writers at the ready
Entries for this year’s international competitions are now open, and there is hot competition for the £5,000 pot of prizes on offer. Writers have three months in which to hone their skills at poetry and storytelling in three categories before the competitions close at midnight on 31 June. These are Open Poetry, Short Story and…
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Lyse in line for award
Lyse Doucet – a sellout speaker at last year’s Festival – is on a shortlist of six authors for the Waterstones Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2026 with her book The Finest Hotel in Kabul. The hotel in question is the Hotel Inter-Continental, which opened in Afghanistan in 1969 as a glamorous beacon of hope for…
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Writers under wraps
No names can be revealed just yet, but behind the scenes the Festival booking team is sending out invitations and signing up authors for this year’s event which takes place from 16-24 October. As usual the 2026 Festival will feature speakers discussing numerous topics from the arts to the sciences, from history to politics, and…
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Sponsor the Festival
We are hugely grateful to our principal sponsor Chubb Bulleid, along with our other regular sponsors, for their continued support of the Festival. Their help enables the Festival to grow and to expand its cultural and educational work in the community that includes a year-round programme of literary activities in local schools and colleges. There…
