Welcome to
our Festival
16-24 October 2026
Set up in 1992 to celebrate the written word
Tickets now on sale
2026 Speakers
Our 2026 Sponsors
Principal Festival Sponsor
2026 Brochure
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
Education projects
Wells Festival of Literature
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
News
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Regency Romance
Regency romance is in the air and Jane Austen fans are in for a treat at this year’s Wells Festival of Literature as the nation celebrates the 250th birthday of the famous author. Comedian Rachel Parris and Austen expert Ros Ballaster are both appearing at the Festival with very different tributes to the much-loved author…
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Recipes for success
Women whose lives have been successful in wildly differing ways are just some of the highlights of this year’s Festival. Among them is Prue Leith, a surprise pop-up visitor last year after fellow cook Sophie Grigson’s Italian-flavoured presentation. This year Prue is herself a Festival headliner, bringing some welcome advice from her latest book Life’s…
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Winning story
A speaker at last year’s Wells Festival of Literature has been awarded this year’s Women’s prize for nonfiction for her moving book The Story of a Heart. Dr Rachel Clarke, a specialist in end-of-life care, appeared at the Festival in 2024 where she gave a heartwarming account of two nine-year-old children and the lifesaving journey…
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Survival, spies and justice
Wells Festival of Literature this year plays its part in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War with gripping accounts from two authors of survival and espionage. A third writer brings a current message of hope in the battle for justice and holding war criminals to account. Historian Anne Sebba,…
