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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Pick of the month
A speaker at this year’s Festival is one of seven authors included in Waterstones’ Books of the Month of May. Historian and TV presenter Dan Cruickshank combines architecture and social history in The English House: A History in Eight Buildings with stories of the lives of their first occupants. The book, one of two listed…
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Life in the past Lane
Historian and social media sensation Dr Jess Venner, who is a speaker at this year’s Festival, was delighted to be invited to speak on Sky News recently about the launch of her debut book The Lost Voices of Pompeii, and the rise of AI history content. Her passion is making ancient history accessible, and she…
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Event for Friends
Festival Friends are in for a thrilling night with cosy crime writer Jayne Chard who is to be guest speaker at a Friends-only event on Thursday 9 July. Jayne is also an award-winning film and TV drama producer, with the BBC series Silent Witness among her credits. Her latest book The Body that Floats is…
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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…
