• Festival Success

    Stimulating speakers and record ticket sales made the 2025 Festival the best year ever with several authors attracting capacity audiences. Sell-outs included novelist Sebastian Faulks and health guru Tim Spector on the opening night, a literary lunch with gardener Carol Klein, and fascinating stories of Afghanistan by war correspondent Lyse Doucet on the final day.…

  • Excitement For Year 6

    Adventure mystery writer Sam Sedgman went down a storm at the Festival’s schools-only event, entertaining more than 1,000 Year 6 youngsters. Sedgman, the award-winning author of several series of books, including Adventures on Trains and Isaac Turner Investigates, delighted his young audience with weird and wonderful facts from his stories. Afterwards the children queued excitedly…

  • Become A Friend

    Join the Festival as a Friend and enjoy the benefits of early booking, discounted ticket prices and an invitation to a special pre-Festival event. Never miss out again on seeing a favourite author – several speakers sold out fast in 2025 – as advance booking for Friends opens a week ahead of general booking. Membership…

  • Sponsor the Festival

    We need your support. Please join our sponsors in helping the Festival continue its year-round literacy projects in local schools. There are lots of ways that businesses and individuals can help, from sponsoring an event to offering a service. In return sponsors receive a range of benefits including publicity and complimentary tickets. The Festival is…

  • Festival Weekend Finale

    Online ticket sales close at 3pm today, so be sure to book before then to be sure of a seat. Tickets will then be available on the door at Cedars Hall from 4pm on Friday and all day Saturday for £12.50 each, cash or card. Seats are still available for: Friday 24 October 2.00pm James…

  • Reliving Austen In True Style

    The 250th anniversary of novelist Jane Austen’s birth will be celebrated by two of her biggest fans on Saturday, the final day of this year’s Festival. If you were one of those sauntering the streets in Regency costume this summer – yes, even in Wells – here’s your chance to find out if you really…

  • Personal Poems On Request

    Kit the Poet is packing up his portable typewriter and bringing it to the Festival where he will write poems on demand. For a personal poem, all you need to do is pick a topic, approach the poet, watch while he taps out your poem, and pay him what you think is a fair price.…

  • Fine Food at the Festival

    Eight local eateries just a short walk from Cedars Hall are offering Discounted Dining for festivalgoers who book in advance. Just give them a call, show your Festival tickets on arrival, and you will receive a discount of 10% on your bill. The eight are: The Thai food stall Secret Recipe will no longer be…

  • Still time to book the Quiz

    Brainy bookworms have the chance to test their literary know-how at the Festival’s fun quiz night at Cedars Hall. Once again quirky quizmaster Gary Wigglesworth, author of The Book Lover’s Quiz Book, will host another lively evening of testing teasers. The former bookseller began writing and hosting his own quizzes when he discovered that it…

  • Small boats, big Hearts

    We Came By Sea, by Horatio Clare, gives a different side to the small boats crisis from the one we hear on the news every day. Instead, the travel writer and memoirist reveals a side to the British people that is rarely acknowledged. It is the story of the volunteers who help thousands of refugees…