A selection of bookshop readings, performances, literary lunches, salons, festivals and other writerly goings-on are listed here and regularly updated.
For your wider literary and cultural fix, check out the in-person and virtual event listings at the British Library, the London Review Bookshop, Waterstones, English PEN, the Southbank Centre, publisher and author websites and social media streams, as well as those of your local organisations and venues.
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to Sunday 27 April
Plied and Prejudice
The Vaults, Launcelot St, London SE1 7AD
Tickets from £19
5 actors, 20 characters, 1 big party at Pemberley…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in Regency England must be in want of a very stiff drink. Direct from a sell-out run in Australia, the Aussies are back in the motherland to ruin another cultural icon. Plied and Prejudice is a hilarious adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, telling the tale of Elizabeth Bennet and Mister Darcy as you’ve never seen it before.
More info and book
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to Tuesday 6 May
The Conversation
St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ
Tuesdays at 6:30pm
£15 in person; £10 livestream
A series of weekly events discussing conflict and empathy, inequality and power, climate crisis and wonder. Attend in person or online for an interview followed by the host and guest leading a discussion to take the conversation further. Everyone is welcome.
Tuesday 25 March
Bettany Hughes: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Tuesday 1 April
Åsne Seierstad: Many Kinds of Front Line
How the first year of Taliban rule unfolded, and where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.
Tuesday 8 April
Tom Holland: The Lives of the Caesars
As told through Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus in AD 121.
Tuesday 15 April
Fergal Keane: The Madness
The BBC correspondent explores what draws him back to wars and tragedy despite having PTSD.
Tuesday 22 April – Earth Day 2025
Gaia Vince and Monica Feria-Tinta: How to Survive the Climate Upheava – Ten Cases of Hope for Our Future
Tuesday 6 May
David Spiegelhalter: The Art of Uncertainty
The Cambridge professor and statistics national treasure takes us through the principles of probability.
More info and book
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Saturday 29 March
Deadly: the festival of women writing crime
British Library Pigott Theatre and online
11am to 8:30pm Online tickets £12 (£10/£6 concessions)
A day-long celebration of the very best in contemporary crime writing by women. Featured authors include Ann Cleeves and Denise Mina; Saima Mir, Sam Blake and Sophie Hannah in conversation with Abir Mukherjee; Kate Summerscale, Kia Abdullah and Bee Rowlatt in conversation with Ayesha Hazarrika, as well as newcomers to the crime scene Maha Khan Phillips, Blessin Adams, Busayo Matuluko and Mary Watson, and a chance to pit your wits against some of the field’s leading luminaries in The Deadly Sleuth-Off, where Team Vera will take on Team Marple in a literary death match.
More info and book
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Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 April
Cambridge Literary Festival
Various venues
Events individually priced
Leading novelists and a range of speakers address the best new literature and biggest issues of today. Headliners include Diane Abbott, Richard Ayoade, Emma Barnett, Kevin Barry, Kaliane Bradley, Diana Evans, Samantha Harvey, Diana Henry, Michael Heseltine, Lindsey Hilsum, Ian Hislop, Anthony Horowitz, Katie Kirby, Andrey Kurkov, Eimear McBride, George Monbiot, Ash Sarkar, Jamie Smart, Kit de Waal and Gary Younge, along with an extensive programme of free events for kids.
More info and book
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Thursday 22 May to Sunday 1 June
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye
Various venues
Events individually priced
Hay Festival has unveiled the full programme for its 38th spring edition, with more than 600 events over 11 days, featuring Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry, Grayson Perry, Elif Shafak, Hanif Kureishi, Robert Harris, Sharon Horgan, Hisham Matar, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Madeleine Thien, Jesse Armstrong, Eimear McBride, Susie Dent, Stacey Dooley, Lorraine Kelly, Anthony Scaramucci, Simon Armitage, Yotam Ottolenghi, Alice Roberts, William Dalrymple, Jacqueline Wilson, Julia Donaldson, Paloma Faith, Billy Ocean, Brian Eno, Miranda Hart, Sara Pascoe, Mark Watson, Katherine Ryan, and more.
More info and book
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Friday 13 and Saturday 14 June
Capital Crime 2025
Leonardo Royal St Paul’s, 10 Godliman St, London EC4V 5AJ
Day tickets £95; Weekend pass £185
Fingerprint Awards/Opening Party Thursday 12 June £8
Over 80 authors and filmmakers celebrate the crime and thriller genres in the heart of central London with a packed schedule of entertaining and thought-provoking events. This year’s line-up features Richard Armitage, Mark Billingham, Chris Carter, Andrew Child, Richard Coles, Michael Connelly, AA Dhand, Lisa Jewell, Vaseem Khan, Steph McGovern, Clare Mackintosh, Louise Minchin, Adele Parks, Rob Rinder, Karin Slaughter, Jeremy Vine, Ruth Ware and many more.
More info and book
Vote for your favourites in the Fingerprint Awards
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Ongoing
Arvon courses and retreats
Online or in-person, from one hour at home to five weeks at historic writers’ houses in Devon, Shropshire and Yorkshire, you can find inspiration, support and transform your writing with Arvon. Discover a range of creative writing courses and events for writers of any genre and any level of experience. Courses for Spring/Summer 2025 include Fiction: Ignite the spark with Sharon Duggal, Christopher Wakling and Radhika Sanghani (The Hurst, 28 April to 3 May); Nature writing with Tim Dee, Joanna Pocock and Helen Macdonald (The Hurst, 19 to 24 May); Building resonance and authenticity with Freya Bromley, Sharlene Teo and Michael Amherst (Totleigh Barton, 19 to 24 May); Fiction: Inspiration from life with Jarred McGinnis, Karen Mcleod and Evie Wyld (The Hurst, 16 to 21 June); and Life writing with Tiffany Murray, Rhik Samadder and Nina Stibbe (Totleigh Barton, 30 June to 5 July).
More info and book
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