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Ilkley Literature Festival

Thursday 13 August 2026

 2026 Ilkley Literature Festival Programme Announced

“Always a landmark occasion in the literary year, an ongoing success with a proud history.”
— Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate

Simon Armitage, Samira Ahmed, Kate Atkinson, Reeta Chakrabarti, Andrew Davies, Mark Foster, Dame Margaret Hodge, Zahra Joya, Si King, Judy Murray, Rachael Stirling, Jacqueline Wilson and more are set to appear.

The north’s longest-running literary festival, Ilkley Literature Festival, has announced its 2026 line-up. A host of household names including politicians, national treasures, journalists, novelists, poets, historians, comedians, and academics head to the spa town across 17 packed days from Friday 2 to Sunday 18 October.

Tickets go on general sale on Tuesday 25 August, with priority bookings open for Friends of the Festival a week before, on Wednesday 19 August.

Andrew Davies, the undisputed maestro of literary adaptations (House of Cards, Pride & Prejudice, Bleak House and Bridget Jones), opens the festival, having finally turned his razor sharp pen on the most challenging subject of all: himself, with his memoir, An Unsuitable Boy.

The opening weekend continues with Labour Peer, Dame Margaret Hodge, talking about her five decades in politics in her memoir Battleaxe and Zahra Joya, the groundbreaking Afghan journalist, telling the story of her fight for women’s rights in The Vanishing Girl of Kabul.

Actress Rachael Stirling will be talking about her exceptional mother, Diana Rigg – icon of stage and screen and the subject of a new memoir, in which Rachael shares the woman she knew: gloriously naughty, deeply loving and taking no prisoners. And swimmer Mark Foster, five-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and eight-time World Record holder, will be in Ilkley to discuss his inspiring and moving memoir, My Double Life, a tale of one man’s pursuit of sporting prowess and personal freedom.

Poetry lovers can spend an evening with the Poet laureate, Simon Armitage, as he reads from his new translation of the epic poem Gilgamesh, enjoy comedy and laughter, as the hilarious and much-loved poet Brian Bilston will take you on a whirlwind tour through the history of verse, reading from his new collection How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside or join four poets, Emily Zobel Marshall, Kim Moore, Antony Dunn and Daljit Nagra, who first came together at the BBC Contains Strong Language festival and now reunite for Sustains Strong Language, combining readings and performances with candid discussion and audience questions. Poet, broadcaster, entertainer and national treasure Pam Ayres will also be at the festival, talking about her latest book, Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems, which brings together some of her best-known poems from the last fifty years.

Other well known names include Kate Atkinson, returning to her native Yorkshire with her new book Our Noble Selves, set in post-war Britain; broadcaster, writer and presenter of Radio 4’s Front Row, Samira Ahmed, will explain how The Beatles’ first film, A Hard Day’s Night, become an enduring cinematic classic in a post-screening in conversation event; tennis player, national coach, mother to two champions and former Strictly contestant  Judy Murray, will be talking about her crime novel, Game, Set & Murder; Hairy Biker Si King will be discussing his first solo cookbook, Proper Home Cooking, since the passing of his great friend Dave Myers; and Gyles Brandreth will be joined by physiotherapist Finola Burrell to discuss the secrets for a long and healthy life. Younger members of the family are also in for a treat, with Dame Jacqueline Wilson introducing her brand new book, Esme Pepper, and talking about her career, writing over 120 books for children.

Themes explored through this year’s programme include investigative journalism, writers on writing, the impact of technology on human behaviour and biology and nature and wildlife. To celebrate the National Year of Reading there are also a series of book club-style events.

Erica Morris, Chief Executive of Word Up North, the producer of Ilkley Literature Festival, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming some of today’s most exceptional writers, thinkers and entertainers to Yorkshire this autumn. The festival has been encouraging curiosity, open dialogues and a shared love of words for over half a century. This year, as part of the National Year of Reading, we’re putting readers at the heart of the programme with a series of book club-style events - Page Turners Classic Fiction Club - celebrating some of the most compelling novels ever written from Wuthering Heights to The Wasp Factory. From dedicated fans to first-time readers, you can be sure of a warm Yorkshire welcome at Ilkley Literature Festival.”

To view the full programme and book tickets https://www.ilkleylitfest.org.uk

Follow @ilkleylitfest  

Box Office: 01943 816714.

Tickets for Friends of the Festival available from 19 August; the general box office opens 25 August.

Notes to Editors

For interview requests or further media information, please contact emma@emmafinniganpr.co.uk / 07870 210468

Author images, and logos, for press use available here. 

*If used in media, please observe the copyright notices on headshots and credit photographers

accordingly. 

The official bookseller for the Ilkley Literature Festival is The Grove Bookshop.

About Ilkley Literature Festival

Established in 1973, Ilkley Literature Festival is nationally acknowledged for its pioneering spirit and artistic excellence. It is programmed and produced by Word Up North (wordupnorth.org.uk), a Yorkshire-based literature development organisation with a mission to amplify voices, stories and writers in the north of England. The annual two-week festival brings fiction, non-fiction and poetry writers of national and international significance to audiences of over 14,000 each October, as well as showcasing new work by emerging and mid-career writers. 

Word Up North is an Arts Council England NPO and supported by Bradford Metropolitan District Council.

www.ilkleylitfest.org.uk @ilkleylitfest  

wordupnorth.org.uk @thewordupnorth

Festival Facts

Ilkley is the second-oldest literary festival in the UK. It has had a number of special commissions over the years, most notably - in partnership with (now Poet Laureate) Simon Armitage - the creation of the 50-mile Stanza Stones Poetry Trail across the Pennines from Marsden to Ilkley.

Ilkley is a historic spa town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Overlooked by the breathtaking Ilkley Moor, the town centre is home to independent shops, riverside walks, and Yorkshire institution, Betty's Tea Rooms. With great transport links, Ilkley is easy to get to from nearby Leeds and Bradford.

“‘[This] festival… is always one of my favourites.’ ”
— Susie Dent, Lexicographer and Media Personality
“The Ilkley Festival was a joy from start to finish.”
— Janice Hallett, Journalist and Writer
“[a] wonderful experience.”
— Lucy Steeds, Writer
“Superb”
— John Harris, Journalist and Writer
“An amazing festival”
— Helen Lederer, - Comedian and Actor
“I’ve had a wonderful time - great venue, audience, organisation and lovely place to stay.”
— Gavin Esler, Journalist and Writer

The Power of Us By David Price

The-Power-of-Us-Kindle.jpeg

The Power of Us: How we connect, act and innovate together
By David Price
Thread, Bookouture / 28th August 2020 / ebook, paperback, audio

We are witnessing the emergence of ordinary people working together to solve big problems in all aspects of our society, rooted in a communal desire to make the world a better place in which to live:

  • The outdoor clothing company that sees record sales after telling its customers not to buy their clothes.

  • The 17-yr old high school dropout who created the world's most used Covid tracking app.

  • A school achieving great academic outcomes because of its commitment to diversity.

  • The successful brewery giving customers the opportunity to become co-producers.

  • A co-operative empowering communities to generate renewable energy.

David Price takes us behind the scenes of some of the world’s most innovative organisations harnessing the power of collaboration and diverse thinking to effect real change – and demonstrates what we can learn from them.

Thought-provoking and incisive, The Power of Us is an urgent call for leaders, teams and individuals to challenge the status quo. The response to Covid-19 has shone a light on how people-powered innovation is reshaping our world.  We’re seeing a global wave of self-determined and self-organised activism. The Power of Us offers a practical toolkit of ideas to show us how we can foster our own cultures of co-creators to transform our lives and rebuild a better world for the future.

'This uprising of action in response to COVID-19 demonstrates the ingenuity and talent that flourishes at the grassroots…It also fills a powerful desire for people to get involved and bring whatever expertise they have to bear—technical, medical, social, political, legal. This movement inspires hope for the future. Leveraging open, collaborative innovation by grassroots makers at international and local levels can help solve not just for the coronavirus but teach us new ways to work together to solve other challenges too.’ David Price

‘People are starting to find their voice, to understand that they can actually have an impact […] Doing our best is no longer good enough. We must now do the seemingly impossible. And that is up to you and me. Because no one else will do it for us.’ Greta Thunberg

Case studies in the book include:
Brewdog; Act-Up; Riders for Health; sparks & honey;
Liger Leadership Academy; Patagonia; WD40; New Roads School

TALKING POINTS

  • The New Activism - don’t just protest, provide solutions! (eg #MeToo, Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter)

  • We are witnessing new, and more effective, social movements redefining social, environmental and cultural norms, deploying the tools and techniques of mass ingenuity.

  • During the coronavirus pandemic grassroots actions often outperformed governmental responses that were slow and unwieldy.

  • Social movements, citizen scientists, and peer producers are now better connected and have learned from previous attempts to leverage social reform. They are willing to lead communities in a post-Covid world. Given the scale of the anticipated economic depression, we may have no option but to work closely with them.

Tips for successful businesses:

  • Focus on the mindset – ingenious innovators will shape a problem to fit the skillset.

  • Know your limitations – surround yourself with people who have the skills you lack.

  • Make your actions practical, enterprising and collaborative.

  • Social enterprise demands unreasonable attitudes – the world won’t change by itself.

  • Be excited, not intimidated, by the scale of the challenge.

  • 8 Key TEAM Ingredients:

o   Trust & Transparency


o   Engagement & Equity


o   Autonomy & Agency


o   Mastery & Meaning


 Medicine:

  • Research suggests that up to 8% of patients with rare diseases have developed innovations that were unknown to the medical science community (eg Tim Omer who worked with the NightScout group to develop an artificial pancreas).

  • The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly recalibrated development and safety timescales.

  • The pandemic has also brought together user-innovators, lead patients, and producers in a powerful, effective alliance.

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About David Price

David Price is an expert in organisational learning for a complex future. He is co-founder of We Do Things Differently, a UK culture consultancy. In 2009 he was awarded an OBE for services to education.

He writes, talks, trains and advises, around the world, on some of the biggest challenges facing business, education and society: solving the problems of employee, student and civic disengagement; maximising our potential to be creative, innovative and fulfilled citizens, and understanding the global shift towards open organisations, and systems of learning. David is the author of Open: How We'll Work, Live and Learn In The Future. He lives in North Yorkshire.