Going All In at Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival

This October 8–11th, Bury St Edmunds will once again buzz with the energy of stories and ideas when the town’s Literature Festival returns for its ninth year for its most ambitious programme yet. The festival has adopted the rallying cry of the National Year of Reading, urging us all to ‘Go All In’. In my first year as Artistic Director, I have assembled a sweeping five-day celebration spanning author talks, panel discussions, writing workshops, guided walks, film screenings, live performance and a packed free programme for younger readers. Whether you are a devotee of literary fiction, a nature writing enthusiast, a keen workshop participant or simply someone who loves an unexpected discovery, I hope there is something here for all of us.

The Programme at a Glance

The fiction and author events are particularly strong this year. Rachel Joyce opens proceedings on Thursday evening, while Louis de Bernières, Sarah Winman, T. M. Logan, Monique Roffey and Megan Hunter are among the headline names appearing across the weekend. Panel events promise to introduce new voices alongside familiar favourites, covering everything from family life and modern love to football fiction and the life of Marilyn Monroe – a genuinely eclectic mix that reflects how broadly the festival is hoping to appeal.

A brand-new Food Programme, curated by local food writer Nic Miller, makes its debut this year, celebrating Bury St Edmunds’ growing reputation as the ‘Foodie Capital of East Anglia’. Nature writing also features prominently through a partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust, with events including The Cuckoo’s Lea with Michael J Warren and The Waterlands with Stephen Rutt. Workshops – run in partnership with Gold Dust Mentoring and Poetry Aloud – offer participants the chance to work with accomplished writers including T. S. Eliot Prize-winner George Szirtes and novelist Monique Roffey. And for families, the extensive free children’s programme runs across all four days.

Suffolk Book League at the Festival: Artists, Lovers, Outsiders

I’m delighted to say that Suffolk Book League are supporting the festival with what looks set to be one of the weekend’s most electrifying events. Artists, Lovers, Outsiders (Friday 9th, 7:30pm in the United Reformed Church) brings together two exceptional writers in conversation: Damian Barr, whose BBC Radio 2 Book Club hit The Two Roberts tells the story of the Scottish painters Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, and Andrew Durbin, whose debut work of literary non-fiction The Wonderful World That Almost Was explores the lives of New York artists Peter Hujar and Paul Thek. Chaired by Suffolk Book League’s own Gill Lowe, the evening promises a rich and wide-ranging conversation about artistic legacy, love, queerness and the lives that history has too often overlooked.

It is exactly the kind of event that reminds us why literature festivals matter: a space to hear ideas that challenge, move and inspire us. I do hope as many of you as possible will join us on the night.

Practical Information

All events take place across accessible venues in Bury St Edmunds, including the Unitarian Meeting House, the Athenaeum, the United Reformed Church and Bury Library. Author event tickets are £10 (students and those on benefits £5; under-18s free), with workshops at £40 and walks at £15. An early bird discount of 10% is available on all tickets until 31st July 2026 using the code BLFCatchWorm26. Full details and booking at burylitfest.co.uk

This is a festival worth making a weekend of – I hope to see you there.

Kate Sawyer

Artistic Director