Guernsey Literary Festival
Come and celebrate great writing and big ideas in the beautiful island of Guernsey.Â
The Guernsey Literary Festival, which runs from from 23 April to 7 May, is now established as one of the biggest annual arts events in the Channel Islands, will feature more than 50 events, including a full education and community programme.
Coinciding with the National Year of Reading, the 2026 Festival brings together a richly varied programme of 80 events with access, connection and reading for pleasure at its heart 📚
Newly confirmed speakers include Rob Rinder, Helen Lewis, Colin Butfield, Paul Dolan, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, Lucy Easthope, Daisy Fancourt, Patrick Gale, MC Grammar, Ben Markovitz, Mishal Husain and Edward Stourton.
They join a strong line-up that already includes Joanne Harris, Tim Spector, Sophie Raworth, Tracy Borman, Lauren Child, Cally Beaton, John Agard, David Hepworth, Tristan Gooley, Kate Bradbury, Brian Bilston and Shaun Usher.
The programme also includes a specially curated lunch with chef and TV personality Georgina Hayden, a Business Breakfast event with Ben Chu on Exile Economics and a Charlie and Lola Tea Party with Lauren Child.
Alongside headline events, the programme includes a varied mix of family events for all ages, education and community outreach, local writers, and workshops, as well as the launch of the Festival’s first Short Story Anthology, Time & Tide.
Tickets are on sale now!
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Events
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Arts & CultureApr 23 18:00 - 19:00Local Voices: Jill Bray, Kelly Priaulx and RJ VerityJoin three Guernsey-based authors as they discuss their captivating debut novels, each...
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Arts & CultureApr 24 19:00 - 20:00Cally Beaton: Namaste Motherf*ckersA no-nonsense, funny and empowering handbook for midlife female reinvention, Namaste Motherf*ckers...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 10:00 - 11:00Ken Tough and Jose Day: The Battle of NewlandsThe Battle of Newlands is the occupation diary of Winifred Harvey MBE (1888–1976), a lifelong...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 11:00 - 12:00Sarah Corbett: The Craftivist Collective HandbookIf we want our world to be more beautiful, kind and fair then can we make our activism be more...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 12:00 - 13:00Mishal Husain: Broken ThreadsInspired by the fragment of an old sari worn by her grandmother at her wedding, Mishal’s acclaimed...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 14:00 - 15:00Ben Markovits: The Rest of Our LivesJoin Booker Prize–shortlisted author Ben Markovits in conversation about his acclaimed novel The...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 15:00Sophie From Romania: A Year of Love and Hope with a Rescue DogAfter losing their beloved Collie cross, Cabbage, in January 2022, whose daily walks had eased...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 16:00 - 17:00Mavis Pope: Looking Back to AlderneyThis memoir tells of childhood in Alderney during the German Occupation through the eyes of Mavis,...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 16:30 - 18:30Sarah Corbett: Craftivism WorkshopThrough this multi-sensory, quiet, kind and mindful craftivism (craft + activism) workshop you can...
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Arts & CultureApr 25 18:00 - 19:00Edward Stourton: Made in AmericaIn Made in America, veteran broadcaster Edward Stourton explores how ideals of liberty have...
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Arts & CultureApr 26 10:00 - 11:00Phil Earle: Finn’s Epic FailsJoin bestselling children’s author Phil Earle for a fun and lively session about Finn’s Epic Fails.
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Arts & CultureApr 26 12:00 - 13:00Jane Mosse: Being CamillaWith her image splashed across global exhibitions, press and TV, Jane reveals the absurdities of...
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Arts & CultureApr 26 14:30 - 15:30Margaret Jones: Victor Hugo’s Animal FriendsVictor Hugo’s Animal Friends brings the famous writer to life for families through playful rhymes,...
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Arts & CultureApr 27 13:00 - 14:00Anna Stothard: Follow HerWhat makes a cult – and why are we so drawn to them? Anna Stothard explores the magnetic pull of...
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Arts & CultureApr 28 13:00 - 14:00Colin Butfield: Ocean - Earth’s Last WildernessFilmmaker and environmental storyteller Colin Butfield - David Attenborough’s long-time...
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Arts & CultureApr 28 16:00 - 17:00Mike Dickson: How to be a Better HumanMike Dickson shares stories from a life shaped by saying ‘yes’ - from founding Whizz-Kidz, the...
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Arts & CultureApr 28 18:00 - 19:00Monica Feria-Tinta: Barrister for the EarthPioneering barrister Monica Feria-Tinta takes us behind the scenes of 10 cases in which she has...
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Arts & CultureApr 28 19:30 - 20:30Brian Bilston: How to Lay an Egg with a Horse InsideBrian Bilston, one of the UK’s most beloved and hilarious poets, guides us through the joys of...
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Arts & CultureApr 29 13:00 - 14:00Carl Benedikt Frey: How Progress EndsIn How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey challenges the conventional belief that economic and...
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Arts & CultureApr 29 18:00 - 19:00Anna Brook-Mitchell: MotherfakerJoin Anna Brook-Mitchell to discuss her eagerly awaited debut, Motherfaker, set in Guernsey.
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Arts & CultureApr 29 18:00 - 19:00Oliver Sweet: The Rules That Make UsOliver Sweet is a leading business anthropologist who works with global brands, governments and...
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Arts & CultureApr 29 19:30 - 20:30Tristan Gooley: The Hidden SeasonsIn The Hidden Seasons, Tristan Gooley teaches us to observe the natural world in ways we often...
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Arts & CultureApr 30 12:00 - 13:00Loretta Rothschild: Finding GraceBlending a gripping moral dilemma with a sweeping love story, Finding Grace explores the cost of...
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Arts & CultureApr 30 13:00 - 14:00Jono Lancaster: Not all Heroes Wear CapesIn Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Jono shares his remarkable journey, recounting the challenges he...
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Arts & CultureApr 30 14:30 - 15:30Kate Bradbury: One Garden Against the WorldWildlife gardening expert, writer, presenter and author of the award-winning book One Garden...
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Arts & CultureApr 30 16:00 - 17:00Katriona O'Sullivan: HungryIn Hungry, Professor Katriona O’Sullivan explores the pressures on women to shrink - physically,...
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Arts & CultureApr 30 19:30 - 20:30Shaun Usher: Diaries of NoteDiaries of Note, curated by Shaun Usher, is an engrossing collection of 366 diary entries from the...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 08:00 - 09:30Ben Chu: Exile EconomicsExamining globally traded commodities from silicon to soya beans, Ben reveals the intricate web...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 12:00 - 13:00Dreena Collins: PerotineInspired by the true story of the Guernsey martyrs - three ordinary women whose trial for theft...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 13:00 - 14:00Paul Dolan: BeliefismEven the most open-minded among us struggle to engage with opposing views. Behavioural scientist...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 16:30 - 17:30A Conversation on the National Year of ReadingJoin former Children’s Laureate Lauren Child, writer Horatio Clare and Honorary Festival Chairman...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 17:00 - 18:00Guernsey International Poetry Competition - Winners’ ReadingIn Blitz Kids, Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi (authors of The Sugar Girls and GI Brides) share the...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 18:00 - 19:00Tim Spector: FermentDrawing on the latest science and ancient techniques, Ferment is an accessible introduction to the...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 19:00 - 20:00Lucy Easthope: Come What MayIn Come What May, Lucy Easthope, a leading expert on recovery, offers an uplifting guide to...
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Arts & CultureMay 1 20:00 - 21:00Sophie Raworth: Running on AirFrom BBC newsrooms to the Marathon des Sables, Sophie’s journey is an inspiring story of running,...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 09:30 - 12:00Jonathan Edwards: Poetry Workshop - So This Is How We LoveExplore the art of writing poems about people with Jonathan Edwards in this inspiring workshop for...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 10:00 - 11:00Daisy Fancourt: Art CureDiet. Sleep. Exercise. Nature. Arts? Many of us consider making and consuming art to be a hobby,...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 10:00 - 11:00Jarvis: Bear and Bird - The CloudExplore the world of Bear and Bird with Jarvis. Cosy, funny and with heaps of heart, this is the...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 12:00 - 13:00Horatio Clare: We Came by SeaEvery day, headlines report ‘migrants’ crossing the English Channel in ‘small boats,’ with...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 12:30 - 14:00Lunch with Georgina HaydenTreat yourself to a lunch inspired by chef and TV personality Georgina Hayden’s MEDesque recipes,...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 14:00 - 15:00Patrick Gale: Love LaneA standalone novel which happens to have the same hero as his acclaimed A Place Called Winter,...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 14:00 - 15:00WriteStuff Awards CeremonyChildren from schools across the Bailiwick took up the challenge to write a story of no more than...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 15:30 - 16:30Joanne Harris: VianneBestselling author Joanne Harris returns to the world of Chocolat with Vianne, the long-awaited...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 17:00 - 18:00Vassos Alexander: SwimminglyMuch-loved sports presenter, author and endurance athlete Vassos Alexander discovered a passion...
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Arts & CultureMay 2 19:30 - 20:30David Hepworth: Hope I Get Old Before I DieDavid Hepworth has followed pop music long enough to watch the rebellious figures on his bedroom...
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Arts & CultureMay 3 10:00 - 11:00Helen Lewis: Genius MythAcclaimed journalist and author of Difficult Women, Helen Lewis takes a timely and entertaining...
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Arts & CultureMay 3 10:30 - 11:30Festival Church Service with Sir Terry WaiteThe Festival Church Service will be held at St Andrew’s Church. The Festival's Honorary Chairman,...
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Arts & CultureMay 3 12:00 - 13:00Duncan Barrett & Nuala Calvi: Blitz KidsIn Blitz Kids, Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi (authors of The Sugar Girls and GI Brides) share the...
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Arts & CultureMay 3 12:00 - 13:00Paul Sinton Hewitt: One Small Step - The Incredible Story of parkrunOne Small Step chronicles Paul Sinton Hewitt’s journey from personal adversity to founding...
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Arts & CultureMay 7 16:30 - 17:30Professor Gilly Carr in conversation with Rob Rinder: Deportation, Internment and AftermathFilmmaker and environmental storyteller Colin Butfield - David Attenborough’s long-time...
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Arts & CultureMay 7 19:00 - 20:00Rob Rinder: The ProtestJoin Rob Rinder, the barrister, author and TV personality, in conversation about his gripping new...





