Folkestone Book Festival 2026 – international to local

Creative Folkestone’s Book Festival 2026 is curated, for the 3rd time, by local resident Sophie Haydock. It runs from 12th to 22nd November and award-winning author and journalist, Sophie has the best job in town.  It’s safe to say that ‘excited’ is an understatement when Sophie talks about what she has planned. Folkelife went along to the launch of the 2026 programme at Quarterhouse.

“This is my third Folkestone Book Festival and I feel really happy with what’s coming up.  Folkestone seems to sell itself as I send out emails to authors and speakers and they want to come and see what is going on here.  I have loved each minute of the festivals I have done, and I know what the audience like, and what they want, so this year we have a really good line up.

“Sir Tony Robinson is going to start off our Festival this year with his new book ‘The House of Wolf’.  He’s such a loved actor, broadcaster and author that he’s going to be a delight to listen to. Another big name we have in the literary world is Ian McEwan, who replied directly to me and can’t wait to come.  That was a really exciting moment!  Equally, one of the last people to be put in the programme was Linda La Plante, writer of the television show Prime Suspect, and creator of groundbreaking detective Jane Tennison.  You need to wake up and book in for Saturday 21st November at 10.30 am for her.”

Titan tragedy

“There are so many gems, and one I am really interested to hear is Christine Dawood who is the wife and mother of two of the divers who were lost in the Titan submersible.  I think we all remember the news of the small submarine that lost contact with the surface when observing the Titanic wreck in June 2023.  As part of her grief she has written about this in a book called ‘Nintey-Six Hours’.  And I can’t begin to imagine how you process this loss and want to talk about it to strangers.  It’s going to be a captivating listen, and incredibly moving. 

“We have a list of Booker-nominated authors with Dame Marina Warner, AL Kennedy, and Booker Prize winner Ben Okri makes a return to Folkestone to talk about his collaboration with artist Rosemary Clunie ‘The True Artist Breaks Out of Jail’.”

Literary folkestone

“We have lots of workshops happening which also seem to have settled into a theme of supporting writers.  There are so many people here in Folkestone who are accomplished writers, and that breeds new, emerging talent too.  For the first time, the globally-celebrated London Writer’s Salon comes to Folkestone. And they’re going to be focusing on finding your voice and achieving your writing goals.  The workshops run on weekday mornings from 10am.

“The Book Festival is such a wonderful and well attended event, and it’s important that we reach as many people as we can.  So in the run up to the Book Festival we’ll be going into local primary schools with our Folkestone Is A Library project.  There will also be a series of talks for schools to attend at Quarterhouse too.  Our sponsors, Holiday Extras, are helping us with transport for this, as that is an issue with primary schools today. Very few schools have their own transport, and hiring a bus is cost-prohibitive. Books must never be inaccessible, so thank you to Holiday Extras.”

sponsors

“We are very lucky with the support we have from long-standing and new sponsors.  Eurotunnel and The Friends of the Folkestone Book Festival have been with us for a long time, and we thank them.  Canterbury Christ Church University is our education partner, and the Festival bookseller is Waterstones. 

“Saga, Arts Council England and Folkestone and Hythe District Council support so much of the work we do, and we have to thank our founding funder The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust too.  This year we have a wine sponsor, Errazuriz, which is also exciting!”

Politics

“There’s always something to talk about here. Last year I was wondering if Sir Keir Starmer would still be PM by the time we got to the Festival.  This year, we know that landscape has changed already.  Robert Peston will be here to talk about his new book, a novel, ‘The Killer Switch’. The subject matter draws on his wealth of experience at the heart of Westminster asking what happens when political power collides with artificial intelligence?

“Marina Wheeler KC, who was married to Boris Johnson at one time, talks about her new book ‘A More Perfect Union’.  This is an exploration of Britain’s relationship with Europe.  She had a very close perspective on the Brexit years, and so brings a very personal insight, with her formidable legal expertise and questions where Britain goes next?”

Tickets on sale

“The launch in July 2026 is a wonderful time to get people thinking about November, even if we don’t want to wish away the summer.  Tickets are on sale now, and there will always be some events which sell out pretty quickly once they’re known about.  

“I can’t wait though, it’s a busy twelve days, and I go to every event, but it’s certainly a privilege to be able to curate the Folkestone Book Festival.”