Welcome to Literary Leicester, your annual free literature festival

We're back and delighted to be working in partnership with the National Year of Reading. Our 2026 festival features a full four-day programme of talks, performances, workshops and kids events, and much, much more.  We're joined by international crime-writing superstar Sophie Hannah, bestselling novelist and screenwriter Louise Doughty, one of Britain’s pre-eminent authors and satirists, Jonathan Coe. We've a day of crime-focussed events celebrating Agatha Christie @ 50, we'll be trying to be environmentally hopeful, voting for the person who most changed the world, asking what it's like to judge a major book prize and more. We also host events throughout the year, including Dame Jacqueline Wilson on 30th April.

Brought to you by the University of Leicester’s School of Arts, Media & Communication, and made possible through the very kind sponsorship of the Jean and  Arthur Humphreys Fund and the Margaret Jones Bequest, we’ve been bringing great literature to Leicester since 2008. All events are 100% free to attend with book signings organised, as always, by the wonderful Kibworth Books. 

The 2026 main festival runs from 18th - 21st March 2026 at the University of Leicester campus and in Leicester city. We're very happy to be working with Attenborough Arts Centre in 2026, who will be hosting the majority of our daytime events.

To sign up for information about all forthcoming events, do email us at literaryleicester@le.ac.uk. We ONLY use your email to send information about free events that we are involved directly in running. Nothing else, we promise!