Chester Literature Festival announces 2026 programme highlights
Maggie O’Farrell, Sir Lenny Henry and TV historian Kate Williams are among the headline names announced for this year’s Chester Literature Festival.
The 2026 festival will take place at Storyhouse from 12 May to 14 June, with a month-long programme of talks, performances, workshops and live events celebrating books, storytelling and the written word.
Also appearing are wildlife cameraman and presenter Hamza Yassin, journalist and broadcaster John Craven, historian Ruth Goodman, poet Harry Baker, Indian history expert William Dalrymple and ceramicist Keith Brymer Jones, alongside actor and designer Marj Hogarth.
The festival comes during the National Year of Reading 2026, which is focused on encouraging reading for pleasure, wellbeing and connection.
John Craven opens the listed events on Saturday, 16 May, sharing stories from more than five decades in broadcasting, including his work on Newsround and Countryfile.
Sir Lenny Henry will appear on Sunday, 17 May with a new live show combining stand-up, storytelling and reflection on his 50-year career across comedy, television and writing.
Hamza Yassin visits on Tuesday, 19 May as part of his first live tour, My Life Behind the Lens, sharing stories from his work filming wildlife around the world.
Historian Ruth Goodman will explore everyday life in the past on Wednesday, 20 May in an event co-produced by Storyhouse and HistFest, followed on Thursday, 21 May by world poetry slam champion Harry Baker, who brings his new collection Tender to the festival.
William Dalrymple makes his Chester Literature Festival debut on Wednesday, 10 June, discussing the rise of the East India Company and more than two centuries of colonial history.
An Evening with Maggie O’Farrell takes place on Thursday, 11 June, hosted by Linghams Booksellers and Booka Bookshop, to mark the publication of her new novel Land.
Kate Williams returns to the festival on Sunday, 14 June with REGINA, a history of royal women, in a matinee event also co-produced with HistFest.
The festival concludes that evening with Keith Brymer Jones and Marj Hogarth, who will discuss craft, creativity and the restoration of a 19th Century Welsh chapel featured in the Channel 4 series Our Welsh Chapel Dream.
Chester Literature Festival is one of the longest-running annual literature festivals in the UK. It was launched in 1989 and has been programmed by Storyhouse for the past 15 years.
Suzie Henderson, Creative Director at Storyhouse, said:
“I am delighted that this year’s Literature Festival has such a fantastic programme bringing internationally acclaimed authors from such a wide range of genres to the stages at Storyhouse, there truly is something for everyone. A great reminder in the National Year of Reading that even if you think books might not be for you, your local library is a treasure trove of stories and ideas to excite and inspire.”
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