Bude Literary Festival

About the show

National, regional, and local authors, actors, musicians,? comedians and workshop leaders will once again converge on the North Cornish coast to celebrate the written and spoken word, via a packed programme of diverse events, readings, performances and workshops to suit all ages and interests, at 15 varied venues throughout Stratton and Bude.

Festival organisers have been astonished by the level of interest with almost 5,000 people getting involved last year and keen interest in tickets for the 2026 festival. Audience members & participants will be joining locals by heading to Bude from across the country to enjoy some Cornish coastal culture across the town. With 89 events to choose from it promises to be an exciting and successful festival, which is achieving national recognition and attracting high calibre authors and performers.

Headliners this year include Patrick Gale, Janet Street-Porter, Mark Steel, Harry Baker, Rob Hopkins, Adele Parks, Nigel Planer, Louise Candlish, Cara Hunter, Jo Caulfield, Grace Spence Green, Rob Newman, John Crace, Andrew Wilson, Curtis Garner, Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, David Hendon, Jane Lovell & Mark Haworth Booth, Tolhurst Organic, Ellis Hunter, Martin Dorey, John Rous, Ed Gaughan, Tim Rolt, Nicola Garrard, Helen Bain, Hannah Marsh, Sam Horton, Veronica Lewis, The Unthanks and dozens of others.

Several authors are also visiting all our local schools for free to inspire young people as part of the festival. These free workshops have been made possible due to commercial funding from Forever Cornwall Retreats, Oxford Bidding Services and public support from Cornwall Council and Bude Stratton Town Council