23-26 September 2027
A book festival in beautiful Wiltshire with events for all.
We’re currently planning our 18th festival. Four days of inspiring conversations, ideas, storytelling, bestselling authors and family-friendly events in one of Wiltshire’s most picturesque market towns.
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Marlborough LitFest began in 2010 and showcases fiction and non-fiction, including events for children, writing workshops, poetry readings and more.
As a charity we provide free events for young children, local schools and adults every year. This year we reached 1800 primary and secondary school children in Marlborough, Pewsey, Devizes and Calne.
Support the charity and gain access to priority booking and other benefits by becoming a Friend of Marlborough LitFest
A big round of applause to our fabulous young 2026 festival-goers. One of the core aims of Marlborough Literature Festival is to encourage and inspire a love of books, reading and writing, especially amongst our younger audience. Thanks to the festival’s generous sponsors, donors and Friends, Marlborough LitFest has expanded its free events for schools’, helping children discover the lifelong joy of reading.
Our four-day celebration of books, ideas and storytelling for all ages with over 45 events has come to a close. From the moment the farmers started filing into the Town Hall on Thursday night to hear Helen Browning and Minette Batters talk about their respective autobiographies, we knew that LitFest 2026, our 17th festival, was going to be A Thing. A festival of ideas, insights and inspiration for sure, but also of numbers…
Our Festival Patron is acclaimed stage and theatre actor, Sir Simon Russell Beale.
The generous support of our sponsors brings wonderful cultural events to Marlborough and allows us to run our free events for schools and others
