The Farnham Literary Festival has today announced that Jacqueline Wilson DBE will be its headline children’s author as it returns for a second year in March 2023 following the success of its inaugural year.
A celebration of storytelling across books, poetry, spoken word, film, rap, and beyond, the highly successful inaugural Farnham Literary Festival saw 2,500 adults and children take part in over 50 events, alongside a school outreach programme, Shakespearean walking tours, writing workshops, a poetry competition, and much more.
Taking place at venues across the historic Surrey market town of Farnham, the nine-day festival is run by Farnham Town Council alongside partners including Waterstones Farnham, Blue Bear Bookshop, University for the Creative Arts (UCA), and Oxfam Books and Music Farnham.
Other events already confirmed for 2023 include sessions with award-winning poet, fiction writer and Channel 4 correspondent, Ian Williams; theatre producer-turned climate thriller writer, Greg Mosse; and debut crime writer Ava Glass. The full programme will be announced in the New Year, with tickets going on sale from mid-January.
Kika Mirylees, Farnham Councillor and TV actress (Bad Girls, Red Dwarf, Eastenders), said: “The first Farnham Literary Festival in 2022 was met with a huge amount of local enthusiasm, and we’re delighted to be sharing an early glimpse of our plans for 2023. Our vision is to create a festival that is truly for everyone: celebrating storytelling in all its mediums. We are hugely excited about next year’s festival.”
The 2022 Farnham Literary Festival featured events with broadcaster, writer and Bake Off star, Sandi Toksvig, filmmaker and writer Jack Jewers, internationally bestselling crime writer Sophie Hannah, and thriller writer and winner of the Gold Dagger Award, Mick Herron.
