We are delighted to announce that tickets for a delightful first dozen of our Festival events for 2019 are now available for sale via the Subscription Rooms Box Office!

Thursday 7th November

20.30 – 21.30  My Name is Why: Lemn Sissay
Lemn Sissay, acclaimed poet, playwright, author and broadcaster (and most recently PEN / Pinter prizewinner) in conversation with Adam Horovitz about his extraordinary memoir “My Name is Why”.  Presented in partnership with SVA.
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Friday 8th November

20.15 – 21.30 Machines Like Me: Ian McEwan – Sponsored by Bailey Paints
Stroud Book Festival Patron and award-winning author Ian McEwan – recently described as our foremost storyteller – in conversation with Professor Jon Cook of the University of East Anglia, discussing his latest novel “Machines Like Me”.
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Saturday 9th November

10.00 – 11.00  Julia Donaldson and Friends
Come along for a fantastic family celebration of the 20th birthday of “The Gruffalo” with the fabulous Julia Donaldson and friends, in a fun-packed hour of dramatised stories, songs and audience participaton. Age 4+.
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10.30-11.30 A Giant Dose of Gross! Andy Seed
Celebrate the world’s most disgusting creatures with Andy Seed, winner of the Blue Peter Book Award, as he reveals the gruesome contents of his new book, “A Giant Dose of Gross”. Age 7-11.
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12.00-13.00 Story in a Suitcase:Tom Percival
Join author and illustrator extraordinaire Tom Percival for a whistle-stop tour of YOUR imagination! After offering you few ideas about WHAT to draw and HOW to draw it, Tom will help EVERYONE invent a story. Age 4-7.
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14.00 – 15.00 Sneaky Beak: Tracey Corderoy
Join Stroud’s own Tracey Corderoy for a brilliantly creative hour of story-telling and crafting, inspired by her two most recent picture books, “The One-Stop Story Shop” and “Sneaky Beak”.  Age 4-7.
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 14.00 – 15.00 The Way We Eat Now: Bee Wilson – Sponsored by Waitrose Stroud
Award-winning food writer Bee Wilson,  and the author of “The Way We Eat Now: Strategies for Eating in a World of Change”, in conversation with fellow food writer, Matthew Fort about our 21^st century eating habits, from bland bananas to the dangers of the disappearing lunch hour; and why the way most people currently eat is not sustainable – either for the planet or for human health.
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16:15 – 17:15 Circus Magic: Nell Gifford & Sally Gardner – Supported by Sofas and Stuff
Roll up, roll up for a magical hour of fun and laughter with the one and only Nell Gifford, owner and producer of Giffords Circus, talking about her gorgeous new picture book, “Nell & the Circus of Dreams”. Sharing star billing with Nell is Costa and Carnegie Medal-winning author Sally Gardner, talking about her fabulous new book, “Mr Tiger, Betsy and the Sea Dragon” which was also inspired by the thrills and spills of the circus.. Age 6 – Adult.
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16:00 – 17:30 What Katie Read: A Celebration: Katie Fforde, Anstey Harris, Joe Heap
Earlier this year, Stroud’s own Katie Fforde published her 25th novel, “A Rose Petal Summer”. It went straight to Number One in the bestseller lists for hardback fiction. In celebration of these remarkable achievements, we have invited Katie to host this very special event, joined by Anstey Harris and Joe Heap, the authors of her two favourite debut novels of the past year. Ticket price includes a glass of pink fizz (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and a slice of celebration cake.
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20.00 – 21.00 Lanny: Max Porter
Join award-winning novelist Max Porter, accompanied by live music from acclaimed Herefordshire folk duo Alula Down, for a spellbinding live performance of his strange and wonderful “Lanny”, heralded by the critics, long-listed for the 2019 Booker prize, and soon to be a film, starring and produced by Rachel Weisz.
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Sunday 10th November

15.00 – 16.00 Madame Badobedah: Sophie Dahl
Already the author of bestselling books for adults, Sophie Dahl’s first children’s book “Madame Badobedah” is a timeless story celebrating the power of friendship and of imagination. Come and hear Sophie tell us all about the inspirations behind this warm and sparky story. Age 6 – adult.
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19.00 – 20.00 Turning the Boat for Home: Richard Mabey
In our Festival Finale, acclaimed nature writer Richard Mabey, will be in conversation with Professor Jon Cook to mark the publication of his sort-of memoir, “Turning the Boat for Home”. He will reflect on a life writing about nature, and his epiphany that a sense of ‘neighbourliness may be the model for our relationship with the rest of the living world’.  In association with Stroud Valleys Project.
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 Full event details here: Stroud Book Festival Events

Subscription Rooms Box office:  tel: 01453 796880  Box Office Ticket Sales

Tickets  for the following events on sale soon!
Aardman Animations・Kamal Ahmed・Bosh!・Katy Brand・Marina Cantacuzino・Polly Clark・Annie Deadman・John Dougherty・Nathan Filer・Dave Goulson・Kate Hamer・C.Higgins・Rob Hopkins・Kerry Hudson・Cynthia Jefferies・Dinah Jefferies・Neal Layton・Sue Limb・Little Fish・Caroline Montague・Nine Arches Poetry・David Nott・James O’Neill・David Parker・Marian Partington・Ingrid Persaud・ Piranha Poetry・Poppy & Sam・David Runciman・Molly Scott Cato・Katri Skala・Stroud Short Stories・Kassia St Clair・Nina Stibbe・Andrew Taylor・Bev Thomas・Zeba Talkhani

 For Stroud Short Stories information and tickets, please click here

For events at The Museum in the Park, please click here

For our  Schools’ Day programme of events on Thursday 7th November, please click here

Tickets available at the Stroud Subscription Rooms

We are so thrilled to reveal our Festival artwork for Stroud Book Festival 2019, which this year has been designed by the very talented Clay Sinclair. 

You can see his work in person in his shop and gallery at 48, Stroud High Street. You can also view his work online here: https://www.claysinclair.com

we are delighted to announce our first set of headline events for this year’s Festival, led by Booker-winning novelist and Stroud Book Festival patron, Ian McEwan, along with much-loved and mega-selling children’s author, Julia Donaldson.

We are honoured to be welcoming renowned nature writer Richard Mabey to Stroud, along with poet and PEN Pinter award winner Lemn Sissay, actress, comedian and TV regular Katy Brand, and award-winning comic novelist Nina Stibbe who’ll be in conversation with our own Sue Limb. And at Stroud Library, Kerry Hudson and Zeba Talkhani will be discussing their coming-of-age memoirs about finding their own paths in life.

We’re also delighted to be hosting heroic war surgeon David Nott, and Kamal Ahmed, Editorial Director of BBC News, both of whom will be talking about their recent acclaimed memoirs. And Dave Goulson, award-winning nature writer and founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust will be explaining why promoting biodiversity can start in our own back gardens.

Cambridge politics professor and Talking Politics podcaster David Runciman and Molly Scott-Cato MEP will join us for a Democracy Debate that is as topical as we can make it. And Rob Hopkins, co-founder of Transition Network and one of “Britain’s 50 New Radicals” will be sharing his ideas on how to create rapid and dramatic change for the better.

For lovers of fiction, award-winning author Max Porter will present an immersive and spine-tingling reading of his extraordinary novel “Lanny”, whilst our Faber Fiction Fiesta will celebrate both famous publisher Faber‘s 90th birthday and the latest fiction talent with Bev Thomas, Kate Hamer and Ingrid Persaud.  And Polly Clark will be discussing her remarkable novel about Siberian tigers with Annalena McAfee.

We’ll also be celebrating the 25th published novel by Stroud’s own Katie Fforde with a very special event featuring some of her favourite recent books and authors.

For foodies, we are delighted to welcome the culinary talents of Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, authors of BOSH!, the bestselling plant-based cookbook ever. And award-winning food writer Bee Wilson will be in conversation with Stroud’s own foodie author, Matthew Fort about her book “How We Eat Now”.

Stroud has a rich textile history, so it seems only fitting that we are welcoming Kassia St Clair to this year’s festival. “The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History” was a  BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Sunday Times Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Somerset Maugham Award. 

For children we present the star of everyone’s favourite circus Nell Gifford, along with perennial Stroud favorites John Dougherty, Andy Seed, Tracey Corderoy and Tom Percival. Author Neal Layton will be encouraging young children to get recycling in an interactive event on sustainability. And for budding artists, animators and entertainers, we are offering two animation workshops with the world-famous Aardman studios!

Our Schools Day for Stroud primary schools on Thursday 7th November brings in four brilliant and inspiring authors in Joe Coelho, Onjali Q Rauf, Atinuke and Chris Edge. 

For the third year running Stroud Book Festival will play host to an event with the ever-popular Stroud Short Stories, as well as staging an array of other events on subjects as diverse as textiles and crime fiction.

Of this year’s programme Stroud Book Festival Director Paul McLaughlin comments:  

‘We couldn’t be more excited about this line-up, which really does promise something for everyone. We are also delighted that many of our sponsors are continuing to support us again this year: we couldn’t stage the Festival without the generosity of local businesses and individuals. And of course, a huge thank you to the fabulous authors coming to Stroud in the autumn to help us all celebrate the creativity and vibrancy of our town.’

Stroud Book Festival proudly presents our second Schools’ day on Thursday 7th November: a day of events and workshops specially programmed for KS2 classes and ages 8-11.

All events to be held at the Subscription Rooms, Stroud GL5 1AE

We have four fantastic visiting authors who will entertain and inspire in equal measure!  

To see the full line-up use this link 

We are overjoyed to announce that the one-and-only Julia Donaldson will be joining us at Stroud Book Festival 2019, for a very special family event on the morning of Saturday 9 November.

Former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson’s extraordinary canon of work, which includes The Gruffalo, Stick Man, Room on the Broom and Zog, has catapulted her to the very top of the bestseller charts, with over 17 million copies of her cherished classics published worldwide.

Stroud Book Festival’s Children’s Artistic Director Jane Churchill says: ‘I have worked with Julia since the early days of her career and I couldn’t be more thrilled that we have the chance to welcome her to Stroud this year for what promises to be a truly fantastic event.’

Tickets for Julia Donaldson’s event will go on sale this summer via the Subscription Rooms box office, full details to be announced.  

We are thrilled to launch our 2019 Writing Competitions. This year there are three competitions for adults – Poetry, Flash Fiction and Mainstream Fiction.

The Children’s Competition will be launched later in the summer.

For more information, and to submit your work please refer to the Competitions pages using the menu above, or use this direct link.