Dear Festival Friends,

It’s now just two weeks before tickets go on sale for Stroud Book Festival 2023. They will be available to purchase online, by phone, or in person from the Stroud Sub Rooms box office from Friday 8 September.

Shortly after that, our colourful printed brochure with full details of all events taking place from 8-12 November will be available to pick up free from venues across the Five Valleys.

To whet your appetite in the meantime, we are today announcing a few more exciting additions to our 2023 programme.

In an evening of events on Thursday 9th November to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS we are delighted to present an in-conversation with mega-bestselling author and former junior doctor Adam Kay. Later we will be joined by Polly Morland, author of “A Fortunate Woman: A Country Doctor’s Story”, and GP Dr Phil Whitaker, author of “What is a Doctor?”.

Our headline poet for SBF 2023 is Gillian Clarke. Born in Cardiff and a former National Poet of Wales, Gillian has won numerous awards for her work, including the Queen’s Medal for Poetry. She is also one of the major poets of our endangered environment.

Guardian political journalist and host of the “Politics on the Couch” podcast, Rafael Behr will join us to discuss his book “Politics: A Survivor’s Guide” in which he aims to help us stay engaged, without getting enraged.

Nina Stibbe, one of our best-loved comic writers, will be making a welcome return to Stroud to discuss her new book, “Went to London, Took the Dog”, the hilarious diary of her year spent living back in the capital as a “60-year-old runaway” from her home in Cornwall.

And together with the announcement of the 2023 Laurie Lee Prize winners, we celebrate the publication by Penguin Classics of a landmark new “Laurie Lee: Collected Poems”, for which we will be joined by the author’s daughter, Jessy Lee, reading some of her father’s work alongside Stroud poet, Adam Horovitz.

For younger Festival goers, we’ll be welcoming Martin Brown, illustrator of the hugely popular “Horrible Histories” series. There will also be a fantastic chance to celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Doctor Who” with two insiders from the TV show, Steve Cole and Mike Tucker, who will be accompanied by legendary Doctor Who hound, K9!

These events and authors join the following line-up already announced:

Bill Alexander – Victoria Belim – Rob Biddulph – Joseph Coelho – Cressida Cowell –

Tessa Hadley & Alice Jolly – Rachel Joyce & Sarah Winman – Tom Kerridge – Clive Myrie – Mary Portas – Stroud Short Stories

Our full programme of more than 30 events will be online very soon at stroudbookfestival.org.uk. And a reminder that if you are on social media, please follow us for updates.

Thank you for supporting us so loyally!

The Stroud Book Festival team