Dates for your Diary – Literary Festivals in May

Literary festivals continue across Ireland, Britain and further afield during May. Follow the links below for details, including times, dates, venues, programme of events.

Swindon Festival of Literature: 1-13 May

Cheltenham Poetry Festival: 4-15 May

Ullapool Book Festival: 5-7 May

Poetry-next-the-Sea – annual poetry festival that takes place in Wells-next-the-Sea, North Norfolk: 5-7 May

Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature: 6-13 May

Newcastle Poetry Festival: 9-13 May

Chipping Camden Literature Festival: 9-14 May

Guernsey Literary Festival: 10-14 May

Boswell Book Festival. Dumfries, Ayrshire – the world's only festival of biography and memoir: 12-14 May

Barnes Children's Literature Festival – London's largest dedicated children's literature festival: 13-14 May

Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) – annual travelling festival that tours around historic Palestine: 13-18 May

St Ives Literature Festival: 13-20 May

Crimefest. Bristol. International crime fiction festival – where the pen is bloodier than the sword!: 18-21 May

Litfest – a food and drinks literary festival at Ballymaloe, Co. Cork: 19-21 May

Charleston Festival – where books, ideas & creativity bloom: 19-29 May

International Literature Festival Dublin – Ireland's premier literary event, gathering the finest writers in the world to debate, provoke, delight and enthral: 20-29 May

Hay Festival – Wales: 25 May to 4 June

Bodmin Moor Poetry Festival – the poetry of dance, the dance of poetry: 26-28 May

Greenwich Book Festival, London: 26-27 May

May Festival (University of Aberdeen): 26-28 May

Salisbury International Arts Festival: 26 May to 10 June

Listowel Writers' Week: 31 May to 4 June

If we have omitted anyone, please except our sincere apologies. Obviously it was just that – an error of omission and not a deliberate slight! One way to avoid this happening in future, is to contact us – let us know about your organisation, activities, events. E-mail us with the details (time, date, venue, programme of events) or submit using the online form that we provide for this purpose.

Poetry Day Ireland – 27th April

27 April is Poetry Day Ireland. This year's theme is Poetry Connects and Poetry Ireland is inviting everyone to "join-in, link-up, and connect through the power of poetry. Find an event near you in our What's On guide or browse our brochure" both of which are available from Poetry Ireland website.

From Kerry to Derry, there will be more than 100 creative, inspiring and thought-provoking events taking place on Thursday 27 April. The many wonderful events that are planned are a testament to the dedication and commitment of our partners, and to poetry lovers and event promoters around the country, who do so much to keep Ireland’s poetry landscape vibrant all year round. Have a look at what's in store at www.poetryday.ie or browse our brochure to find an event near you. – Poetry Ireland

Literary Festivals in April (Dates for your Diary)

Cambridge Literary Festival starts today and runs until 23 April.

Other literary festivals across Ireland and Britain in the coming weeks, for which details are available include:

Cúirt International Festival of Literature (Galway, Ireland): 23-30 April 2017

Stratford Upon Avon Literary Festival (Spring Festival): 23-30 April 2017

Scarborough Literature Festival: 26 April to 1 May 2017

Strokestown International Poetry Festival: 27th to 30th April 2017

Hexham Book Festival: 2017 Festival dates are 28 April to 7 May

Wrexham Carnival of Words: Saturday 29th April to Saturday 6th May 2017

Colonsay Book Festival: 29-30 April, 2017

Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival (West Kent): 30 April to 2 May 2017

For full details, follow the links to the festival websites. For information about other festivals running throughout the year – including events happening near you – visit the websites of Literary Festivals (covers Great Britain and Ireland) and Culture Fox (Irish events).

If you would like to see your festival, event or anything literary related featured here, send us an e-mail with all the relevant details (times, dates, venues, programme of events, etc). You can also notify us using the online form that we provide for this purpose.

Forward March! Literary Festivals 2017. Dates for Your Diary

The month of March sees the literary festival circuit across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield, well and truly awake from its winter slumber. Events taking place that have been listed and confirmed include:

Headingley Lit Fest. A "rolling festival" which takes place annually in March but also some supplementary events "Between the Lines" throughout the year. Visit website for further information ...

Essex Book Festival. Runs throughout March. 31 Days, 90 Events, 45 Venues, 200+ Writers & Artists. Visit website for further information ...

StAnza, St. Andrews, 1 - 5 March. Scotland's International Poetry Festival's mission is to celebrate poetry, to bring poetry to audiences and to enable encounters with poetry. Visit website for further information ...

Aldeburgh Literary Festival, 2-5 March. Featuring "an extraordinary variety of talks, from the local to the global, the serious to the hilarious, the scientific to the philosophical." Visit website for further information ...

Ennis Book Club Festival, 3-5 March. The country's only book club festival offers a "unique mix of readings, discussion, comedy and chat in one of Ireland's friendliest towns." Visit website for further information ...

Huddersfield Literature Festival, 4-19 March. Innovative and high-profile events to support and showcase both established and new, emerging writers and performers, as well as the opportunity to attend workshops and masterclasses. Visit website for further information ...

Aye Write! Glasgow's Book Festival, 9-19 March. 200 authors and three venues all packed into one festival with two family days either side of a packed week of events, designed especially for schools. Visit website for further information ...

Kings Lynn Fiction Festival, 10-12 March. Presenting "some of the best contemporary writers of chapter and verse in a friendly and informal setting." A poetry festival is also held in September under the same auspices. Visit website for further information ...

F. Festival, Dublin, 11 March. Celebrating women in the arts at venues across Dublin through a variety of artistic and creative media. Visit website for further information ...

London Book Fair, 14-16 March. A global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels. Takes place at Olympia, West London. Covering all aspects of the publishing industry. Visit website for further information ...

York Literature Festival, 16 - 30 March. Promoting the arts in York, with an emphasis on literature, spoken word and poetry, also featuring music, comedy, cinema and theatre. This year's festival promises to deliver its largest programme ever, with more than 60 events in two weeks. Visit website for further information ...

Chagword – Dartmoor's Literary Festival in Chagford, 17-19 March. A festival now in its third year, it aims "to establish Chagford as a focus of literary excellence, by attracting high quality speakers and providing new opportunities for local people to experience literature in direct, accessible and dynamic ways." Visit website for further information ...

Alderney Literary Festival, 24-26 March. The Channel Island of Alderney, in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, hosts this "boutique history festival where people who enjoy reading and writing about the past come together to talk books and have a great weekend." Visit website for further information ...

Cardiff Children's Literature Festival, 25 March - April 2. Spread over two weekends, with events in both English and Welsh, the festival celebrates the very best in contemporary children's books. Visit website for further information ...

For further information about these and other festivals running throughout the year – including events happening near you – visit the websites of Literary Festivals (covers Great Britain and Ireland) and Culture Fox (mainly Irish focus).

If you are a festival organiser and would like to promote your event on Writing & Literary, please Contact Us by e-mail or, you can submit the relevant information using our online form. We cannot guarantee inclusion but we will do our best to promote it for you, free of charge. We recommend that you give us sufficient advance notice of the event. A telephone number is also always handy, in case we need to verify any of the information given.