After a hugely successful first year, Ipswich Book Festival is returning this October with a bigger programme, more venues, a new schools week, and a theme that looks beyond the page.
Tickets for the second Ipswich Book Festival go on sale at 10am today, with the festival itself taking place across Ipswich town centre from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026.
This year’s theme is More Than Words – a celebration of the way books, stories and ideas can move us, challenge us, connect us and help us see the world differently.
Watch highlights from last year’s first Ipswich Book Festival and, if last year was the opening chapter, 2026 looks set to be a bold next page.
The festival will bring together more than 50 events across ten town centre venues, with a packed weekend of author talks, workshops, conversations, performances, children’s events and creative sessions.
The line-up includes broadcaster Stewart White, actress and author Caroline Quentin, journalist and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, musician Rusty Egan, and comedian, broadcaster and author Robin Ince.
They’ll be joined by Ipswich Book Festival patrons Thomas Taylor, Eva Verde, Frances Quinn, Matson Taylor and Ashley Hickson-Lovence, alongside children’s author Brogen Murphy and a wide-ranging programme of writers, historians, illustrators, poets, campaigners, artists and performers.
The 2026 festival will cover everything from fiction, history, memoir and music to art, identity, children’s books and community. Across the weekend, audiences can expect events exploring dyslexia, dementia, belonging, queer history, the environment and the many ways stories shape how we understand ourselves and each other.
For Ipswich, that matters.
Last year’s first Ipswich Book Festival brought people into the town from across the country, with organisers reporting that one in three visitors came from outside Ipswich. It was a reminder that cultural events don’t just fill rooms – they bring people into the town, support local businesses, showcase venues, and help change the way Ipswich is seen.
This year, the festival is also growing beyond the main weekend.
New for 2026 is Ipswich Book Festival Schools Week, running from Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October. Developed in partnership with Dial Lane Books and supported by Sizewell C, the initiative aims to give every school in Ipswich the chance to welcome a children’s author. The ambition is to reach more than 4,000 children across the town, helping young people discover that books, stories and creativity are for them. Andrew Marsh, Festival Director and owner of Dial Lane Books, said Schools Week is about giving children the chance to meet authors, build confidence, spark curiosity and experience the joy of reading in a way that can stay with them long after the visit itself.
Festival Director Tony Felgate said the response to last year’s event had gone far beyond expectations, with audiences travelling to Ipswich to experience a weekend built around books, ideas and conversation.
The festival’s Principal Sponsor for 2026 is Larking Gowen Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors. Other partners include WHAT Associates as Creative Partner, New Wolsey Theatre as Ticketing Partner, Hudson Group as Production Partner, and Ipswich Central as Town Centre Sponsor.
Ipswich Book Festival takes place from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October 2026.
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Monday 6 July via ipswichbookfestival.co.uk.
Who wrote this about Ipswich?
Miranda Acres
Miranda has been a Freelance Marketing and Design Consultant for more years than she cares to remember, supporting local start-ups, SMEs and charities. A passionate founder of Ipswich.love. Huge supporter of Ipswich's bid for City of Culture 2029. Born, bred and choosing Ipswich.
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