OTLEY BOOKFEST 2026

BEYOND A LITERATURE FESTIVAL



27/28/29 NOVEMBER 2026

All events will be held at Otley Common, the town's vibrant social, cultural and entrepreneurial hub

Tickets available via Otley Common website

An exciting new adventure set in the historic market town of Otley

A whole weekend of themed events, discussions and entertainment for literature lovers who want more than readings. Seven themes of:

Fiction • Landscapes • Young Adults • Mountain Running • Work in Translation •
Graphic Novels & Documentary • Authentic Authoring of African Stories

Established writers alongside musicians and artists, with panels, debates and Q&A's

Authentic Authoring of African Stories

Thanda Gumede
Dr Brighid Webster
£10

Saturday Evening Gala Concert

Featuring Robin Ince and The Bookshop Band

With MC 'Otley Town Poet' Matthew Stoppard

Robin Ince is many things. A multi award winning comedian, author, broadcaster, bibliomaniac and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is perhaps best known as the former co-host and co-creator of the Sony Gold Award winning BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. As a stand up Robin has toured the world and as an author he has written four acclaimed books, including Bibliomaniac, earned him the prestigious Booksellers Association Author of the Year award. 

The Bookshop Band are the wonderfully entertaining musical offspring of an artistic love-affair between two award winning folk songwriters, Beth Porter and Ben Please, and an independent bookshop in the UK, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights. The songs are the musical outpouring of the band’s own response to books they have read, curated by the bookshop. 

Otley Bookfest is supported by