The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2025 has concluded with a landmark edition, marking a record-breaking year for ticket sales and reaffirming the enduring power of literature festivals.
Over ten vibrant days, Festival-goers from across the UK and beyond came together to celebrate books, ideas and imagination, emphasising the importance of arts and cultural events in connecting communities and inspiring real, lasting change.
This year’s Festival welcomed a record-breaking number of over 100,000 ticket-holders to more than 400 events. The packed programme featured literary legends and household names including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jung Chang, Ben Elton, Joanna Lumley, Oti Mabuse, Ian McEwan, Michael Morpurgo, Jojo Moyes, Graham Norton, Richard Osman, Jacqueline Wilson - alongside bold new voices and thought-provoking discussions that sparked a curiosity for the written and spoken word.
A festival of firsts
In a record that captured hearts, bestselling children’s author A. F. Steadman completed a six-hour book signing - the longest in the Festival’s history - as thousands
of young readers queued to meet her, highlighting the enduring magic of storytelling and its power to inspire the next generation.
Nicola Dinan's Disappoint Me won the New Adult Book Prize at Cheltenham Literature Festival. The award was the first of its kind in the UK, created by The Bookseller in response to the growing popularity of new adult fiction and was hosted by VOICEBOX, a vibrant space dedicated to amplifying young voices and inspiring change through culture and collaboration.
New and emerging voices were celebrated throughout the week, as the Festival shone a spotlight on some of the most exciting debut authors of the year, including Rowe Irvin’s Life Cycle of a Moth and Lucy Rose’s The Lamb – two novels exploring motherhood, love and survival – alongside new writing from Sweden with Lisa Ridzén’s When the Cranes Fly South and Andrev Walden’s Bloody Awful in Different Ways. The programme also featured Florence Knapp’s The Names, Claire Lynch’s A Family Matter, a moving reflection on healing and generational memory. Together, these events captured the Festival’s ongoing commitment to championing bold new literary talent from across the publishing industry.
The Future of Reading Conference brought together experts in response to declining rates of reading for pleasure amongst children. Authors, illustrators, poets, educators, and industry leaders, including experts from Empathy Lab, Inclusive Books for Children and the National Literacy Trust, alongside Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph, and author Sharna Jackson. United by a shared passion for inspiring children and young people to discover the joy of reading, the conference sparked dynamic discussions on creativity, inclusion and the future of storytelling in schools and beyond.
Building on this success, Cheltenham Festivals is already making preparations as part of the National Year of Reading 2026, a nationwide campaign from the National Literacy Trust and Department for Education celebrating the transformative power of reading for all ages. The initiative will expand the Festival’s year-round learning and participation work, bringing books and authors into classrooms and communities, ensuring every child has the chance to experience the joy of reading and storytelling.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Children’s Laureate, said: “The Future of Reading Conference captured something vital – a shared belief that every child deserves to grow up with stories that reflect and expand their world. What Cheltenham Festivals is doing isn’t just celebrating books, it’s building the future of reading itself.”
Inspiring the next generation
Cheltenham Festivals’ mission to inspire 80,000 children to discover the joy of arts and culture by 2026 also took a major step forward this Festival, engaging over 12,000
school children as part of its Literature for Schools programme and taking the total for the year so far to 71,667. Families and children enjoyed a packed programme of events, from Jamie Smart’s curated comic workshops and creative sessions with artists like Neill Cameron, Ramzee, Laura Ellen Andersen, and Vivian Truong, to Return to Wonderland, a Wonderland-themed Wild Wood adventure inspired by Anna James’ reimagining of Alice in Wonderland.
Young readers also met authors including Hugh Bonneville, Jacqueline Wilson, Sam Sedgman and Peter Brown, who offered live storytelling, drawing sessions, and behind-the-scenes insights all designed to inspire young Festival-goers to imagine, create and discover a lifelong love of reading.
The return of The Big Read
After a decade-long hiatus, The Big Read made a triumphant return to the Festival this autumn, bringing readers together through the shared experience of exploring a compelling debut novel. For its 2025 relaunch, the Festival spotlighted British-Cambodian author Kaliane Bradley and her #1 bestselling debut novel of 2024, The Ministry of Time. The revival of The Big Read underscores Cheltenham’s commitment to uniting readers through shared storytelling, with over 150 books shared with book clubs and left around Cheltenham Town centre for readers to find and share.
Nicola Tuxworth, Head of Programming at Cheltenham Literature Festival said: “Cheltenham Literature Festival 2025 has been a truly remarkable year, with record-breaking audiences, inspiring events for children and families and unforgettable moments across the programme. From our youngest readers discovering the magic of books to debut authors taking centre stage, it’s been a joy to celebrate storytelling in all its forms. We’re excited to build on this momentum as we head towards the National Year of Reading 2026, continuing our mission to spark curiosity, creativity and a lifelong love of reading.”