Creative Folkestone has announced an expanded line-up for Folkestone Book Festival 2025, confirming its place as one of the UK’s most inspiring and ambitious literary gatherings.
The festival, which runs from Thursday 13 until Sunday 23 November, is one of the UK’s longest running literary festivals. Each year, the festival brings together authors, poets, scientists, established names, and rising stars from across the globe. The packed programme already features big names such as Trainspotting’s Irvine Welsh, popstar and actor Will Young, former member of parliament and environmental campaigner Caroline Lucas, and so much more.
Among headliners this year is Amanda Knox, author, journalist, and campaigner for criminal justice reform, who will appear live from the US to discuss truth, trauma, and reclaiming narrative after wrongful conviction. This will be a unique opportunity to hear from Knox coinciding with a major new screen dramatisation of her case.
If that wasn’t enough, Creative Folkestone have just announced these new additions:
Wendy Erskine & Lucy Caldwell (14 November): Two of Ireland’s most compelling contemporary writers unite for a conversation on class, motherhood, and the art of fiction.
Kathy Lette: The Revenge Club (14 November): The international bestseller and comedy powerhouse brings her trademark wit in a bold, uproarious evening. This event will be preceded by the switching-on of this year’s Creative Quarter Christmas Lights.
Yiyun Li (16 November, live-streamed): One of the world’s most admired literary figures shares her luminous new memoir, Things in Nature Merely Grow, a moving exploration of grief, endurance, and language.
Adam Weymouth & Sophy Roberts (19 November): Two fearless travel writers in dialogue about wild places, slow journeys, and the wilderness within.
Robin Ince (19 November): The beloved comedian and broadcaster returns with Ice Cream for a Broken Tooth, a celebration of broken things, books, and the wonder of childhood imagination.
Dr Dean Lomax & Steve Friedrich (23 November): Meet dinosaurs and Folkestone’s fossils in a revelatory event exploring deep time, local heritage, and the secrets beneath our feet.
Across 11 days, over 70 writers, thinkers, and performers will spark conversations on literature, politics, history, art, science, crisps and more.
This year’s programme is curated by award-winning author and journalist Sophie Haydock. Its bold programming is matched by its location on the Kent coast, home to Creative Folkestone’s thriving Creative Quarter and the internationally renowned Folkestone Triennial.
Sophie Haydock, Curator, Folkestone Book Festival, says: “This year’s festival is about voices. From the globally recognised to the newly emerging we have invited writers and thinkers who challenge, inspire and illuminate our times. Folkestone is the perfect place to host such conversations: a seaside town alive with history, creativity, and connection to the world. And we’re proving something else too, Folkestone isn’t only a coastal town, it’s a creative town: a home for readers, writers and storytellers who want to imagine new futures together.”
Folkestone Book Festival 2025 takes place from Thursday 13 to Sunday 23 November 2025 at the Quarterhouse and venues across the town.
Book your tickets or a Festival Pass and check out the packed programme now.