WORKSHOP: Write Like a Rebel with DBC Pierre

Join Booker-winning literary outlaw DBC Pierre for a rule-breaking, soul-shaking creative writing class – for rebels, risk-takers, and writers ready to blow up the blueprint.

If you’re sick of playing it safe, tired of being told how to write carefully, or haunted by the feeling that your best work is still buried – this is your invitation to dig it out. DBC Pierre – Booker Prize-winning author, literary hell-raiser and creative provocateur – leads a killer class designed to shake you loose from everything that’s holding you back.

Based on his cult manifesto Release the Bats, this session is part inspiration, part demolition job. Pierre shares raw, hard-won insight from a life lived off-script – from addiction and reinvention to literary glory. With wit, fire, and zero tolerance for pretension, he’ll help you face the blank page like a writer with something to say.

Expect provocations, practical tools, and ideas that will set your creative nerve endings alight. Whether you’re battling the blank page, lost in a second draft, or ready to tear it all up and start again – this is where you can come to write like it matters.

Please note: this workshop lasts for three hours, including breaks, followed by an opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the author

FIND OUT MORE

Folkestone Book Festival is our annual celebration of books, bold ideas and the power of storytelling – by the sea. Curated by award-winning author and journalist Sophie Haydock (The Flames, Madame Matisse), this year’s programme features more than 50 events over 11 days, bringing together world-class writers, radical thinkers and unforgettable conversations – all inspired by Folkestone’s spirit of enabling creativity and transformative change.

We want the festival to be for everyone. That’s why we’ve introduced a £5 ticket – a no-questions-asked option for anyone who might be struggling to afford events.

And if you’re planning to come to more than a handful of events, don’t miss our great-value Festival Pass, which gives you access to all events (excluding classes, which need to be booked separately) for just £140.

There’s so much to discover – from headline talks to intimate workshops, big ideas to local voices. Check out the full programme, including our much-loved Local Talent Showcase and a new series of Creative Writing Workshops designed to spark your imagination.

We delighted that our onsite bookseller this year is Waterstones Folkestone.

We thank our major sponsor Saga and supporting sponsors Eurotunnel, Holiday Extras and Friends of the Folkestone Book Festival along with our Education Partner, Canterbury Christ Church University for making this year's festival possible. Creative Folkestone is also supported by Arts Council England, Folkestone and Hythe District Council and The Roger De Haan Charitable Trust.