Founded in 2001 the Sevenoaks Literary Festival aims to create engaging events for and in the heart of our community.
With an eclectic mix of styles, forms and events, the volunteers who run the festival seek out the brightest minds and most interesting voices to delight, enthral and inspire you.
Recent highlights from the Festival include events with acclaimed actress Dame Eileen Atkins, actress and presenter Mel Giedroyc and internationally bestselling Bonnie Garmus.
Leading novelists have been central to the Festival from its inception: Hilary Mantel talking about Wolf Hall on the eve of her Booker Prize win, Kate Mosse, Sarah Waters, Patrick Gale, Jonathan Coe, Justin Cartwright, Sarah Dunant, Victoria Hislop, Penelope Lively, Lionel Shriver, Meg Rossoff, Mick Herron and Sebastian Faulks.
Biographers have included prize-winning Lucy Hughes-Hallett; Andrew Lownie, biographer of Guy Burgess and of the Mountbattens; Kathryn Hughes on Mrs Beeton; Michael Smith recounting the trials and adventures of Ernest Shackleton; Kate Williams on the infamous Emma Hamilton and former MP Chris Mullin on the politics of post-Brexit Britain.
The diverse range of historians speaking at the Festival has consistently attracted large audiences. They include Sir Roy Strong, Ian Mortimer, Tracy Borman, Thomas Penn, Stephen Smith, Tessa Dunlop and and Henry Hemming revealing the British practices of fake news in persuading the USA to engage in the second world war. Sevenoaks audiences also enjoy politics, with successful events for Ian Dunt, Alan Johnson, Gina Miller and Luke Harding.
National Poetry Day usually coincides with the Festival and poetry is a regular feature. Past readings have included three Poets Laureate – Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, and the geographer Simon Armitage; the National Poet of Wales – Gillian Clarke and the National Poet for Scotland – Liz Lochhead, as well as popular names such as Jackie Kay, Ruth Padel and Daljit Nagra. Lemn Sissay gave a riveting performance of his poetry as well as offering a chilling account of the inhuman power of the state in his memoir My Name is Why.
A special feature of the Festival is the school day, with talks and workshops for about 450 primary school children. Recent participants have included the illustrator William Grill, Michael Rosen, Piers Torday and Harriet Goodwin.
Sevenoaks Literary Festival continues to develop, and no two years are the same. Musical events have included The Milton Consort accompanying Shakespeare’s Sonnets on period instruments; Laura Barnett discussing her novel Greatest Hits while Mercury-prize nominated Kathryn Williams played the music specially written for it; poet and photographer Virginia Astley reading from The English River accompanied on the harp by her daughter. The visual also forms a telling element of the Festival. Film director James Ivory introduced a screening of his film A Room With A View and Adam Nicolson was joined by his illustrator Tom Hammick with a selection of his brightly coloured landscapes.
This broad range of events is testamant to the objective of Sevenoaks Literary Festival to make books and literature as alive, accessible and relevant as possible.