What is Cambridge Literary Festival?

Cambridge Literary Festival is a biannual event held in April and November of every year in Cambridgeshire. The festival is meant to help facilitate the promotion and growth of literature, language and the arts. Established in 2004, the festival is primarily hosted at the Old Divinity School in St John's College in the University of Cambridge.

Although it is nowhere near in size and appeal to other behemoths like the Glastonbury or Boomtown music festivals, the Cambridge Literary Festival more that hold its own weight in the literary sphere. In 2018, over 8,000 people paid for the privilege to attend the winter festival – a hugely impressive figure. In fact, the event, which was originally known as Cambridge’s Wordfest, is considered one of the must-go literary-linked festivals in the country.

English actor and author Alexei David Sayle at a signing event for his book, Thatcher Stole My Trousers, during the 2016 Cambridge Literary Festival. Image courtesy of Chris Boland