Cheltenham Festivals reveals line-up for 75th anniversary year of Litfest

Dame Judi Dench, Trevor McDonald, Ian Rankin, Richard Ayoade, Elif Shafak and many more are lined up for this year's Cheltenham Literature Festival, which is back for its 75th year.

From October 4-13, Cheltenham will bring 75 years of literary milestones to life and reflect on the legacy of the world's longest-running literature festival.

With a packed programme of 400+ events over 10 days, The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival returns with the new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats, political debates fresh from the party conference season, a vibrant family and schools programme, and performances and literary happenings scattered across the town.

There is also a commitment to widening accessibility to the arts. At least 25 per cent of the programme is free, including drop-in family events and activities in The Wild Wood and there are events for everyone to enjoy in The Huddle and The Snug thanks to the support of the Benefact Group, VOICEBOX, and as part of the Lit Crawl in venues across Cheltenham. The Festival also inspires over 12,500 school children with a love of books through its Literature for Schools programme, in line with Cheltenham Festivals’ year-round mission to bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities and inspire change. 

New venues for 2024 include The Snug and The Hush, where visitors can join book clubs, be immersed in crafts, join in with lively post-event debates or rest and contemplate new thoughts or ideas. There is also a series of events and unique dining experiences hosted at The Nook on Five, Cheltenham’s spectacular rooftop restaurant; and Dunkertons Taproom will host street food vendors, vibrant discussion, lively quizzes and captivating cabaret. VOICEBOX once again brings young voices and ideas to the forefront through a free programme of talks, workshops, panels, music, comedy and more. Featuring well-known names and emerging talent and covering topics including mental health and wellbeing, activism, and inclusivity, the full, free line-up will be announced early September. 

The Festival looks to celebrate its 75^th anniversary by exploring some of the most famous works of literature published since 1949, examining how societal and technological advances have evolved and changed, and asking what discoveries have been made – and what the next 75 years might look like. 

A number of literary anniversaries are celebrated as part of 75^th programming, including George Orwell’s 1984 and Nancy Mitford’s Love in a Cold Climate. In the current affairs strand, 75 years of NATO are examined. Looking forward, there are talks on ‘Being Human in the Age of AI’, and the future of the NHS; and the implications of the numerous political elections across the world in 2024 are interrogated via multiple events. A special anniversary event, Future 75, will bring together thought leaders and creatives for an evening of short talks on a range of topics, as speakers set out their vision for the future.

Significant figures in the development of The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival – from its beginnings up to the present day – are celebrated, as are the local surroundings and community. John Moore, founder and driving force behind the Festival, is recognised with a literary walking tour inspired by his Brensham Trilogy, set in and around Tewkesbury. Mark Cummings shares his love of Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds in his new book, Glorious Gloucestershire, and is joined by Pam Ayres who shares tales of her life living in and loving the Cotswolds.

2024 marks the fourth year of the Festival’s five-year theme, ‘Read the World’, which will see participants and Festival directors from all over the world joining live events digitally and in-person to share ideas and learn from each other. Ann Morgan returns as the Festival’s literary explorer in residence, with events including an interview with popular South Korean translator and debut novelist Anton Hur.

This year’s fiction programme is packed with leading names and the best emerging voices. Barbara Kingsolver, appearing virtually, revisits her very first book Holding the Line, and discusses using writing to explore the world’s complexities and amplify unheard voices. Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst joins an elite list of winners in receiving The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2024 and discusses his literary career and new novel Our Evenings. Paula Hawkins returns to Cheltenham to speak about her gripping new novel The Blue Hour. Author of My Sister’s Keeper Jodi Picoult is in conversation with Julia Wheeler about her new novel By Any Other Name which transports readers between Elizabethan England and modern-day Manhattan.  

Matthew Syed, Rachel Sylvester and Ben Taylor debate the fresh thinking needed to change the troubled institution that is the NHS. Torsten Bell and Kwajo Tweneboa discuss how we can get Britain back on track with Hashi Mohamed. Celebrated US author of Moneyball and The Big Short, Michael Lewis, will be at the Festival to share the epic story of Sam Bankman-Fried and the high-frequency trading and crypto mania that he witnessed first-hand. Marianna Spring, the BBC’s first disinformation and social media correspondent discusses Among the Trolls, telling first-hand stories of people getting caught up in trolling and misinformation. Green industrialist Dale Vince outlines his blueprint for the future of green Britain, while in Green Futures, economist Dharshini David and data scientist Hannah Ritchie explore how we can positively impact our individual and collective futures. Ethicist Shannon Vallor and journalist Madhumita Murgia explore how AI is reshaping society, ethics and human identity.