Beyond the Book Festival

15/05/2026

Books, books and more books. Beyond the Book Festival starts tomorrow. 9.30 registration.

Some tickets still available. Link in bio.

15/05/2026

Getting Brighton ready for the big day tomorrow.

14/05/2026

Our poster has found a very good home. 🌊

Reading Room at Saltdean Lido is one of the South Coast’s most beautiful spots, inside the Grade II* listed Art Deco lido complex at Saltdean. The same team behind Reading Room at Black Rock on Madeira Drive, where the sea views, thoughtful food and calm atmosphere have made it a natural gathering point for readers, writers and creative people looking for somewhere a little more reflective than the city centre rush.
Two venues. One ethos. Exactly the kind of place Beyond the Book feels at home.

If you haven’t been, go. And if you’re picking up your festival programme this Saturday, this is a very good place to start the day.

🎟️ Link in bio.

14/05/2026

We have news. 📣

Sadly, has been called away to Cannes Film Festival this weekend. We will miss you, Jim. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. 😂

Stepping into his place alongside the brilliant MBE is someone who needs very little introduction to anyone who loves books. We are absolutely delighted to welcome .

Between them, these two have pretty much seen it all.
Adele is an International No. 1 bestselling author with a 25-year career and an MBE. She will be talking honestly and openly about life as a writer. The highs, the lows, where the ideas come from, and whether she really does take notes when her friends tell her their troubles.

David co-founded Goldsboro Books, built the UK’s largest first edition subscription book club, founded DHH Literary Agency, co-created Capital Crime festival, and has spent twenty six years getting to great books before anyone else knows their name.

One bestselling author. One of publishing’s most influential figures. One hour. This Saturday at Friends Meeting House Brighton, as part of the Brighton Fringe.

Tickets are selling fast. Link in bio. 🎟️

06/05/2026

In the third of our moderator spotlights we introduce the brilliant Denise Tyler who is also our festival coordinator.

Denise is a UK-based journalist, author and media consultant, as well as the founder of UK Literary Festivals, a platform dedicated to helping readers discover literary events across the country.

With a career spanning more than two decades, she has worked across press, public relations and journalism, leading strategic media campaigns and contributing freelance features. Her work also includes biography ghostwriting, where she collaborates closely with clients to shape life stories through in-depth interviews and research.

Alongside her media work, Denise is an experienced literary interviewer, event host and festival programmer. She regularly moderates author events and has conducted interviews at festivals such as Shoreham Wordfest, bringing writers and audiences together through engaging conversations.

As the founder of UK Literary Festivals, she curates a year-round guide to book events across the UK, reflecting her commitment to championing authors, readers and the wider literary community.

Based on the south coast of England, she continues to work across journalism, books and live literary events, combining industry experience with a clear passion for storytelling in all its forms.

Denise will be moderating FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE at 2.30pm

Funny fiction isn’t the lightweight cousin of serious literature — it’s often the hardest to pull off, and the most devastating when it lands. David Fennell drops bodies into his murder mysteries and somehow makes you laugh. Kathleen Whyman writes about women who are doing it all and holding none of it together; which is to say, she writes about all of us. Lauren Bravo, whose debut Preloved won readers on both sides of the Atlantic, follows it with Probably Nothing, a novel about wellness, people-pleasing, and the particular comedy of trying to be fine. Three very different writers, one shared conviction: that a well-placed joke can cut deeper than a knife.

TICKET LINK IN BIO

05/05/2026

In the second of moderator spotlights, we introduce Katherine Armstrong.

Katherine is Publishing Director at Simon & Schuster UK, where she specialises in crime and thriller fiction. She began her career as a bookseller with Waterstones in Edinburgh before moving into publishing, building her editorial experience at Faber & Faber, Sphere, and Bonnier Books UK.

She joined Simon & Schuster UK and progressed through the editorial ranks to her current role, where she acquires and develops standout commercial fiction. Her list focuses on crime and thriller novels with strong hooks, compelling twists, and distinctive voices. She is known for championing high-concept storytelling and working closely with authors to shape books with broad commercial appeal.

Katherine will moderate TWISTED TRUTHS: Who can you trust? -at 12:00pm

The best crime fiction doesn't just ask whodunit. It asks who do you believe? Sunday Times bestseller and Traitors star, Harriet Tyce, master of suspense, Katherine Bradley, and bestselling thriller writer, Tom Wood AKA Sam Ripley, write books where the truth keeps shifting and nobody in the room can really be trusted. Not the witnesses. Not the institutions. Not even the narrator.

04/05/2026

This week we are spotlighting our brilliant moderators and today we kick off with Stu Cummins.

Stu is a lifelong reader, but discovered book reviewing/blogging in 2020, during a period of shared parental leave. Then when the pandemic hit, like many others, he immersed himself in fictional worlds to escape the horrors of reality. During this time he got chatting to lots of authors and other bloggers via social media, who all welcomed him into this wonderful community. Since then he’s spent as much of his spare time reading, reviewing, attending bookish events and generally shouting about books he loves! He mainly reads crime/thrillers and is obsessed with psychological suspense, but challenges himself to try and read outside of the genre occasionally.

He lives on the South Coast with his wife, two daughters and a TBR pile that’s taller than them all put together.

Stu will be moderating TOXIC TRAITS AND RED FLAGS: the dark side of love st 3.30pm

Relationships are fertile ground for writers who like to dive deep into the complexities of danger that doesn’t present in a typically violent way. Join novelists, Hattie Williams, Essie Fox and Clare Leslie Hall for an exploration of love on the page. Because, sometimes, your own mind is the scariest place to be.

24/04/2026

TOXIC TRAITS AND RED FLAGS: the dark side of love. 3.30pm
Relationships are fertile ground for writers who like to dive deep into the complexities of danger that doesn’t present in a typically violent way. Join novelists, Hattie Williams, Essie Fox and Clare Leslie Hall for an exploration of love on the page, with Stu Cummins. Because, sometimes, your own mind is the scariest place to be.

TICKET LINK IN BIO

24/04/2026

FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE. 2.30pm
Funny fiction isn’t the lightweight cousin of serious literature — it’s often the hardest to pull off, and the most devastating when it lands. David Fennell drops bodies into his murder mysteries and somehow makes you laugh. Kathleen Whyman writes about women who are doing it all and holding none of it together; which is to say, she writes about all of us. Lauren Bravo, whose debut Preloved won readers on both sides of the Atlantic, follows it with Probably Nothing, a novel about wellness, people-pleasing, and the particular comedy of trying to be fine. Three very different writers, one shared conviction: that a well-placed joke can cut deeper than a knife. Moderated by Denise Tyler.

06/05/2025

We're in the Argus!

Tickets selling fast. Book now to avoid disappointment.

A new festival event hopes to celebrate books and writing.

30/03/2025

Happy Mother’s Day 👩♥️

Surprise your beautiful mum today with the gift of a ticket to this year’s now part of the brilliant . Enter the MOTHER5 code at the checkout and get £5 off.

This year we have an incredible line up including , , , and many more.

Link in the bio