Derby Book Festival

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Derby Book Festival

We bring books to life. Save the dates for 2026:
7 November - Book & Craft Market
12 - 15 November - Autumn Edition

The Derby Book Festival will take place this summer, featuring internationally acclaimed and best-selling authors, and confirming Derby’s reputation as a festival city. The sixth Festival, which will be held between 27 May - 5 June 2021, aims to bring Derby’s residents together in a love of books and inspire a new generation of readers. The Festival is organised in partnership with all the major arts and cultural partners in the city: QUAD, Déda, Derby Museums, Derby LIVE, Derby Theatre, the University of Derby, Derby College, Waterstones, Marketing Derby and Derby City Council who will all host events. There will also be events for all primary and secondary schools with author visits and competitions. To find out more, visit the Festival website and sign up for more information: www.derbybookfestival.co.uk. You can also follow the Festival on Twitter at: .

17/09/2026

The Derby Picture Book Award is back for its ninth year and we're so excited that submissions are now open!

We aim to take the very best in inclusive picture books to the children of Derby and beyond, enabling more children to identify with the characters and stories that they see in books.

Follow along on our journey to champion the very best writers, illustrators and publishers and to find the winner of the Derby Picture Book Award 2027.

Submissions close on 11th December!

For more information, including how to submit for this year's award, follow this link: https://www.derbybookfestival.co.uk/community/derby-childrens-picture-book-award

14/09/2026

SAVE THE DATE

Our Autumn Edition is almost here and tickets go on sale in just two weeks! Set those reminders to 10am September 28 and get ready to grab your tickets!

Reminder that Festival Friend tickets go on sale Monday 21 September at 10am, not a Festival Friend? You still have to time to get your membership on our website now!

We can't wait 🍂

09/09/2026

The third and final Derby Book Festival special episode of A Shared Reading Podcast by Derby Book Festival is now live, bringing our summer Festival podcast series to a close 🎙️

In this episode:

Bee Wilson, author of The Heart-Shaped Tin, talks about the memories associated with kitchen objects and the stories held in the things we use, keep and treasure.

Ellie and Steve also share their own meaningful kitchen objects, the ones they would never part with, opening up a warm conversation about memory, family, food and the everyday items that stay with us.

Sarah Hilary, author of The Drowning Place, part of her police detective series set in the Peak District. Sarah talks about her writing and shares a reading from the book.

Sally Coulthard, author of A Brief History of the Coast in 100 Objects, talks about coastlines, objects, history and the stories we can uncover through the things around us. She also shares a reading from her book.

Rachel Trethewey, author of Muv: The Story of the Mitford Girls’ Mother, sharing more about the life of Sydney Bowles and the story behind her book.

Jeremy, a Derby Book Festival volunteer, reflects on his experiences of volunteering with the Festival and what it means to be part of the team that helps bring the events to life.

Together, these conversations move from kitchens to coastlines, crime fiction to biography, and volunteering to the many small ways books can help people feel connected 📚

Listen now on Spotify, Apple podcast, Podbean and other podcast services 🎙️

08/09/2026

An evening with Fergal Keane at Derby Book Festival this Autumn Edition!

Our Festival tickets for the Autumn Edition go on sale soon but our event with Fergal Keane is already on sale and we're so excited for this brilliant event.

Fergal Keane’s departure from the BBC after 37 years rightly deserved a mention on the 6 o’clock bulletin as one of the most recognisable and respected journalists in world affairs, reporting with humanity and empathy and winning multiple awards.

Fergal Keane will talking to BBC Midlands Correspondent, Navtej Johal, about his career and his plans for the future including writing his first novel and a new work of non-fiction.

Book your tickets on our website now: https://www.derbybookfestival.co.uk/events/an-evening-with-fergal-keane

07/09/2026

Become a Festival Friend! 📚

By becoming a Festival Friend you can enjoy a range of benefits and provide long-term support to the Festival.

Get ahead of the game and make sure you're a member before Festival Friend tickets go on sale for our Autumn Edition in just a couple of weeks!

Read more about the membership and sign up officially on our website now: https://www.derbybookfestival.co.uk/get-involved/festival-friends

We can't wait to have you as a Festival Friend! 🩵

04/09/2026

🎙️📚 Could one minute of your time help us receive £1,000?

We have the chance to receive an award through Benefact Group’s Movement for Good programme, and we’d love your help.

If we’re selected in the September draw, the award will help us produce future episodes of the Shared Reading Podcast, sharing more stories, conversations and local voices.

Nominating us is:
💛 Completely free

⏱️ Takes around one minute
Simply:
- Visit https://movementforgood.com/draws/1000/
- Search for Derby Book Festival
- Complete a few basic details and click submit!

Your nomination will also roll forward automatically into December, when there will be 240 more £1,000 awards. If we receive a December award, it could help us support the Children’s Book Appeal.

Please nominate us by 11.59pm on Sunday 6 September and share this post with your friends, family and networks. Every nomination gives us another chance 💛

01/09/2026

If you’ve been curious about Shared Reading but getting to an in-person group is tricky,come and join us online. You'll discover the magic of Shared Reading - for confidence, conversation and connection - from home! 🏡

It's an inclusive, welcoming space, an opportunity to connect with others, explore all types of words from poems and songs to short fiction.

Let us know what you like and our volunteers will bring it to the session.

You can read the material beforehand if you like, or just log on at 7pm and enjoy!

To sign up for the zoom link, please email shared.reading@derbybookfestival or register your interest on the form in the link in our bio.

We can't wait! ☺️

31/08/2026

We have been made aware that fraudulent emails are being sent to authors inviting them to Derby Book Festival.

All author invitations are sent direct to publishers rather than to authors individually, if you have received any of these emails, please visit our home page and follow the link on the news update to report the scam email.

We are very sorry for any confusion or disappointment this scammer may have caused to members of the writing community.

25/08/2026

August memories ☀️

We have had a brilliant August at Derby Book Festival with two events at Electric Daisy including a brilliant talk from Rob Hopkins and our fun-filled Bookworms event!

It was also great to be a part of the Moorways Sports Village Play Day and celebrating the National Year of Reading as we handed out free books, had crafts and shared information about our children's programme at Derby Market Hall organised by Derby City Council.

Thank you to all involved and to everyone who joined us at our events!

See you soon for our November Festival! 👀

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