(Image: CHRIS BOOTH)
Book lovers will descend on Durham this weekend as the Durham Book Festival returns with three days of events celebrating literature, creativity and debate.
The festival will run from October 9 to 11, bringing together acclaimed writers, new voices and readers from across the region for what organisers describe as a packed programme of books and ideas.
This year's event has a particular focus on celebrating voices from the North East while also welcoming authors from further afield.
As part of 2026's National Year of Reading, festival organisers are launching a North East Big Read, encouraging people across County Durham to read and discuss The Hunting Party by bestselling author Lucy Foley.
Free copies of the mystery novel will be made available through libraries and community venues across the county, with residents invited to take part in local reading group sessions.
The festival will also showcase a series of new writing commissions from a number of leading and emerging authors, including Lucy Rose, Romalyn Ante, Naomi Booth, Sarah Hall and Jake Morris-Campbell.
The events will be held at Gala Durham, Clayport Library and other venues across Durham.
Most of the events can be watched from home through a live-stream for anyone unable to make it.
Times, prices, and events that are on
Friday, 9 October
5pm - 6pm: Talking Books with Naomi Booth and Kayo Chingonyi (£5)
6.30pm - 7.30pm: Jill Dawson: Pixie - Tarot Evening (£10/£9)
7pm - 8pm: An Evening with Hollie McNish and Michael Pedersen (£15/£12)
8.30pm - 9.45pm: Durham Writes Poetry Scratch Night (£5)
Saturday, 10 October
10am - 11am: Edith Hall: Medea - A Life (£10/£9)
10am - 10.45am: Holly Sterling: Karate Kids Storytime (£3)
10.30am - 1pm: Festival Game Jam (£10/£9)
10.30am - 11.30am: Durham Crime: Jo Murray and Rebecca Philipson – Live-stream only (£5)
11am - 4pm: Faber Academy Workshop: Life Writing with Amy Key (£75)
11.30am - 12.15pm: Little Read Storytime: The Big-Time Boogie-Woogie Animal Band (Free)
12.30pm - 1.30pm: Food, Connection and Identity with Kit Fan and Anna Hedworth (£10/£9)
1pm - 2pm: James Marriott: Forged in the North (£10/£9)
2.30 - 3.30pm: New Northern Voices: Louise Powell, Sufiyaan Salam and Shaun Wilson (£10/£9)
3pm - 4pm: Lucy Foley: The Big Read (£5)
5pm - 6pm: Susanna Clarke: The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City (£15/£12)
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Bread Alone Anthology (£7 includes a drink)
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Gaming and Storytelling with Lucy Rose and Sarah Maria Griffin (£10/£9)
7pm - 8pm: Neil Tennant: Forged in the North – Live-stream only (£15/£12)
7.30pm - 8.30pm: Rowan McCabe: Hard Knocks (£10/£9)
Sunday, 11 October
10.30am - 11.30am: PBS Showcase with Clementine Ewokolo Burnley, Helen Mort and Padraig Regan (£10/£9)
11am - 12pm: Dan Jackson: Howay the Lads! (£10/£9)
12pm - 1pm: Life Writing with Louise Doughty and Nicola Wilding (£10/£9)
1pm - 2pm: Regency Romance with Sophie Irwin and the History Gossip (£15/£12)
2pm - 3pm: Sleep Stories: Romalyn Ante, Naomi Booth and Sarah Hall (£10/£9)
2.30pm - 3.30pm: Developing Your Writing with Jerwood Fellows (£5)
3pm - 4pm: Clare McGlynn and Natasha Walter in Conversation (£15/£12)
4pm - 5pm: Voices from the River Gaunless with Jake Morris-Campbell (£10/£9)
5pm - 6pm: The Working Class Library on Tony Harrison with Special Guest Christopher Eccleston (£15/£12)
5.30pm - 6.30pm: Folklore Across Forms (£5)
Festival-goers can find details of the full programme, including commissioned works and special events, through the Durham Book Festival website.