How to get tickets for Ipswich Book Festival 2026

Why it matters: Ipswich Book Festival returns for its second year over the weekend of 2–4 October, with more than 50 events across ten venues in the town centre. The festival's theme this year, "More Than Words", explores how stories and ideas shape our understanding of power, identity, history and community.

What's on: The programme spans fiction, history, music, art, memoir and children's books, with sessions exploring dyslexia, dementia, identity, belonging, queer history and the environment.

This year's headline guests include:

• Broadcaster Stewart White
• Actress and author Caroline Quentin
• Journalist and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter
• Musician Rusty Egan
• Comedian, broadcaster and author Robin Ince

They're joined by Ipswich Book Festival patrons Thomas Taylor, Eva Verde, Frances Quinn, Matson Taylor and Ashley Hickson-Lovence, alongside children's author Brogen Murphy and a wider line-up of writers, historians, artists, campaigners and performers.

What they're saying: Tony Felgate, director of Ipswich Book Festival, said: "Last year exceeded all our expectations. It was wonderful to see people travelling from across the country to discover Ipswich through books, ideas and conversation. We cannot wait to welcome audiences back this October and we are so grateful to our sponsors and partners, particularly Larking Gowen Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors who are this year's Principal Sponsor."

For context: The inaugural festival in 2025 saw one in three visitors travel from outside Ipswich, with headline guest Larry Lamb topping last year's bill.

New this year: Ipswich Book Festival Schools Week runs from 28 September to 2 October. Developed with Dial Lane Books and supported by Sizewell C, it aims to give every school in Ipswich the chance to meet a children's author, reaching more than 4,000 children across the town.

Andrew Marsh, director of Ipswich Book Festival and owner of Dial Lane Books, said: "Schools Week is about giving every child the opportunity to discover the joy of reading. Meeting an author can inspire confidence, curiosity and creativity in ways that stay with young people long after the visit has ended. We want every child in Ipswich to know that books are for them."

The bottom line: Tickets for Ipswich Book Festival's second year are now on sale, with a bigger line-up, a new Schools Week and a theme aimed at showing books can be more than just words on a page.

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