Durham Book Festival

New Writing North is the proud producer of Durham Book Festival, which takes place in and around the beautiful city of Durham each October.

Durham Book Festival 2023 will take place from 13-15 October. Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to hear about this year’s line-up.

At a glance

2023 line-up

The programme for Durham Book Festival 2023 will be announced this summer – keep an eye on our social media for updates, or sign up to our newsletter.

New commissions

Durham Book Festival is renowned for its commissions of new work across all art forms, launched each year online and at the festival. Read, watch and listen to our 2022 commissions.

Join in, wherever you are

We are committed to providing high-quality live-streams of all of our main-house events for ticket-holders to attend from all over the world – and from the comfort of their home.

A vibrant mix of authors, thinkers and artists

Each October, Durham Book Festival brings a vibrant mix of authors, thinkers and artists to the city of Durham, providing inspiration and entertainment. Our digital work has attracted audiences from all over the world and our work in County Durham communities reaches thousands of people each year.

Founded in 1990, Durham Book Festival is one of the country’s oldest literary festivals. For many years it was a well-kept secret in the region’s cultural calendar, but it has grown significantly in recent years.

The festival is part of Durham County Council’s festival programme, and since 2011 has been produced by New Writing North, with support from Durham University and Arts Council England.