Cheltenham Literature Festival Free Events

About

Cheltenham Literature Festival 4 to 13 October 2024.

The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival has announced a programme of free events as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, taking audiences on an exciting literary expedition within its Festival Village and beyond.

Highlights include:

Connecting Communities

The Festival has a long-standing and important relationship with the town it calls home. Local community project and sound installation, My Voice, My Cheltenham, will explore Cheltenham over the last 75 years, featuring stories from local community members and their hopes for the future.

Inspiring Families

Children and families are always an important focus of the free programme. Families can explore The Wild Wood for the chance to meet their favourite book characters, Elmer, Supertato and the Gruffalo and enjoy fun and games with Sharky and George. Everything from musical mash ups, live draw-alongs, pantomime dames and stories from around the world await in Story Shack, with authors such as Leo Timmers, Sally Pomme Clayton and Huw Lewis-Jones.

Sparking Readers’ Curiosity

As part of its free offer, the Literature Festival will spark the curiosity of literary lovers and first-timers alike. From James Walton’s infamous Big Book Quiz, to Lit Crawl 2024 – a fast-paced evening of pop-up events and quirky happenings at venues from the Wilson to Beefy Boys – there is something for everyone to explore.

The free programme wouldn’t be complete without the return of VOICEBOX. Back for its fourth year, VOICEBOX brings youth voices and ideas to the forefront through a programme of talks, workshops, music, comedy and more. Spotlighting emerging and established talent and focusing on everything from changemaking to demystifying mental health and the truths behind investigative journalism, the pop-up venue will shine a light on the topics and trends that matter to young adults.