Celebrating Creativity 

2025 marked another triumphant year for Newark Book Festival, welcoming over 5,000 visitors and more than 200 writers and creatives to the beautiful town of Newark for 4 inspiring days of literary celebration.

This year’s theme boldly placed imagination and cultural storytelling at the forefront of a dynamic program. We successfully delivered 37 events across 10 venues, featuring author interviews, hands-on workshops, and live storytelling, music, and poetry. Our offerings captivated audiences of all ages, from young children to seasoned readers.

In our 9th year, we featured a stellar lineup of globally recognised writers, performers, and creatives. We welcomed back internationally bestselling and award-winning crime writer Sophie Hannah, who shared insights into her new novel, 'No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done.' Acclaimed author Kit De Waal participated in an intimate conversation about her latest work, 'The Best of Everything.'

Award-winning novelist Rob Cowen discussed his compelling book, 'The North Road,' while World Rap Champion Rob Bradley delivered an electrifying freestyle performance that left audiences amazed with his ability to transform words into rhymes on the spot. Additionally, audiences were thrilled to see Gillie Ford, a former contestant on The Great British Sewing Bee take part in a live creative challenge!

Bustling festival favourite the Literature Village returned under Newark’s iconic red-and-white market stalls, and an exciting new space for young people aged 11-18 was created by Zest Theatre - ‘The Zone’ offered teenagers a chance to try their hand at painting, gaming, storytelling, and DJing for free as part of the Newark Creates programme. 

We continued our commitment to inspiring young people, welcoming 38 new Young Ambassadors aged 7–21. They supported festival events while developing their leadership skills. Local schools took part in dedicated author sessions, creative workshops and activities, and our younger audiences were inspired and entertained with storytelling, crafts, and outdoor play events. 

The festival’s success was once again powered by dedicated volunteers, partner venues, sponsors and supporters, who helped bring the programme to life. One festival goer commented:

2025 Festival Funders

A huge thank you to all our festival audiences, staff, volunteers, sponsors, funders, Festival Friends, and partner venues. We hope you enjoyed the festival, and we look forward to your continued support for 2026!