The Zone
2025-07-10 - 2025-07-13 | Newark Market Place, Newark Royal Market, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
Chill, create, be you at The Zone – Zest Theatre’s award-winning pop-up community space, open after school and over the festival weekend, and brought to you by Newark Creates. From laidback hangouts and high-energy workshops with pro artists to gaming, book corners, and adrenaline-pumping parties – you decide how to spend your time in The Zone.
Open after school and across the weekend, it’s the perfect place to chill, create, and be you.
Thursday 10th July | 3pm - 6pm
Friday 11th July | 3pm - 6pm
Saturday 12th July | 11am - 5pm
Sunday 13th July | 11am - 5pm
#GetInTheZone

The Brain at Rest
2025-07-12 10:00 - 11:00 UTC | Newark Town Hall, Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
What if doing less was the key to thinking more clearly, creatively, feeling better, and living longer?
In this fascinating and eye-opening event, neuroscientist and bestselling author Dr Joseph Jebelli introduces his latest book, The Brain at Rest—a timely and transformative exploration of the science behind stillness, rest, and recovery.
Drawing on cutting-edge research and global case studies, Dr Jebelli reveals how overwork, constant stimulation, and modern busyness are reshaping our brains and harming our health. From the Japanese phenomenon of karoshi (death by overwork) to the power of short walks and the mind-clearing effects of nature, The Brain at Rest offers powerful insight into why slowing down might just save our minds.
Learn how just four minutes of movement can lift your mood, why forest bathing boosts immunity, and how rest is essential for everything from memory to creativity. Packed with engaging stories, neuroscience-backed facts, and practical tips, this is more than a book talk—it’s an invitation to reset.
You’ll have a chance to ask any questions at the end, and get your own copy of the book signed by the author.
Whether you’re burned out, curious, or just looking for a new perspective, take this hour to do something radical: pause, listen, and let your brain rest.

2025 Summer Reading Challenge - Story Garden
2025-07-12 10:00 - 12:00 | Newark Library Children’s Area, Beaumond Gardens, Balderton Gate, Newark, NG24 1UW
The World Famous Story Emporium is putting on gardening gloves and wellies and loading up its wheelbarrow with pens and paper for some story-inspired green-fingered crafty fun. Join Ally Pally Arts in sowing stories and harvesting happy endings at Newark Library to launch the Summer Reading Challenge.
No need to book, drop into Newark Library and enjoy this free event.

Young Ambassadors Writing Workshop
2025-07-12 10:00 - 12:00 | Newark Library Meeting Room, Beaumond Gardens, Balderton Gate, Newark, NG24 1UW, United Kingdom
An exclusive event for Newark Book Festival’s Young Ambassadors and keen writers, bursting with ideas!
Do you love writing stories or poems? Join the creative workshop with poet, performer and educator Leanne Moden and shape your ideas into your new story or poem.
It’s fun, it’s friendly, and it’s all about finding your voice and making your writing the best that it can be!
Exclusive event for Young Ambassadors. Email hello@newarkbookfestival.co.uk to book your space.
Find out more about how you can join to become a Young Ambassador next year here.

Byron's Manor: Birthplace of his poetry
2025-07-12 11:00 - 12:00 | Tudor Hall, National Civil War Centre, National Civil War Centre, 14 Appleton Gate, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1JY
Discover how Southwell and Newark shaped Lord Byron’s early life and poetry, in this richly illustrated talk featuring rare images and unpublished works.
Join Geoffrey Bond OBE, DL, FSA—Byron expert and author of Byron’s Manor: Birthplace of His Poetry—for a fascinating exploration of Lord Byron’s formative years and the places that shaped his earliest work.
In this special Newark Book Festival event, Bond draws on decades of research and personal insight to offer a fresh perspective on Byron’s early life in Southwell. Speaking from the rare vantage point of someone who has lived in Burgage Manor—Byron’s Southwell residence—for over 30 years, Bond takes audiences through the poet’s time in Nottinghamshire, where he wrote and published his first four volumes of poetry. He also explores Byron’s connection to Newark, where his early works were printed by Samuel Ridge.
Whether you’re a lover of poetry, literary history, or local heritage, this event offers a rare chance to step into Byron’s world—and the rooms where it all began.

Bookbench Storytime: Newark By Day/Night Bench
2025-07-12 11:30 - 12:00 | Newark Town Hall, Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
Join Newark Book Festival’s Young Ambassadors for a free storytime session at the Newark By Day/Night Bookbench.
You’ll find our magical Young Ambassador storytellers and the BookBench opposite Letsxcape inside Newark Town Hall. Go through the Market Place entrance and you won’t miss it!
It’s a FREE event! Just pop along on the day to enjoy our stories.

Bookbench Storytime: Castles in the Air Bench
2025-07-12 12:00 - 14:00 | Inspire, Newark Buttermarket (upstairs)
Continuing the Dragons and Fairytale theme from Inspired Learning and Music teams’ event, Dragons & Fairytale Fun. Join storyteller Nicky Rafferty (at 12pm and 1pm) and our festival’s Young Ambassadors (at 2pm) for some mythical, magical, made-up storytime fun at the Castle in the Air Bookbench found inside Buttermarket.
Ideal for story-lovers aged 2 – 10 years

Dragons and Fairytale Fun
2025-07-12 12:00 - 16:00 | Inspire, Newark Buttermarket (upstairs)
Join the Inspire Learning and Music teams in a Dragons and Fairytale themed afternoon, with drop-in arts and crafts, have-a-go music sessions and meet Sapphire the Dragon and her friend Sparky.
Make a fire-breathing paper dragon, fold your own origami frog prince, and sit down with local picture book illustrator Vicky Kuhn for some fairytale colouring in. Create some dragon cartoons with the Doodling Poet Chris White. Write a funny, happy or sad poem about, ‘What a Dragon would say’, and make your dragon puppets and fairytale tower or castle to take home.
Perfect for any aged creative!

Georgian Creativity & Artistry with Essie Fox and Laura Shepherd-Robinson
2025-07-12 12:30 - 13:30 | Newark Town Hall, Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
Step into the glittering, shadowy world of 18th-century intrigue, creativity, and scandal as two of today’s most exciting historical fiction authors, Essie Fox and Laura Shepherd-Robinson, join Dr Tim Rideout for a lively and illuminating conversation.
From the opulent palazzos of Venice to the bustling streets of Georgian London, this event dives into the drama, deception, and artistic flair of a time when danger and beauty walked hand in hand.
Essie Fox, bestselling author of The Fascination, returns with her new book, Dangerous—a bold reimagining of Lord Byron himself as a reluctant detective, embroiled in a deadly mystery amid the Venetian elite. Blending fact and fiction, Fox captures Byron’s wit, scandal, and complexity in a gothic murder tale worthy of the poet’s infamous reputation.
Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Square of Sevens, presents her latest novel, The Art of a Lie. Set in 1749, it follows Hannah Cole, a struggling widow and confectioner whose life is upended by secrets, murder, and the emergence of a delicious new invention: iced cream. Rich in period detail, suspense, and atmosphere, it’s a thrilling story of deception, survival, and reinvention.
Join Essie and Laura at Newark Town Hall for rich discussion, insight into researching and writing historical fiction, and a glimpse into the artistry behind these vivid, twist-filled tales.
A book signing will follow the talk—don’t miss your chance to meet the authors and pick up a signed copy of your next favourite read!

Creative Battle: Stories, Stitches & Sketches
2025-07-12 14:30 - 15:30 | Newark Town Hall, Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
Four bold creatives. One stage. Endless inspiration.
Creative Battle brings together a dynamic panel of artists from across the creative spectrum—each with a unique approach to storytelling, design, and imagination—for a lively and insightful on-stage showdown. Expect friendly rivalry, candid discussion, and plenty of laughter as they debate the meaning of creativity, where ideas come from, and what it really takes to bring a vision to life.
On the panel:
Chris Shepherd, writer, artist, filmmaker, and British comedy legend, is known for his award-winning short films, animated collaborations, and debut graphic novel Anfield—a visual journey into memory, identity, and Liverpool culture.
Gillie Ford, beloved contestant from The Great British Sewing Bee, stitches stories into every design, bringing creativity to life through colour, fabric, and flair. Her fashion-forward perspective on craft is both expressive and empowering.
Eleanor Tomlinson, the illustrator behind the viral “Jubilee Ma’amalade Tea” artwork, channels the beauty of the Yorkshire countryside into her heartwarming and globally celebrated illustrations. From wildlife to royalty, Eleanor’s work brings charm and storytelling to every image.
Lucy Mangan, celebrated journalist and author of Bookworm and its follow-up Bookish, is a fierce defender of the written word. Her sharp wit and deep love for books have made her a leading voice in cultural commentary and literary life.
Together, these creative powerhouses will go head-to-head, sharing their inspirations, challenges, and creative quirks in a conversation led by Dr. Tim Rideout. Whether you’re an artist, reader, crafter or thinker—this is a vibrant celebration of imagination in all its forms.
Who will win the battle of creativity? The audience decides.

Pleasantly Disturbed - Interview with Lee Stuart Evans
2025-07-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Newark Town Hall, Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1DU
Join Newark Book Festival for an unmissable event as top TV comedy writer Lee Stuart Evans sits down with author and interviewer Nick Quantrill to talk about his hilarious and heartfelt new novel, Pleasantly Disturbed an hilarious 1980s Nottinghamshire-set novel full of music, mystery, and heart.
With a comedy career spanning shows like 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The Jonathan Ross Show, and I’m A Celebrity…, Lee brings his trademark wit and warmth to the page in a story packed with big laughs, unforgettable characters, and a killer soundtrack.
Set in the late 1980s, Pleasantly Disturbed follows Robin—a Simple Minds-obsessed dreamer with zero musical talent—and Fliss, a brilliant but shy musical prodigy. When they’re drawn into a bizarre mystery involving fast cars, a derelict railway yard, and a murder in the middle of Sherwood Forest, the result is part comedy caper, part coming-of-age, and entirely feel-good fiction.
Expect a lively, laugh-out-loud conversation about writing for comedy legends, growing up in the East Midlands, and the joys of 80s nostalgia—plus a few behind-the-scenes tales from TV and publishing.
Described by Patrick Kielty as “alive and kicking with big laughs and an even bigger heart,” Pleasantly Disturbed is fast becoming a festival favourite. Stick around after the talk for a book signing and a chance to meet the man behind the mayhem!
