Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

The right to protest is under attack — often painted as sinister, dangerous, even illegal. Through their graphic novels, Myfanwy Tristram (Noisy Valley), Scarlett and Sophie Rickard (The Ragged-troused Philanthropists, No Surrender, This Slavery) question this narrative, contextualising the importance of protest and the need to speak up against injustice.

The Rickard Sisters are well known for adaptations of historic stories of suffrage and anti-capitalism, bringing these vital issues back to the modern day, where they continue to have a striking relevance. Tristram’s work portrays protest as an act of joy as well as dissent — with both being equally important in today’s democracy.

Join them for a lively conversation to discover how they approach today’s most vital issues, reframing the importance of protest via the medium of comics.

Standard tickets for this event are priced at £8, but we have also included an option to buy a £10 ticket if you would like to support Leeds Lit Fest by giving a little more.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

The Western-dominated world we have known for the past three hundred years is coming to an end. Two Asian 'superstates', China and India, account for more than a third of the world's population and have the potential to wield enormous economic and political power. How will these countries navigate their growing roles on the world stage? What are the implications for commerce, international law and the fight against climate change?

Vince Cable has followed China and India for decades. In Eclipsing the West he offers a compelling account of what the rise of the Asian superstates means for the future.

About Vince Cable

Vince Cable is a Visiting Professor at London School of Economics and Political Science and a Distinguished Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. He was previously UK Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Glasgow and in the 1990s worked as Chief Economist for Shell. His books include 'The Storm' (2009), 'After the Storm' (2015), 'Open Arms' (2017), 'Money and Power' (2021) and 'The Chinese Conundrum' (2022).

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Join Northodox Press authors Carolyn Kirby, A.D Bergin, Carolyn O'Brien, Rachel Canwell and Rue Baldry for a relaxed and entertaining discussion about the nature of northern based historical fiction.

With a plethora of award's lists attached to their names, including the HWA Debut Crown, Crimefest/The Specsavers Award, The Bridport Prize and The First Novel Prize, their books tackle tough topics such as class, gender and sexuality in novels with a distinctly northern twang and gripping, thought-provoking plots. While these novels look to the past, their themes are still (at times frighteningly) relevant today. A panel not to be missed!

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Acclaimed poet Kim Moore's new collection 'The House of Broken Things' is an astonishing portrait of a mother. Her body as tender, contested territory. Her instincts fierce. Her mind alive with memories of her own childhood, marvelled by love for her young daughter, sharpened with foreboding for her safety in a broken world that has so often made to break her, too. This is a thrilling new work from one of our boldest and most exciting poets.

'The House of Broken Things' is Radio 4 Poetry Extra's Book of the Month for April 2026.

In this festival event, Kim presents a reading from the book, followed by an audience Q&A.

Standard tickets for this event are priced at £8, but we have also included an option to buy a £10 ticket if you would like to support Leeds Lit Fest by giving a little more.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Say Owt Slam is a raucous evening of poet vs poet in a fun and frantic night of verse.

Poets have three minutes to wow YOU, the audience. Expect an evening with humour and heart, comedy and charisma, stories and sizzling spoken word! Plus special guest poet, Molly Naylor, whose work has toured nationally and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Sky One. 

Interested in slamming? Email info@sayowt.co.uk to express your interest. Due to demand, there will be a random draw and successful slammers will be notified by Friday 15 May. All slammers get free entry, and the winner will receive a small prize, plus the honour of being the first Leeds Lit Fest Say Owt Slam champion!

Standard tickets for this event are priced at £8, but we have also included an option to buy a £13 ticket if you would like to support Leeds Lit Fest by giving a little more.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

The Scene Presents x The Poetic Off-Licence present: ‘Poetry & Motion’, a showcase of women and gender diverse poets, writers and dancers from Leeds and beyond responding to the question ‘How do words call us to movement?’.

Three judges have selected their favourite poems and short essays that respond to this question.

Join us at Hyde Park Book Club for an evening all about the magic of movement - and the people who make it possible.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

‘Safety in Numbers’ is an anthology made up of a conversation in poetry. Over 200 women respond to each other’s poems in a chain where themes and experiences rise and fall with their voices.

The project forms part of Gill Connors’ PhD on the links between 16th century and 21st century women and how poetry can facilitate conversation

This event showcases some of the poets in this project as they read their poem and the one they responded to. There will be time for conversation after the reading with a short Q&A and copies of the book for sale.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Following the release of his new book, The Door-to-Door Poet, as well as a hit programme on BBC Radio 4, Rowan McCabe returns to the stage with Hard Knocks, a show of spoken word and comedy about community and connection.

Rowan likes making a nuisance of himself with poetry. Over the past 10 years he's been poet in residence in a pizza takeaway, in William Wordsworth's childhood home and, once, on a miniature steam train. He's also the world's first Door-to-Door Poet and in 2019 he travelled all across England, knocking on strangers' doors and writing bespoke verses for them, for free, on any subject of their choosing. It’s a bit like the Avon lady, but with rhymes.

Standard tickets for this event are priced at £10, but we have also included an option to buy a £12.50 ticket if you would like to support Leeds Lit Fest by giving a little more.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Walk into a poetry night spotlighting queer women and non-binary voices, and know that you’ll be welcome, no matter which side of the closet you’re on. Join us this Pride Month at Leeds Lit Fest for Isabella Dorta & Friends: Queer Edition.

We're showcasing and celebrating queer women & non-binary voices. Come with your heart on you sleeve and a tissue in your bag. Expect to hear poems on queer joy, gender identity, sapphic love and genuine community.

An unforgettable night full of storytelling and connection. Whether you’re a poetry regular or brand new to spoken word, this space is open and welcoming to everyone, no matter how you identify. Know that you’ll be welcome, no matter which side of the closet you’re on.

FREE JUST TURN UP

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Join the Northern Fiction Alliance at Hyde Park Book Club for their Summer Book Fair as part of Leeds Literature Festival.

From 10.30am, independent Northern presses will be selling their books, totes, merchandise and more, so why not come along, meet the publishers and find your new favourite read!

Participating publishers include Valley Press, Fly on The Wall Press, Comma Press, Peepal Tree, Stairwell, Carcanet, Northodox Press, Fox & Ink Books, Confingo and Big Thinking Publishing. 

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

What can a scrap of embroidery tell us about how to live? How can the past help us imagine unconstrained lives when not all traces remain?

To explore these questions, Alice Hattrick turns to the embroidery designer May Morris and her circle: from her father William Morris to her mother Jane, an artist's model and embroiderer herself, and M.F., May's gender non-conforming partner of twenty years. Through this queer encounter with the Arts and Crafts movement, Hattrick shifts attention away from celebrated designers and towards intimacy, labour and domestic life.

Looking to May - alongside others who have found in textiles a means of resistance - Hattrick traces connections between these histories and their own queer identity, family ties and precarious working conditions within an ableist society. Expansive in thought, form and time, 'Fancy Work' stitches together archival fragments, domestic spaces and contemporary sites of struggle, insisting on the political force of often overlooked acts of defiance.

Alice Hattrick in conversation with Liam Bishop.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

Poets Talking Bollocks Presents is a vibrant and diverse spoken word event hosted by Keith Fenton, featuring three showcase acts and 18 open-micers from a welcoming and growing community.

A spin-off from the legendary Poets Talking Bollocks podcast, hosted by local poet Keith Fenton since February 2024, it has developed its own growing and vibrant community, and given rise to connections and collaborations across the northern poetry scene and, thanks to a policy of bringing showcasers through from within the community, has been a springboard for developing poets across the region. Despite its raucous, "bear-pit" vibe, it boasts a knowing, welcoming and poetry-daft crowd which combines irreverent Northern humour with real support and compassion for readers who are at their most vulnerable.

Open mic spots must be booked in advance by contacting Keith by email at keithfenton32@hotmail.com or via the Instagram page at instagram.com/poets_talking_bollocks

Tickets can be booked for free, but there will a pay-as-you-feel collection on the day to cover event costs.

Tickets HERE

Leeds Lit Fest 2026

New and Selected Potatoes is the spud-in-cheek title of the compilation of 10 volumes of work by poet, comic, singer, songwriter and glasses-wearer, John Hegley.

John will perform poems and songs from across his back-catalogue, alongside new pieces, focussing on his educational work and storytelling. Mandolin accompaniment is now expanded to include a Portuguese cavaquinho and a train whistle from Didcot Railway Centre. In places the audience will be invited to participate, emotionally. 

The Observer commented 'Hegley is to potatoes what Wordsworth has been to daffodils' - although there is more about Keats than Wordsworth in the show. There is much about family and foolhardiness in an evening designed for adults, but not unsuitable for the odd nine-year-old.