Hyde, de Waal and Lowe headline Durham Book Festival

Marina Hyde, Kit de Waal and Hannah Lowe are among those headlining this year’s Durham Book Festival. 

The hybrid event will take place from 13th to 16th October with in-person events at Gala Theatre and Clayport Library and remote events available to livestream. Audiences can also pick up free books as part of the Big and Little Read initiatives, borrow festival titles from County Durham libraries, and read, watch and listen to a range of free digital content.   

Other well known guests include L J Ross, Jeremy Vine, Alexander McCall Smith, Fiona Hill and Richard O’Neill. The festival will also see the announcement of the winner of the £5,000 Gordon Burn Prize, which celebrates the year’s boldest works of fiction and non-fiction. The 2022 shortlist features books by Margo Jefferson, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Preti Taneja, David Whitehouse and Lea Ypi.  

Rebecca Wilkie, Durham Book Festival director, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Durham Book Festival this autumn, as we connect communities across County Durham through reading. This year the festival will bring Millennium Place to life with events at the Gala Theatre and Clayport Library, where you’ll see bestselling writers, homegrown talent and leading thinkers discussing their work, alongside new films and commissions and the announcement of the Gordon Burn Prize.   

“Be sure to pick up a free copy of our specially published (and Durham-set!) Big Read story by crime-writing sensation L J Ross and look out for the Little Read picture book, Polonius the Pit Pony, by Richard O’Neill in schools and community centres across the county.   

“This year we are live-streaming events from the Gala and working with Stagetext to make all our events accessible to everyone. So if you can’t make it to Durham, you can also join us from the comfort of your own home.”