Rebecca F Kuang, Jackie Kay and Jodi Picoult to speak at the 2024 Durham Book Festival

Rebecca F Kuang, Pat Barker CBE, Jackie Kay and Jodi Picoult are among the authors hosting events at the 2024 Durham Book Festival, which will take place between 10th and 13th October. This year’s lineup also features authors like Helen Fielding, Alan Hollinghurst and Terry Deary.

Produced by New Writing North, the Durham County Council event will include an exclusive dramatic reading of Barker’s new novel The Voyage Home (Hamish Hamilton). The Booker Prize-winning novelist will also be in conversation with writer Adelle Stripe.

Rebecca Wilkie, Durham Book festival director at New Writing North, said: “Our flagship book festival builds on a remarkable legacy. This year features a new commission to tell new narratives of our region, and welcomes a local literary icon, Pat Barker, with the premiere of a commission inspired by her new book.”

Sunderland-born Deary, who is behind Horrible Histories (Scholastic), will be presenting his first book for adults, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies (Bantam). Picoult will discuss her latest historical novel, By Any Other Name (Penguin), while Kuang will speak about Yellowface (The Borough Press).

A platform for northern talent, the festival includes headline acts like Fielding, the Yorkshire-born author of Bridget Jones’s Diary (Picador), and David Peace, the author of The Damned Utd (Faber), who will talk about Munichs (Faber).

Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “As well as providing entertainment and thought-provoking discussion, the festival attracts visitors into the county and boosts our economy. It also helps to showcase the varied cultural opportunities on offer across County Durham and the North East and strengthens our reputation as the ’Culture County’.”

The festival also showcases a new commission called "North East Now", which has tasked 12 northern writers to pen new narratives for the North East to "mark devolution".

Three of the writers – Arlen Pettitt, Louise Powell, and Richard Benson – will take part in a discussion on challenging northern stereotypes.

Moreover, Hollinghurst will speak about his novel Our Evenings (Picador), and Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring (HarperCollins), will discuss her Venetian historical novel, The Glassmaker (The Borough Press).

For the first time, Durham Book Festival will host the renowned Forward Prizes for Poetry, with 20 poets performing their work at an awards ceremony hosted by poet and performer Joelle Taylor, featuring BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles. Poetry lovers can also enjoy an evening with the former National Poet for Scotland, Kay, with her new poetry collection, May Day (Pan Macmillan), while the poet-turned-novelist Andrew McMillan will explore the theme "writing the North" with fellow novelist Tawseef Khan.

Other acts will include Edith Hall, a professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University, Oliver Burkeman, who is behind The Guardian’s "This Column Will Change Your Life", and Palestinian journalist Ibtisam Azem.

A series of workshops for aspiring writers will take place during the festival weekend, exploring topics such as "writing adventurous non-fiction" and "overcoming obstacles and procrastination".

Meanwhile, 500 copies of the picture book I Am Brave by Caryl Hart and Zoe Waring (Scholastic) will be distributed by Durham Libraries for this year’s "Little Read", which encourages children to read for pleasure.