Smith, McEwan, Enright and more confirmed for Cheltenham Literature Festival 2023 

Authors including Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan and Anne Enright have been confirmed as part of the line up for this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival, alongside the likes of Sebastian Faulks, Jojo Moyes, Douglas Stuart and more.

The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2023 will take place from 6th to 15th October and consists of more than 500 events.

As part of the packed programme, Kate Mosse and Emma Donoghue will explore what happens when women refuse their prescribed role in a man’s world, while Kate Atkinson will speak to long-term fan and fellow author Richard Osman about her career.

Katherine Heiny will be joined by Clare Clark to discuss her career and most recent collection, Games and Rituals (Fourth Estate), and Eleanor Catton, the youngest ever Booker Prize winner at 28, will discuss her latest novel Birnam Wood (Granta Books). James Walton, co-host of the Booker Prize podcast, will introduce visitors to the books and authors shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, and present the world premiere of the award-winning filmed readings.

Moreover, Cheltenham’s VOICEBOX programme will be back for its third year, bringing young voices and ideas to the forefront through a free programme of talks, workshops, panels, music, comedy and more. Focusing on everything from mental health to the climate crisis, the best of new writing and BookTok, VOICEBOX will see young writers, artists and agenda-setters take to the stage. As well as a chance to see up-and-coming talent, leading names in attendance will include Florence Given, Fats Timbo and Hazel Mead.

VOICEBOX will also see a takeover led by the Black British Book Festival and the launch of a new policy initiative by women and girls’ rights campaign group This Ends Now. Events with Maud Ventura, Katherine Rundell, Jojo Moyes, Judy Murray, Raynor Winn, Steve Backshall, Sadiq Khan and more are also scheduled. The full programme can be found here.