Henley Literary Festival is back for 2022 with a combination of in person and live-streamed events running from 1st to 9th October. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday 18th July, following a priority booking period for Friends of the Festival.
This year’s events take place in Henley Town Hall, the Baillie Gifford Marquee at Phyllis Court and the Kenton Theatre. For those who can’t attend in person, in many cases there is an option to purchase a ticket to access a live-stream of the event.
Here is a selection of events from this year’s programme that caught my eye, some of which I’ve already secured tickets for.
Saturday 1st October
Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path and The Wild Silence, talks about her latest book, Landlines, which describes her experience of walking the Cape Wrath Trail through Scotland with her husband, Moth.
Freya Berry & Yara Rodrigues Fowler discuss their novels The Dictator’s Wife and There Are More Things.
Ruth Jones talks about her latest novel, Love Untold.
Sunday 2nd October
Robert Harris discusses his new historical novel, Act of Oblivion, a 17th century manhunt.
Ann Cleeves talks about The Rising Tide, the 10th book featuring Northumbrian detective Vera Stanhope.
Nina Stibbe & Bonnie Garmus discuss their novels One Day I Shall Astonish the World and Lessons in Chemistry.
Lucy Worsley talks about Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman, her biography of the world famous crime writer.
Monday 3rd October
Mike Anderson & Neil Hanson talk about their book The Ticket Collector from Belarus, the true story of the UK’s only war crimes trial.
Norman Scott talks about An Accidental Icon which describes, in his own words, how he found himself at the centre of a political scandal.
Keith Brymer Jones, potter and judge on TV’s The Great Pottery Throwdown, talks about his memoir Boy In A China Shop: Life, Clay and Everything.
Tuesday 4th October
Bestselling author Chris Ryan talks about his latest action thriller, Outcast. (I’ve read it and it’s great.)
Sir Anthony Seldon discusses his book, The Path of Peace, which describes his walk along the 1,000km route of WW1’s Western Front.
The ever popular Michael Joseph Proof Party features authors Fran Littlewood and Claire Daverley whose debut novels, Amazing Grace Adams and Talking At Night will be published in 2023.
For ‘Locally Criminal’, local authors Amanda Jennings, Robert Thorogood and Vera Morris get together to talk about their latest crime novels.
Wednesday 5th October
Justine Picardie talks about Miss Dior, her biography of Resistance hero, Catherine Dior, sister of the renowned designer Christian Dior.
Ray Mears discusses how we can enhance our experience of the natural world in his latest book, We Are Nature.
This year’s ‘Crime and Wine’ features crime writers Lisa Jewell, Ajay Chowdury and Elly Griffiths… and there’s wine courtesy of Laithwaites.
Thursday 6th October
Bestselling writers Patrick Gale and Sarah Winman discuss their books, Still Life and Mother’s Boy.
Broadcasting legend David Dimbleby talks about his autobiography, Keep Talking.
Gill Hornby talks about her latest novel, Godmersham Park.
For ‘Book Club Thursday’, authors Clare Pooley, Justin Myers and Mike Gayle discuss their latest novels.
Friday 7th October
Former politician Alan Johnson talks about his latest novel, One Of Our Ministers Is Missing.
Henley resident Irvine Welsh discusses his latest novel, The Long Knives.
Saturday 8th October
Kit de Waal talks about her memoir, Without Warning & Only Sometimes: Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood.
Prizewinning author Melvyn Bragg discusses his memoir, Back in the Day.
Sunday 9th October
Astronaut Tim Peake talks about his nonfiction book for children, The Cosmic Diary of Our Incredible Universe.
I hope this taster has given you an appetite for browsing the Henley Literary Festival website to see the full programme of events, including events for children. And anytime you’re in Henley, I can recommend a visit to The Bell Bookshop, the Festival’s partner bookseller.
Are you hoping to attend a literary festival this year?
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