Butser Book Festival 2024

Saturday October 19th & Sunday October 20th 2024
10am - 4pm

An incredible two days of entertainment and inspiration with bestselling writers! Join us for our inaugural book festival celebrating words, worldbuilding and the wilderness that inspires us. We will welcome in the autumn with literary talks covering a range of writing genres, live poetry readings and folk music, local craftsfolk, storytelling, fun activities for all the family, in-depth writing workshops, and book signings, all set against the ancient backdrop of Butser Ancient Farm.

Kindle your creativity, or simply bring your love of books and reading to our unique site for a fun-filled literary weekend this autumn!

Experience exciting and insightful entertainment, talks and workshops, with storytelling, and live poetry readings on nature and folklore to inspire your creativity! Immersive yourself in Saxon lyre and poetry with skald Eorðen, or listen to fascinating talks on writing and researching historical fiction by bestselling authors Lucy Holland, Adrian Goldsworthy, Elodie Harper and Caroline Lawrence. Ignite your family’s creativity joining a workshop scouring our local Hampshire landscape for inspiration or learning to tell stories imbued with folklore and research.

Get hands-on with learning and interactive fun for adults and kids alike! Try your hand at our folkloric funfair games run by powerhouse zine-team Hwæt!, or have a go crafting quills and cracking codes with our sitewide activities. Browse stalls from incredible illustrators, zine-makers and local writers, meet authors who will sign your books, watch medieval calligraphy and illumination in action (and even bring some home), join workshops exploring the nature surrounding our ancient buildings, and get hands-on learning new skills.