Upcoming Literary Festivals In Devon - Sept - Dec 2021

Literary festivals are a wonderful celebration of the human experience as expressed through the written word. Whether you love contemporary literature, or genre fiction, literary festivals are a great way to find new authors you’ll love for years to come.

We are lucky to have 10 regular literary festivals in Devon, many have passed already, a few cancelled due to the pandemic. Here follows a list of those that remain:

Appledore Book Festival

16  - 25 September

Appledore Book Festival has been going for 15 years now, and is held in the little village of Appledore near Bideford, North Devon.

There are too many authors to mention them all, but among the guests of the festival are: Hilary Bonner, Kate Mosse and Anthony Horrowitz.

There will be a mix of authors reading their works and discussing them, panelled discussions on contemporary topics, guided walks, and various children’s events too. For a full line up check out the festival programme, it’s well worth a browse.

Budleigh Salterton

15 - 19 September

Some of the authors at Appledore are also at Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival. As well as this exciting line up of authors and workshops, there's a Festival Book Club Read, where you read the book and then meet the author. This year’s read is The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. 

They also do a not to be missed Open Mic evening of poetry from local writers. And there are many interesting authors talking about their books. You can browse the full events list on their website.

Exe Lit Fest

5 - 7 November

Exeter literary festival is set to be another hit this year. 

We have memoir writers, historical fiction authors, and if you like crime you are in for a feast on Sunday, with the Scandi Crime session followed by Crime & Thrillers at Exeter Central Library. There’s even a little something for the Middle Earth fans on Saturday, with the Fellowship of the Ring conversation.

At The Custom House there are lots of workshops and talks for writers at various stages of their careers, including the networking event hosted by us, Exeter Writers. Yes you can meet us all in person if you want… but more importantly, you can meet with writers from all over the county, share experiences, ideas, tips and tricks. Probably the single most valuable session of the whole weekend, in my humble opinion. 

International Agatha Christie Festival

11 - 18 September

Every year at the IACF there are a range of events across Torbay celebrating Agatha Christie, the mother of murder mystery. If you like crime fiction, you’ll not want to miss it. For the crime writers among you, there’s also a Mystery Short Story Competition. 

Don’t forget to check out the festival fringe events too!

Well, that's it from us at Exeter Writers' Group until the new year begins again in late September. I've enjoyed my year as Exeter Writers' Blog Manager, but I'm stepping down to give others the opportunity to give it a go. It has been a whirlwind of fun creating content for you lovely readers, and I shall continue writing the occasional post for you. Enjoy the last of your holidays and see you soon.

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Jessica Triana de Ford is Exeter Writers' Blog Manager, and co-ordinates content as well as edits submissions. She loves being part of a supportive writing group and being in a position to help support other creatives find the courage to express their ideas. You can find out more and connect with Jessica on LinkedIn and Twitter.