About Faversham Literary Festival

Started in 2018 Faversham Literary Festival offers a week-long programme that is eclectic, thought-provoking and fun, with jam-packed events and plenty of rabble-rousing energy! It offers an exciting mix of well-known authors, leading thinkers, up-and-coming writers, and local talent, plus writing competitions for all ages, workshops, spoken word, slam poetry, children's and family events. The quality and scope of the programme is what gets us excited and makes it a festival that people want to come to.

Among the well-known authors we have welcomed to Faversham are Michael Rosen, Jenni Murray, Lemn Sissay, Deborah Levy, Martin Bell, Jo Brand, Will Self, Lionel Shriver, Sarah Perry, Jenny Eclair, John Hegley, Tracey Thorn, Iain Sinclair, Gavin Esler, Viv Albertine, Stephen Morris, Melissa Harrison, Horatio Clare and many more.

The festival works with two local charities, hosting specific events to help raise funds for Abbey Physic Community Garden, and Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group. We run a schools' outreach programme with creative competitions for children and students, and offering opportunities for young adults to get involved.

The literary festival brings thousands of visitors to Faversham and offers something for everyone. Key to its success is the support of local people who turn out in their droves to help make it happen – the technicians, volunteers and helpers, venue staff, cake bakers and caterers, and the all-important audience!

We hope to see you in February 2022!

Access

The festival aims to ensure that your visit is safe and enjoyable. If you have specific access or other requirements for any of our venues please contact us in advance of purchasing your ticket. Companions of wheelchair users may attend events free of charge, subject to letting us know in advance. Guide dogs are welcome in all our venues.

Contact Us

For any enquiries please email: info@favershamliteraryfestival.org

About Faversham

One of England's historic gems, Faversham is a picturesque market town dating back to pre-Roman times. On the north coast of Kent, bordered by coastal nature reserves and the Kent Downs, we're one hour from St Pancras, with close connections to Ashford International and Canterbury.

Faversham is home to Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest brewer. Brewing has continued on this site for centuries, using natural ingredients from the town's aquifer and local hops, using art and science to create a range of award-winning ales. Visit the Shepherd Neame website to book a tour of the brewery and ale tastings.

Writings on nature feature prominently on the festival programme each year. Follow Faversham Creek on foot to the beautiful Oare Marshes Nature Reserve, with bird-watching hides, freshwater dykes, reedbed, saltmarsh and seawall.

Faversham has many independent shops and is very proud of its market, which is the oldest market in Kent and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Market days are Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays every week, with two special monthly markets – Best of Faversham Arts, Crafts and Food Market, and Faversham Antiques and Vintage Market. Faversham has an abundance of lovely cafes, restaurants, pubs with fine dining and live music venues.

Faversham's Visitor Centre is located on Preston Street. An information centre, shop, art gallery, museum and garden, it houses an Aladdin’s Cave of treasures drawn from Faversham’s long and colourful past. Here you can follow the town’s history from the earliest archaeological times, through its medieval and Elizabethan importance as a trading centre, its subsequent industrial growth, and more recent change from a bustling hub of Victorian and 20th-century work and social life to a high-quality heritage tourism destination.

Abbey Physic Community Garden is an enchanting walled garden tucked away behind the churchyard of St Mary of Charity. A half-acre garden, organically managed by a community team to promote the therapeutic benefits of horticulture, it is a haven for quiet reflection while also a hive of activity with a market garden, wildlife, workshops, art and poetry groups, a 'men's shed' and a community cafe. A wonderful place to spend time on your own, or with others as part of the garden community. The literary festival is proud to include the garden as a venue, offering talks on mental health and well-being, with all ticket money raised at this venue going directly to the community garden.

Visit the Abbey Physic Garden website