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Ed Balls, Bernadine Evaristo, Gyles Brandreth, Susie Dent, Sarfraz Manzoor, Jackie Kay and Anita Rani feature at the Ilkley Literature Festival. Booker-prize authors, poets, philosophers, comedians and broadcasters head to the 2021 Ilkley Literature Festival this October, which runs from Friday 1 to Sunday 17 October. The first hybrid Ilkley…more

We are delighted to bring you Ilkley Literature Festival’s Autumn 2020 digital programme. Download the 2020 programme

In any other year, August is an extremely busy time in the Ilkley Literature Festival office. The team would be eagerly awaiting delivery of the festival programme, frantically uploading 150+ events into the box office system ready for tickets to go on sale, and putting the finishing touches on plans to deliver audiences a jam-packed fortnight of talks, performances and workshops in October.    But like so many other festivals (and well, everything the world over), this…more

Ilkley Literature Festival are pleased to announce that our annual writing competitions are now open for entries.  Young People’s and Children’s Poetry Competitions  These are free-to-enter competitions for schools and individual children.  Young People’s Poetry Competition Age Categories  Years 7, 8 and 9  Years 10 and 11  Years 12 and 13  To enter and for full terms and…more

From star of stage and screen David Suchet captivating audiences with his stunning photography to Ben Aitken’s hilarious tales of his adventures in Poland, ILF19 was a whirlwind of fantastic events. Lead by Poet in Residence Colette Bryce and Apprentice Poets in Residence Shash Trevett and Genevieve Carver, our programme…more

Walter Swan Poetry Prize 1st. Border Patrol by Deborah Ballantyne 2nd. What Are You, Puffin by Rob Miles 3rd. honey suckle by Jo Peters   Judge Colette Bryce’s Feedback It was a pleasure to read the shortlisted entries for the Walter Swann Poetry Prize. Amongst the range of subjects, several…more

In total we received over 200 entries for this year’s short story competition. Many entries drew on important social issues such as dementia care or mental health, while others were packed with twists, turns and suprising final reveals. The competition has been judged by Lucy Caldwell, herself recently shortlisted for…more

Walter Swan Poetry Prize Shortlist 2019 Now in its fourth year, the Walter Swan Poetry Prize is open to all writers of poetry aged 18 and over. This year, for the first time, we have introduced a new prize category for young writers aged 18-25, which runs along the main…more

Our Young People’s poetry competition is open for entries and this year, inspired by the 50th anniversary of the moon landings we are asking for poems on the theme of Discovery. This can be any kind of discovery, not just scientific – it could be a personal discovery of a…more

The ILF Apprentice Poet in Residence position is a prestigious one for early career poets and is usually awarded to one poet each year. This year the calibre of this year’s applications was exceptional prompting ILF to take the unprecedented step of offering the Apprentice role as a joint position….more