Fleet Street Quarter's Festival of Words announces stellar line up of top authors, journalists and thinkers

Fleet Street Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) today announces ticketing and programme details for the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words (14-17 May), the first literary festival within the Fleet Street Quarter area and the newest festival addition to the London cultural scene.

The four-day programme features events spanning current affairs and journalism, fiction, screenwriting, and family and children’s events. Weekday programming includes breakfast news events, lunchtime panels, and both early and late evening talks, and the Saturday programme features a packed programme for adults and children with a wide variety of topics and event formats.

Tickets go on sale at 11am on Friday 28 March and can be purchased via Eventbrite with all information available on the Fleet Street Quarter website. Venues include Stationers’ Hall, Dr Johnson's House, Middle Temple Hall, and the Hyatt Blackfriars.

Landsec is the festival’s principal partner, hosting workshops and business breakfasts at their MYO space in New Street Square and providing the green room for authors and speakers during the festival’s four-day duration. Other partners are Stationers’ Hall, Royal Television Society and the News Media Association. The Gilded Acorn is the festival’s bookshop partner.

PROGRAMME DETAILS

FICTION
The festival brings together some of the biggest names in fiction alongside debut novelists. Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri discusses his brand new novella Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted. Kate Mosse will speak about the history of the Women’s Prize as it celebrates its 30th year, and the 20th anniversary of the first publication of her groundbreaking novel Labyrinth.

Broadcaster Jeremy Vine presents new crime fiction series, Murder on Line One, alongside fellow broadcaster and writer Simon Mayo, who discusses gripping thriller Black Tag. BBC journalist Reeta Chakrabarti shares insights into her debut novel Finding Belle, a tale of mothers, daughters and family secrets. Beloved actor Larry Lamb also discusses his first novel All Wrapped Up, a story inspired by his experience in the film and television industry; he appears alongside Camilla Barnes, a playwright whose debut novel is The Usual Desire to Kill. Meanwhile Mike Gayle and Jojo Moyes come together to discuss their latest books, writing relationships, and creating characters you care for.

Giving visitors a chance to get a first insight into hotly-anticipated forthcoming titles, publisher Dialogue Books presents a Proof Party with fresh talents Sarvat Hasin, Kuba Shand-Baptiste and Piotr Cieplak, who present their respective novels.

THE SCOOP
Celebrating Fleet Street’s longstanding ties with the media industry, the inaugural Festival of Words will feature a packed current affairs programme – ‘The Scoop’ – to showcase the best in non-fiction and to shed light on timely issues. Chris Steele (Unredacted: Russia, Trump, and the Fight for Democracy) and Stephanie Baker (Punishing Putin: Inside the Global Economic War to Bring Down Russia) give their expert perspective on Russia with insights from their respective books. Nick Wallis (The Great Post Office Scandal) and Caroline Wheeler (Death in the Blood) appear in an event spotlighting the power and vital importance of long-form investigative journalism.

Beeban Kidron chairs a panel discussing AI and how it interacts with the ways that we consume media and culture. Sam Fowles meanwhile discusses his book Overruled: Confronting Our Vanishing Democracy in 8 Cases. Author, campaigner and environmentalist Tony Juniper and former Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett discuss how we can change the world and save the planet in a way that benefits all.

Giving insider access into the workings of Westminster, Simon Hart (Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip) and Graham Brady (Kingmaker: Secrets, Lies, and the Truth about Five Prime Ministers) discuss the turbulent recent years of UK politics. Elsewhere, Mark Field draws on his time in Parliament, appearing in conversation about his book The End of an Era: The Decline and Fall of the Tory Party.

With the festival opening a week after the 80th anniversary of VE day, Tim Bouverie appears in conversation with festival director Damian Collins to discuss his latest book, The Allies at War. Broadcaster and author Iain Dale joins authors from his new book, The Dictators: 64 Dictators, 64 Authors, 64 Warnings from History: Richard Evans, who profiles Adolf Hitler; Yasmin Alibhai-Brown shares her insights on Idi Amin; and Cindy Yu discusses Xi Jinping.
Giving unique insight into the workings of the newspaper industry, journalist and columnist Jane Moore shares stories from her life and career working in Fleet Street. Festival partner the News Media Association will host a panel about the future of news. Breakfast events with teams from The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times will explore the biggest headlines of the day over a coffee and croissant.

VIVID HISTORIES
Kate Loveman taps into the history of Fleet Street Quarter with a talk on Samuel Pepys’ Diary. Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces Tracy Borman discusses the real Wolf Hall and the life of Thomas Cromwell. Peter Conrad celebrates the life of Charles Dickens through his storytelling – the characters, places and emotions conjured up across novels, letters, stories, public readings and diaries. With 2025 marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, novelist and academic Janet Todd discusses her life, works and legacy. Artist David Breuer-Weil sheds light on the ongoing influence of Samuel Johnson – specifically his love of words and books – in the current day.

OFF THE PAGE
Mick Herron – author of Slow Horses – speaks with Ed Docx, one of a team of writers of the hit TV show’s forthcoming fifth series, about the process and experience of adaptation from an author’s perspective.
Podcast producer and radio presenter Ruth Barnes, John Bond, Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Whitefox Publishing Services, and Claire Geddie, Director of Creator Partnerships at Electrify Video Partners discuss the evolving content landscape with Diane Banks, Chief Executive of Northbank Talent Agency. They question whether an idea is best suited for a book or another format, with insight into the various platforms available for publishing and monetising content, such as podcasts, newsletters, YouTube channels and more. Elsewhere, Diane Banks joins non-fiction publisher Martin Redfern to give a masterclass on ‘Inside Book Publishing: From Idea to Publication’.
The Temple Shakespeare Cup is a performance challenge between the Honourable Societies of the Inner and Middle Temples – two of London’s four Inns of Court, located just off Fleet Street – where each Inn puts on an hour of Shakespeare, separated by an interval. At the festival, the panel of judges will include Alex Macqueen. This year Middle Temple is defending the Cup with an abridged “The Merry Wives of Windsor” versus Inner Temple’s “Merchant of Venice”.

LIFESTYLE AND SPORT
The Saturday programme will have additional sports and lifestyle-focused events. Radio 4’s Paddy O’Connell chairs a morning review of the Saturday papers with broadcaster, journalist and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika, Stylist writer Shahed Ezaydi and other participants to be confirmed.
For those wondering what the life of a food critic or writer is really like, Jimi Famurewa, Melissa Thompson and Leyla Kazim share their insights and anecdotes.
Former cricketer Derek Pringle and editor of The Cricketer Huw Turbervill come together to discuss whether there is a future for test match cricket. Former professional footballer Moses Swaibu (Fixed: My Secret Life as a Match Fixer) shares his remarkable story as the first player to write openly about how he helped to fix games.

FAMILY
Also on Saturday is the festival’s offering for children and families. Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records, celebrates the 70th anniversary of the famous annual. He discusses how it all began in the Fleet Street Quarter and how record breaking has evolved over the years, with an opportunity to participate and maybe even set your own GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title. Comedian, author, and illustrator Olaf Falafel presents an energetic and exciting event, packed with jokes and drawing, as he reads from his picture books Blobfish and the Trixie Pickle Art Avenger series.

Of the programme, Lucy French, CEO Fleet Street Quarter, says: "The Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words is a celebration of our rich literary heritage and a testament to the power of words to inspire, challenge, and transform. We are thrilled to bring together such a diverse and talented group of authors, journalists, and creatives for this inaugural event. This festival is not just about looking back at our literary past, but about exploring the future of storytelling in all its forms."

Festival Director Damian Collins adds: "Our festival revives the spirit of Fleet Street as a place of news, ideas and stories that move people. It also reflects the power of words to shape our world, from print to sound, and stage to screen. We have curated a programme that reflects the dynamic and evolving nature of literature and journalism. It is a celebration of the word on the street.”

Fleet Street Quarter is an area steeped in the heritage of literature and publishing, a place where stories have always been born. The Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words will spotlight this storied history, while exploring the ability of words to shape our world. From the ways that words can shift the balance of power, to the shift in communication and knowledge driven by technology and AI, the themes that the Fleet Street Quarter Festival of Words will explore have never been more relevant or important.

Further information about the Festival of Words can be found on the Fleet Street Quarter website.