Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Andrea Elliott of The New York Times makes a special festival appearance to talk to Marion Milne about Invisible Child: the riveting, unforgettable story of a girl, Dasani, whose indomitable spirit is tested by homelessness, poverty, and racism in an unequal America. Selected as an Obama Favourite Book of the Year 2021.

Join poetry sensation Raymond Antrobus as he reads from All the Names Given, a deeply evocative collection that explores language, miscommunication, place and memory. A special chance to see the winner of the Ted Hughes award, Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and the first ever poet to be awarded the Rathbones Folio Prize....

Thomas Harding’s new book White Debt is both an interrogation into the choices of his ancestors, whom he discovered had made money from plantations, and a quest to learn more about Britain’s role in slavery. Uncommon Wealth is Kojo Koram’s blistering uncovering of the scandal of Britain’s cynical self-interest in the aftermath of decolonisation. They...

Award-winning biographer Daisy Hay has captured an extraordinary portrait of a changing nation, focusing on publisher and bookseller Joseph Johnson whose weekly dinner gatherings in late 18th-century London saw guests including William Wordsworth, Mary Woolstonecraft, Samuel Coleridge and Joseph Priestley join him for brilliant, unpredictable and profound conversation. She talks to Caroline Sanderson about this...

Bestselling author (This is Shakespeare) and academic Emma Smith is here to talk about Portable Magic, her illuminating book that reveals the unexpected and unseen consequences of our love affair with books. She’ll explore the rise of the mass-market paperback, dismantle the myth that print began with Gutenberg and propose new definitions of a ‘classic’...

Writing a novel? Have a great idea for a memoir, or nonfiction narrative? How can you give your finished manuscript the best shot at publication with a winning pitch? Join three Blake Friedmann Literary Agency book agents as they take you through which elements of your story have the best pitching potential, how to pitch...

Our media happily lies to us. Our politicians brazenly break the rules. Public law barrister Sam Fowles (Overruled: Our Vanishing Democracy in 8 Cases) has experience of holding the government to account at the highest level, including taking the Prime Minister to court with the Gina Miller case. He talks to writer and economic commentator...

In this special event writer and producer Victoria Shepherd (A History of Delusions) and writer and former consultant neurologist Jules Montague (The Imaginary Patient) explore the implications behind diagnostic labels, the stories of collective anxieties and traumas, the history behind illness and our current modern maladies. They speak to Judith Robinson.

Acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson (Tutankhamun’s Trumpet: The Story of Ancient Egypt in 100 Objects) re-evaluates the fascinating and fractious life of the young Pharaoh through the objects he was buried with. A wide-ranging exploration of ancient Egyptian culture, its extraordinary development, remarkable flourishing and lasting impact.

How do we translate our experiences of the natural world onto the page? What techniques can we use to do so? And why do we want to do it in the first place? In this practical workshop, aimed at beginners, award-winning author and naturalist Stephen Moss, course leader of the MA Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa...

Myths have long held readers fascinated. Jennifer Saint’s Elektra is a lyrical retelling of the three women at the heart of the cursed House of Atreus and Sarvat Hasin’s The Dark Giant reimagines the story of Orpheus & Eurydice, exploring the consuming effects of using a lover as a muse. They talk to Judith Robinson...

In 1735, 12 men boarded ships bound for South America with the mission to discover the true shape of the Earth. Beset by egos and disease, storms and earthquakes, mutiny and murder, they struggled for ten years to reach the single figure they sought. Award-winning writer, geographer and broadcaster Nicholas Crane presents this epic story...

In his myriad lives John Donne was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, a priest, an MP – and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language. Join celebrated author and scholar Katherine Rundell as she introduces us to Super-Infinite, her sparkling and very modern biography that brings him and...

Moneyland author Oliver Bullough’s new book Butler to the World is a sizzling and incendiary story of our national decline. Join him as he reveals the devastating facts behind Britain’s dirty financial secrets, corrupt politics and moral guilt while directly challenging the UK to clean up its act. This event is a must for anyone...

As smallpox ravaged her empire and threatened her court, Catherine the Great took the momentous decision to summon the Quaker physician, Thomas Dimsdale, from Hertford to St Petersburg to carry out a secret mission that would transform both their lives. Caroline Sanderson talks to writer Lucy Ward about this extraordinary story of Enlightenment ideals, female...

From the Great War to the culture wars, this global institution has helped define Britain.  Greg Ingham talks to professor and historian David Hendy (The BBC: A People’s History) about his captivating and compelling book that traces the BBC from its maverick beginnings through war, the creation of television, changing public taste, austerity and massive...

Little has been written about the second-generation figures who, in the 1920s, tantalised the original Bloomsburies with their cross-dressing, captivating looks and provocative ideas. Head of Research for the National Trust, Nino Strachey (Young Bloomsbury), descended from a family at the heart of the Bloomsbury Group, shines a light on this extraordinarily colourful cast of...

Writing workshop Stories cannot exist without the people that inhabit them, and yet creating strong, believable characters can be a challenge. Acclaimed novelist Jason Hewitt (The Dynamite Room) will provide practical steps to help you create complex and fully formed characters that not only bring your story to life but also drive the narrative in fresh and...

We are proud to be a host venue for Party in the City, the opening night of Bath Festival 2022! On this special night the city rocks and rolls along to a multitude of free music events of all genres. You can drift in and out of venues as you please and make a whole...