About the Festival
The Knutsford Literature Festival is now in its 12th year. Knutsford Literature Festival was launched in October 2000 as a millennium event. It was an instant success and is now staged annually during the month of October. The festival takes place in the historic market town of Knutsford, across a number of distinctive venues. We offer an eclectic mix of novelists, biographers and writers on specialist subjects.
It is run by a small, voluntary committee, encouraged by the support of a growing register of Friends.
Writers in many genres enjoy meeting their readers at Knutsford, an attractive town with literary associations to the life and work of Elizabeth Gaskell.
Guest speakers have included:
Popular novelists
Margaret Drabble, P. D. James, Joanna Trollope, Rosie Thomas, Sandra Howard, Marina Lewycka
Biographers/Historians
William Hague, Max Hastings, Kate Adie, Selina Hastings, William Dalrymple, Roy Hattersley, Douglas Hurd
Political/Social Commentators
Joan Bakewell, Germaine Greer, Katherine Whitehorn, David Kynaston, Anne Widdecombe, Martin Bell
Arts/Sports Celebrities
Clarissa Dickson-Wright, Simon Hoggart, Christopher Matthew, Michael Atherton, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Henry Blofeld, Barry Johnston
Performance events, including drama, poetry and living history are also staged.
There is something for all book lovers and you can be sure of a warm welcome if you join our friendly festival-goers.









