Wolverhampton Literature Festival 2026: Everything you need to know as popular event is set to return

From Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford to the Queen of Ska Pauline Black to novelist Irvine Welsh and comedian Richard Herring, the festival has become a must-see event for lovers of literature in Wolverhampton and the surrounding area.

So, what are the events taking place between February 6 and February 8 and on days before the festival starts, who is coming to Wolverhampton and where can people see them?

More than 90 events are taking place across venues such as Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton Arts Centre, the Central Library and the Arena Theatre, with the majority taking place between Friday and Sunday.

A few events are taking place beforehand on Thursday as a way of getting the festival started, including ARTiculating HerStory, an open mic event organised by the Haven Wolverhampton which celebrates the courage and creativity that emerge from lived experience and South Asian Voices In Publishing, which brings together local South Asian voices in publishing from authors, journalists and illustrators. 

Both events are taking place at the Art Gallery on Lichfield Street, which will be the main venue for the festival and will see the festival get underway at 11am on Friday, February 6 with Art Black Country, a look at how many colours have been used to make up the Black Country palette in different art forms.

There will be opportunities to discover poetry through Wolverhampton College Presents Blackout Poetry Workshop and learn about the city's entertainment history with Forgotten Wulfurians of the Entertainment World With Ned Williams, and also more hard-hitting discussions, such as The Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled The Taliban & Those They Left Behind.

The main events to end the first day will be folk singer Beans on Toast presenting WILD FOLK PEOPLE with Beans on Toast, a heartwarming and rebellious celebration of the extraordinary characters who’ve inspired his latest book, and Dave Rowntree: No One You Know, where the Blur drummer will talk in depth about the origins of the band and how his book captures the raw and earnest early days of the band in a full and frank discussion at Wolverhampton Arts Centre.

The middle day of the festival, Saturday, February 7, will be the busiest day, with more than 40 events taking place across the festival venues.

It all gets going at 10.30am at the Central Library with My Mum’s a Chameleon, a book detailing a family's journey through cancer in a way that’s positive, playful, and full of love, while A Morning with Onjali Q. Raúf – Stories That Change the World! at 11am sees the author share how she came up with her stories.

The festival is an interactive one as well, with Illustrate with Salomey Doku - Tyrone's Cool Crown and You Can Do Anything, Tyrone! at 12pm providing a full storytelling of the book by Sir Lenny Henry, as well as a chance to design a rocket like Tyrone or create a new hairstyle for the character.  

Wolverhampton Art Gallery will be hosting TV doctor Dr Hilary Jones at 11am as he speaks about his new book Under Darkening Skies, while local author and poet Cora B will launch her first poetry book at the festival, The Space Between, at the same time.

Other highlights at the Art Gallery include Sh*tty Breaks: A Celebration of Unsung Cities, Ben Aitkin's love letter to unfashionable Britain, at 1pm, The Best of Everything: In conversation with Kit de Waal, a discussion about the author's new book, at 3pm, and Stars of The Slam, where four poetry slam champs are given the opportunity to showcase their work, at 8pm.

Outside the Art Gallery, there are interesting events taking place everywhere, including Peter Chand - Twenty Years a Teller, where Peter will talk about the best moments from 20 years as an author at Bantock House at 3.30pm, and Children of The Wicker Man, with a documentary and discussion about the making of and legacy of the iconic movie, which will take place at Lockworks Cinema at 7pm.

The Tilestone Studio at the Arena Theatre will be a hive of activity, with different events going throughout the weekend, and Saturday will feature three very diverse events.

Melanie Branton will be at 12.30pm to perform The Full English, a spoken word performance about the history of the English language, while Fringe Room: Beatlesjuice (Work in Progress) mixes the cult movie Beetlejuice with the songs of the Beatles at 1.45pm and Fringe Room: Still Raving in Your 40s? by Donald Jenkins tackles the idea of whether being middle-aged should stop you from growing up.

The final day of the festival will feature a diverse range of events, from talks about childhood food to poetry to talks about neurodiversity and the words of Neds Atomic Dustbin.

At the Arena Theatre, Food is a Love Language will see Priyanka Joshi share stories that honour the meals that raised her, the hands that fed her and the tables where love was passed around like bread at 11am, while Some of My Best Friends Are Psychopaths: In Conversation with Mark Edwards and TM Logan will discuss their latest works in a intimate setting at the Art Gallery at 11.30am.

Bantock House will see an inspiring hour of poetry and storytelling with South Asian Women Poets & Storytelling at 12.30pm, while the public will be invited to share and explore their own memories of the Beatles at Memories of the Beatles at 1pm at Wolverhampton Arts Centre and Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists present The Writers’ Hub brings a full day of readings and interactions with poets and writers at the Art Gallery.

How to Blow Up an Oil Rig: In conversation with Harry Whitehead sees the author talk about his new Arctic thriller at the Art Gallery at 2pm, before comedian and presenter Robin Ince comes to the festival, firstly to chat with Neds Atomic Dustbin frontman Jonn Penney about his new book at 3.30pm.

He'll also present his own event Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My Adventures in Neurodiversity at 5.30pm, looking at his ADHD diagnosis and why it's ok to be wonderfully weird.

The festival will come to an end at the Wolverhampton Arts Centre at 7.30pm, with broadcaster, author and DJ Stuart Maconie bringing his own spin on the Beatles at With A Little Help From Their Friends by telling the tale of the people who made the band who made Britain, and along the way adding his own experiences, encounters and conversations about the band.