Southam Book Festival 2026
About this Event
This year's focus will be on the Speaker sessions, supported by our regular exhibition in the main hall.
Last year the main hall was full to capacity with eager exhibitors, not only individual local authors and writing groups, but poets, publishers, a bookbinder and in fact anyone who supports the written/spoken word as an art form. Book lovers had a field day browsing the stalls and taking part in the various talks and discussions. We also had a literary quiz to test knowledge of books & authors. And as usual tea and home made cakes from the WI will be a feature of the day.
The Flash Fiction short story competition will be held again - we had 225 entries in 2025, with all proceeds going directly to supporting the Graham Adams Centre.
Our "Book in the Window" shop display competition was very well supported, with 28 local businesses taking part with lots of creative and amusing entries. The winning entry was Galanos with 'The Tiger who came to Tea'.
And of course the cafe will be open for hot drinks and lots of yummy cakes, staffed by our brilliant volunteers from the WI .
The cafe is cash only at the moment. Should you require an ATM they are present at the nearby Town Centre, Tesco supermarket and Shell fuel garage
A big THANK YOU goes out to our sponsors The Book Trade Charity whose continuing donations enable us make the festival a success.
Find us on socials!
Insta
Bookfest 2026 - 11th Oct
🕑: 11:00 AM
Bookfest Opens!
Host: Southam Bookfest
Info: 30+ exhibitors will be in the main hall ready, willing, and able to discuss their craft with you! There will be many beautiful items for sale and our café will be open for hot drinks and lots of yummy cakes, staffed by our brilliant volunteers from the WI. Our lovely speakers will be giving their talks in the Oak Room
🕑: 11:45 AM
Renaissance & The Enchantment Project - Poetry and Accessibility
Host: Amy Clennel
Info: Poet and fiction author Amy Clennell will begin her talk discussing her first book of poetry, Renaissance. Although partially-sighted and unable to see enough to read, Amy wants others with visual impairments to be able to access her writing. Consequently, all her poems from Renaissance are available on her YouTube channel and Amy will explain how this came about with the help of local ‘celebrity’, Iain Lauchlan (actor/writer,director/producer/presenter and Dame!) Amy will then give three short poetry readings, the last of which will link to her new novella, The Enchantment Project. She will share with you how and why she came to write the novella, including an amusing anecdote about a project in Southam.
Finally, in the absence of a current PA, Amy’s mum will read the first chapter from Amy’s The Enchantment Project.
🕑: 12:30 PM
It's Never Really Over - A journey through the writing and publishing process
Host: Anna Byk
Info: Anna will be discussing her writing journey, the publishing process including self-publishing, as well her debut novel - 'It's Never Really Over'. The novel is a contemporary story centred on five interconnected women and partially set in Warwickshire, with references to Stratford, Shakespeare and other regional landmarks. Written in monologue style, each woman begins their story by describing to the reader their present moment setting, before going back in time to relay their life story and ending by summarising their present circumstances. The women range from mid-thirties to seventies in age and each describe what has happened and what could have been – the lost lovers, fortunes, failures, and missed opportunities. Their stories show how fate pushes you to where you need to be, whether you like it or not, and how, when it comes to certain aspects of their lives, it’s never really over.
🕑: 01:15 PM
Didn't Anyone Ever Tell You? A journey of courage
Host: Andy Mullaney
Info: A bowel cancer diagnosis in 2024 transformed Andy’s perspective and strengthened his commitment to helping others face adversity with courage and hope. His second book, Didn’t Anyone Ever Tell You? Never Trust a Fart! Surviving and Beating Bowel Cancer, to be published in 2026, tells his story openly, with humour too, encouraging early diagnosis, resilience and positivity in the face of life’s toughest challenges.
Andy’s talk will tell of his bowel cancer experience from diagnosis through to now. He’ll showcase the chapters in his book and also talk in depth about the mental battle we face, including for those who love and support us.
There are so many missed opportunities for diagnosis and Andy believes knowledge is power. His only symptom was fatigue and 60% who present with that as the only sign are stage 4. We need to change that.
🕑: 02:00 PM
What Makes a good horror story? An insight into the macabre and foreboding
Host: Jacci Gooding
Info: A lover of ghost and creepy horror stories since an early age, Jacci will discuss what makes a good horror story, what the hooks are and why the genre is so popular. If you've ever glimpsed something out of the corner of your eye, or felt your skin prickle with fear, then this talk is for you!
Her short story compilation A Collection of Unsettling Short Stories; Leave the Light On reflects the world around us through a darker, and at times, foreboding, lens. She will share with you a creepy story from her fully revised and updated book, hopefully demonstrating that when writing horror, less is definitely more.
With an extra story just for the chill of it, her unique collection of stories is a delicious assortment of the macabre and the creepy, the gruesome and the ghostly. Jacci’s compilation contains the winning entry of Writing Magazine's horror competition 2012, plus a story shortlisted for the Dark Fantasy Anthology 2018.
Jacci is currently editing her second full novel
🕑: 02:45 PM
Never Too Late to Reach for a Dream
Host: Karen Storey
Info: Think you're too old to embark on a dream? Karen Storey returned to her childhood wish of becoming a writer at the age of fifty-eight. Her debut novel was published after the age of sixty. This novel, 'The Approval of Sheep,' was a finalist in this year's prestigious Joan Hessayon Award for its romcom elements and has been recently picked up by a screenwriter for film adaptation. Karen will talk about her life, her influences, and why she feels it's never too late to start a new career.
🕑: 03:30 PM
Competition Winners, Prize Giving, Quiz
Host: Southam Bookfest
Info: Join us in the main hall where we will reveal the winning entry of our flash fiction competition, present the prize shield for the "Book in the Window", present the winner of our book cover competition and announce the winners of raffle prizes alongside the answers to our quiz!
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Festival Closes
Info: Thank you so much for coming! We hope you can join us again next year!
23rd Sept - Rick Thompson
🕑: 02:30 PM
23rd Sept '26 - ‘A Year on the Fosse’ at Galanos House
Host: Rick Thompson
Info: Enjoy an illustrated journey along the 230 miles of the Fosse Way that spears through the heart of England from Lincolnshire to Devon. It was paved by the Romans shortly after their mass invasion of England in AD 43 to secure southern England from incursions by the Celtic Britons and Welsh. Where the Romans built forts at key crossing points, towns and great cities grew up over the centuries, and there were countless battles along its length that changed English history.
The quarries that provided limestone for the Fosse Way were developed later to provide the materials for urban Britain, and many of the flooded pits are now nature reserves. The book describes the wildlife to be found on these reserves as the seasons change, with reflections on the biodiversity crisis and the local impacts of climate change, and the successful efforts of thousands of volunteers bringing back species that became extinct because of human activity. Rick is a former BBC journalist and lifelong birdwatcher
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
