Welcome to the Bradford Literature Festival, hailed as one of the most inspirational festivals in the UK. With over 500 events packed into iconic venues across 10 days, we celebrate the written and spoken word in all its wonderful forms. Every year we invite world-renowned authors, poets, musicians and artists to visit our spectacular city and share their expertise and passions with you, the audience. Bradford truly is the place to be from 28th June- 7th July 2019!
Festival Themes
We prides ourselves on exploring current affairs and topical subjects throughout the festival programme. Each year we focus on a handful of particular themes, see below for this year’s highlighted themes and events.
Festival Information
Discounted & Free Tickets Available
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join us at BLF 2019. Free tickets are available for anybody on benefits or living in social housing, refugees and asylum seekers, and anyone caring for a disabled audience member. Discounts are available for the disabled, students, senior citizens and more. Check whether you are eligible by clicking here.
Creative Sector Industry Day
Join national and local colleagues from across the creative sector for a day of thought-provoking events on topics such as diversity, funding and marketing, ‘In Conversation’ events with creative sector luminaries and workshops with practical tips to inform best practice.
Tickets on sale now.
Launching the B-Lit Programme
This year we are excited to launch our new B-Lit Programme for young people aged 13 – 18, made possible by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Look out for events marked with the B-Lit stamp as tickets are free for anybody aged 18 or under!
The Brontë Stones Project
Earlier in the year we were thrilled to announce the launch of our exciting Brontë Stones project, featuring new works by Kate Bush, Carol Ann Duffy, Jackie Kay and Jeanette Winterson. Click here to find out more!
2018: A Winning Year
In 2018, BLF was named as Yorkshire’s Tourism Event of the Year, and took home the Education trophy at the Raising the Bar Awards. Festival Director, Syima Aslam, won the H100 award for Publishing and was named Professional of the Year at the Yorkshire Asian Business Awards.
Your Events