Still plenty of reasons to go along to sold-out Fishbourne Literary Festival
The Fishbourne Literary Festival on Saturday, April 11 has long since sold out its busy programme of author talks.
But festival organisers are still urging people to come along for the chance to meet the authors, get a book signed and enjoy the festival’s huge second-hand book sale in the church hall next door.
Chairman Simon Cox said: “The Fishbourne Literary Festival is so much more than just aseatinapew.weinviteyouto join us in the church hall, which remains free and open to all throughout the day, offering a vibrant festival experience for every book lover.”
The point is that you don’t need a ticket to meet the authors: “Following each talk, our featured authors including Kate Mosse, Patrick Gale, Mike Gayle and Clare Chambers will be in the hall for professional book signings. It is the perfect opportunity to get your favourite books signed and share a moment with the writers.”
The massive second-hand book sale is a massive extra attraction, plus the festival is also contributing to this year’s National Year of Reading: “We are offering a free book to every primary school-age child who visits the festival. This initiative aims to grow a generation of readers by making reading a relevant and rewarding activity for young people. No ticket is required to claim this gift in the church hall.”
You can also enjoy the Literary Café: “Enjoy delicious homemade cakes, hot refreshments and freshly prepared lunches while overlooking the peaceful Fishbourne Meadows.”
And all in a great cause: “Every purchase in the hall helps us raise vital funds for both St Peter and St Mary Church and our 2026 charity partner, Chestnut Tree House. Chestnut Tree House provides essential hospice care and community support for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.”
As for the sell-out for the author talks, Simon is delighted: “We think that we have sold out for two or three reasons. The first is that we are well established. We've got a nice database of people that are very interested in the literary festival and love coming. Success breeds success. Also we have booked the authors earlier. They have confirmed sooner, but also if you've got a long list of big authors that have appeared then other authors are more inclined to say yes and come along knowing that we have a successful small literary festival. We've got a good list of people that we've featured now.
“But also I think part of that success is having a wide range of genres of authors and writers each year. We've got a real mixture. We’ve got historical fiction and social fiction and literary fantasy and contemporary romance and historical crime and mystery and gothic fiction and legal thrillers. If we had seven historical thriller writers, then it just wouldn't work as well. We do like to have a real mix on the day and we think that is a big part of the success.”
As for expanding the festival on the back of that success, Simon isn't so sure. They had a two-day
festival booked for the Covid year which then had to be completely cancelled: “We've had to come back from that. It puts a lot of pressure on our volunteers to find two days’ worth of authors and sell two days’ worth of tickets. We feel now that we can do a really good one-day festival and not be greedy. What we've got works really well.”
The festival takes place in St Peter & St Mary Church and Church Hall, Fishbourne Road West, Fishbourne, PO19 3XT from 9am-5pm.