The Bournemouth Writing Festival has already come and gone for the year, but if you missed it, it's worth knowing what you missed for next time. The fourth edition ran from 24 to 26 April at Pavilion Dance South West on Westover Road, bringing together more than 1,000 writers, authors and industry professionals for three days by the sea.
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The programme was built around more than 100 free and ticketed sessions — talks, panels, masterclasses and workshops led by authors, poets, journalists, screenwriters and industry experts. The subject matter covered the whole arc of a writing life: starting out, techniques to sharpen prose, editing, querying and the choice between traditional and self-publishing. There were also 144 one-to-one slots with literary agents and writing professionals, all of which were fully booked.
Beyond the formal sessions, the festival leaned into its seaside setting. The 'Inspiration to Write' strand ran free indoor and outdoor activities, including Writing on the Beach, poetry sessions, literary walks around Bournemouth and a series of writing exercises. Networking events were held in town centre cafés and restaurants, and a marketplace served as an author hub for chats, signed books and self-publishing launches. There was a Children's Hub with free sessions from ArtfulScribe and We Are Authentic Education, and a set of free workshops reserved for marginalised groups, including adults with additional needs, homeless and financially disadvantaged people, children in care and care-experienced young people, plus a session for language school students.
The finale on Sunday 26 April was the Write Move Showcase, a pay-what-you-can evening hosted by Dr James Cole that paired live movement and dance with poetry by local writers and students. The headliners were Dean Atta, the award-winning Black British poet of Greek Cypriot and Caribbean heritage who screened his BAFTA-winning stop-motion short Two Black Boys in Paradise, and Ashley Hickson-Lovence, who presented work from his novel in verse About to Fall Apart and gave a sneak peek at his upcoming YA book Dead Ends.
If you're still looking for a way in, the Bournemouth Writing Prize is the one thread that runs past the festival itself. Now in its tenth year, the annual international short story and poetry competition is open for entries until midnight on 15 August, with a 20% early bird discount running until 31 May. It costs £10 for a short story of up to 3,000 words and £10 for up to three poems of up to 30 lines each. The first prize is £1,000, with £300 and £200 for second and third, and the overall winner gets published in Dorset Magazine and a chance to read their work at the festival. The competition is judged by Abu Ibrahim on poetry and Madeleine Milburn on short stories, with shortlisted finalists announced by 31 October and a winner chosen by 30 November. All entries support Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots UK.
For context on how the festival has grown, the 2025 edition drew nearly 2,000 people, with more than half of them first-timers and a good chunk travelling from outside the BH postcode altogether. 2026 was also the National Year of Reading, which gave the whole thing an extra nudge. If you're a writer or a reader in Bournemouth, it's the kind of event that's worth keeping on the radar for when the next edition lands.
Published Date
10 August 2026
