The London Library Lit Fest

It’s our birthday!

Join us to celebrate 180 glorious years of The London Library with The London Library Lit Fest.

Thank you to everyone who joined us over the weekend 1-3 May - individual event tickets or a festival pass can still be purchased to watch the recorded events in your own time up to 13 June.

We’re bringing together some of the brightest stars in the literary firmament for an eclectic and thought-provoking Bank Holiday weekend of online talks, workshops and performances, exploring libraries and The London Library in particular, as open places of community, discovery and refuge; where every book and every voice has a place; where ideas and creativity can form and grow. 

Salman Rushdie joins us to mark 40 years since the publication of Midnight’s Children; Simon Schama talks famous literary friendships and rivalries; Sarah Waters chats to Hallie Rubenhold, Tom Stoppard to Edmund de Waal, Polly Samson to Edward Docx; we celebrate Rebecca West and Stefan Zweig; delve into our famously eccentric Science & Miscellaneous section with 5x15, discover lost literary gems with Virago and Hamish Hamilton and gender swap stories with Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett. We premiere our dramatisation of A Room of One’s Own and then go out with a poetry party, courtesy of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. All that and plenty more besides.

Tickets for most events cost £5 or you can buy a Festival Pass for just £25 to watch all recorded events. Please note as the events have now happened you will not be able to join in the Q&A and the interactive workshops are not available as recordings.

We have partnered with Hatchards, our wonderful local bookshop and an institution itself. All the books featured at the festival can be purchased on their website.

Tickets

Buy tickets to watch the recorded events:

Standard event tickets cost £5.

The performance costs £10.

A Festival Pass costs £25 and gives access to 1 ticket per event.

London Library members and supporters can claim a 10% discount on tickets, please contact us for your discount code if you have not received it.

Ticket holders will be able to watch the events live or any time up until 13 June.