Adam Kay, Russell Kane and Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock headline 2024 Literary Leicester festival
From left: Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Adam Kay (photo: Charlie Clift), and Russell Kane.
Literary Leicester, the University of Leicester’s annual free literature festival, will return next month.
The festival will take place between Wednesday 20 March and Friday 22 March at the University of Leicester campus and in the city.
Established in 2008, Literary Leicester attracts up to 5,000 attendees each year to hear Booker-Prize winners, celebrated cultural commentators, novelists, poets, historians, biographers and much more.
This year’s festival will include multi-million bestselling This Is Going To Hurt author and BAFTA-winner Adam Kay, comedian and writer Russell Kane, and University of Leicester’s Chancellor, leading TV scientist Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
The complete programme for this year’s festival is below:
British-Latin American Literature: Writing Ourselves Visible – Attenborough Film Theatre, Wednesday 20 March, 1pm
Byron vs. Wordsworth: Or, How to Start a Culture War – Attenborough Arts Centre, Wednesday 20 March, 2:30pm
Creative Writing Student Showcase – Attenborough Film Theatre, Wednesday 20 March, 5pm
Dame Maggie Aderin Pocock: My Life in Books – Sir Bob Burgess Building, Wednesday 20 March, 7pm
Russell Kane: Books, Jokes and Household Pets – Sir Bob Burgess Building, Wednesday 20 March, 8:30pm
On Exile and Asylum: A Conversation with William Atkins – Attenborough Film Theatre, Thursday 21 March, 1pm
Archives Live: Rediscovering Student Life – Attenborough Film Theatre, Thursday 21 March, 2:30pm
Nature, Environment and Sustainability with Mark Cocker – Attenborough Film Theatre, Thursday 21 March, 4pm
Undoctored: Adam Kay in Conversation – Sir Bob Burgess Building, Thursday 21 March, 6:30pm
Ambush at Still Lake: Poetry from Caroline Bird – Sir Bob Burgess Building, Thursday 21 March, 8pm
Vivid Shakespeare Creative Writing Workshop – Leicester Central Library, Friday 22 March, 12:30pm
First Story Young Writers’ Showcase – Attenborough Film Theatre, Friday 22 March, 1:30pm
‘Don’t Turn Away’: 40 Years of Mental Illness in Leicester with Penelope Campling – Attenborough Film Thatre, Friday 22 March, 3pm
LIAS Presents: 10 Objects That Changed Our Lives – Attenborough Film Theatre, Friday 22 March, 4:30pm
Event times and dates could change. Click here for up-to-date information.
Dr Harry Whitehead, Festival Director for Literary Leicester said: "We’re hugely excited to be bringing some of the most exciting writers in many different forms to Leicester this year. Adam Kay’s This Is Going To Hurt, sold millions of copies and was adapted into a BAFTA-winning TV series. Our very own Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock is one of the country’s best loved popular scientists, Russell Kane a brilliant comedian and writer. We’ve The Guardian’s ‘Country Diary’ writer, naturalist Mark Cocker, we’re looking at 40 years of mental health in Leicester, ‘Byron vs Wordsworth’ and loads more. There are opportunities to buy a book, care of our partner Kibworth Books, and get it signed. And, as always we’re 100% free and open to everyone."