A Weekend at Wimbledon BookFest

Wimbledon BookFest welcomed a record 20,000 guests this year for a packed lineup of creatives including Elif Shafak and Rupert Everett. If you didn’t catch all the action yourself, here is a snapshot of what went on in the enthralling final weekend.

Saturday Morning

Entering the festival hub at Wimbledon High, photographs of previous speakers, such as Celia Imrie and Dame Mary Berry, lined the walkway. Friendly stewards ushered us into a bustling open space filled with colourful planters and flowers provided by new local business Red Roofs Flowers.

The day started with a much-needed coffee from Stables and Ground. The café buzzed with conversation and anticipation. With time to explore, we visited the Woodland Trust charity stand before stopping by the box office to chat with staff and take in Mahin Hussain’s vibrant art on display.

Saturday Afternoon

Our first event of the day featured TikTok star and historian Alice Loxton discussing her novel Eighteen, exploring the lives of British historical figures at that formative age. A young audience found both inspiration and comfort in her stories: Chaucer had lived through the black death, climbed the ranks to royal court and was captured by the French all by the age of 18, and yet these accomplished names were still ‘insecure and riddled with anxiety’ at that age, just like the rest of us.

 

Next, we headed to Rutherford Theatre to hear Yuan Yang, the first Chinese-born British MP, speak about four Chinese women who resisted the Communist Party. Despite the heavy subject matter, Yang spoke with optimism and warmth, challenging British misconceptions about China and offering hope for future dialogue.

By then, the spices of Bombay Delight were calling out to us, so we headed to the food stand to taste from a selection of lamb chops, malai tikka, samosas and paneer bhurji.

Our next stop was Susie Dent, the Countdown lexicographer, whose book The Roots We Share explores the history and origins of words. Dent describes language as “the biggest democracy in the world”, inviting the audience to guess the meanings of words such as conjobble (to eat and gossip with someone) and tsundoku (the books that accumulate on your bedside table). Her favourite, respair (fresh hope and recovery), was the perfect note to end on.

Book signings followed, offering the chance to chat with friendly festival-goers and meet the authors.

Saturday Evening

After a short break, we grabbed drinks from Barbox, a charming horsebox bar, and relaxed listening to the swinging live jazz band. Soon, it was time for former – now interim – Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, in conversation with John Inverdale. The two shared easy banter and hilarious football stories. The audience was in stitches as O’Neill recalled receiving an “apology” letter from Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger which in fact demanded his apology instead!

It was a fun and light-hearted end to the day.

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday opened with a thoughtful meditation from writer and filmmaker Philip Hoare on the art of William Blake, which was projected onto a screen in the theatre. He argues that Blake is “transmutative”: there’s a psychedelic Blake, punk Blake, queer Blake etc., showing how influential and revolutionary his words and art are even today.

Lunch came courtesy of the Observer Food gazebo, which was serving Nigel Slater’s recipes from that week’s paper: braised lamb neck with egg pots and rose harissa, leeks and fennel with maftoul and lemons, plus apple crumble. Each purchase came with a copy of the Observer so the recipes could be recreated at home.

Next up was local Wimbledon boy turned Tiktok sensation Sam Holland with Kitchen Kickstart, a cookbook for university students learning to cook for the first time. Though he once pursued acting like his older brother Tom Holland, Sam said cooking always brought his family together. He even treated the audience to his “Twin Baker” brownies, named after the business he once ran with his twin brother at school.

A quick browse in the Waterstones pop-up bookshop was a great chance to catch any titles missed earlier in the week.

Sunday evening

The evening began with a sharp and witty expose of the royal family with Andrew Lownie and Andy Webb. Lownie revealed the extent of Prince Andrew’s brazenness, including that he would demand ‘blondes’ alongside his requests for Weetabix and an ironing board when travelling. Despite the scandalous nature of the talk, it was also a reminder of how media holds power to account.

Finally, the festival closed with a packed auditorium for Jung Chang CBE, launching her long-awaited follow-up to Wild Swans (1978), called Fly, Wild Swans (2025). Chang spoke movingly about her first poem, written as a child and flushed down the toilet to avoid punishment by the red guards, and her journey to writing her groundbreaking works criticising Communist China and Mao. This was not without sacrifice: her new novel is an homage to her mother, who always encouraged her to write but whom she can no longer see in China.

It was a poignant reminder of the power of literature to conclude a weekend of sharing ideas, stories, and community at Wimbledon BookFest.