Early-Bird Events: Lady Hale, Michael Heseltine and more!
Alexander McCall Smith, Lady Hale, Jay Rayner, Kit de Waal, Michael Heseltine, Philippe Sands, Jung Chang, Lemn Sissay, Suzanne O’Sullivan, Ed Davey MP (L-R)
Wimbledon BookFest, a community-focused celebration of books and culture, has announced ten early-bird events for the autumn festival (16-26 October 2025), ahead of the full programme release in June. This year’s programme centres on themes of hope and kindness and the power of stories to offer insight and comfort in challenging times.
Tickets for early-bird events with speakers including political insiders Ed Davey MP and Michael Heseltine; international lawyer and award-winning writer Philippe Sands; renowned judge Lady Hale; food writer Jay Rayner; poet Lemn Sissay; award-winning storytellers Jung Chang, Alexander McCall Smith and Kit de Waal; and Suzanne O’Sullivan, neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis will be available to Friends and Benefactors from 23 April and on general release from 3 May at www.wimbledonbookfest.org.
Returning for the eighteenth year this autumn, Wimbledon BookFest offers ten days of exhilarating events as world-class speakers explore new thinking and global affairs, and established and emerging writers celebrate the power of storytelling to inspire hope and empathy. A focus on global collaboration sees BookFest partners with the prestigious Lahore Literary Festival for a third year to showcase South Asian creatives, whilst a new strand of events featuring Korean and Southeast Asian voices is designed to connect communities and spark conversations that can create a better world.
To increase accessibility and inclusivity an increased number of festival events will take place at Merton Art Space, Wimbledon Library, with ethical pricing initiatives including free tickets for residents of specific Merton postcodes and concessionary pricing for young people and low income. Popular shared reading scheme, The Merton Big Read, run in partnership with Merton Libraries, returns for a third year, with 500 free copies of Kit de Waal’s extraordinary memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes, made available in libraries and community groups across the borough. Kit de Waal will open the Festival at Merton Arts Space on Thursday 16 October to discuss the book and its themes of identity, family and the joy of reading.
Fiona Razvi, Festival Founder and Director said:
“We are excited to be offering a wide range of early-bird tickets and to give our audience a glimpse of what’s to come at the autumn festival. This year’s programme centres on themes of hope and kindness as we recognise the power of stories and storytelling to offer comfort in challenging times. Books, and the discussions they generate, help us understand and navigate our world with empathy and through our unique global collaborations and partnerships we aim to make Wimbledon BookFest an inclusive and accessible space for all. We are thrilled to welcome so many amazing writers and thinkers from around the globe to the heart of our community.”
Check out our programme here. Full line-up announced in June.
