Berwick Literary Festival

Repost from @sarahjessicaparker • Congratulations douglas_stuart on your John Of John. It is a triumph. I will never forget Cal, John or Ella and Innes, nor the vivid details and cinematic descriptions of life on the Isle of Harris. Nor will your readers. I loved every page so. Available May 5th, 2026 at your local library or local independent booksellers. Happy reading everyone! X, SJ

We’re excited to see John of Johns selected as Oprah’s book club pick this month! Douglas Stuart is coming to Berwick on 28 May - tickets via the Straw Yard. Repost… Our 123rd book club pick “John of John” is finally here—and @oprah already sat down with douglas_stuart to talk all about his latest novel! Set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, the story follows John-Calum Macleod, a struggling art school graduate who finds himself back in his small hometown to support his elderly grandmother and father, a minister in the Presbyterian church. With Cal’s identity at odds with the religion he was brought up in, he must come to terms with the life he wants for himself while navigating his relationship with his father, who has secrets of his own hiding underneath the surface. Get your copy of “John of John” wherever you get your books, and tap the link in our bio to watch Oprah and Douglas’s conversation in full.

What does it mean to come home? In his latest novel, John of John, Douglas Stuart returns to the themes that made Shuggie Bain a global phenomenon, exploring family, faith, masculinity and the cost of a life unlived. Now, the Booker Prize–winning author brings this powerful new work to Berwick. Set on the Isle of Harris, the novel follows a young man returning to a close-knit community where everything is seen, and little is said. It is intimate, searching, and deeply moving. Join us for an afternoon in conversation with one of the most vital voices in contemporary fiction. Thursday 28 May | Holy Trinity Church | 1:00pm With a @thebookloft_berwick signing to follow, and @thestrawyardberwick open before and after for drinks and conversation. #ContemporaryFiction #DouglasStuart #BookerWinner #LiteraryFiction #BerwickLiteraryFestival

A lunchtime to feed your literary appetite! Step out of the day-to-day and into a live conversation with Booker Prize–winning author Douglas Stuart. On Thursday 28 May, we’re hosting a special lunchtime event with the author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, as he discusses his new novel John of John. Arrive early for a drink at The Straw Yard, take your seat in Holy Trinity Church for the talk, and return to the SY afterwards to continue the conversation. Signed books will be available with thanks to @thebookloft_berwick . Thursday 28 May Holy Trinity Church 1pm - 2pm The @thestrawyardberwick bar will be open before and after, so you can make an afternoon of it and keep the conversation going. Tickets £15 - book via The Straw Yard (link in bio or head to ) #DouglasStuart #BerwickLiteraryFestival #BookerPrize #LiveLiterature #AuthorEvent #BookLovers

Literature lovers: This is not going to be a typical afternoon in Berwick! ... Booker Prize–winning author Douglas Stuart is coming to town. Across his international tour, Stuart is being interviewed by voices like Ann Patchett, Lauren Groff and Nicola Sturgeon, and is speaking at some of the world's most renowned festivals and book stores. And on 28 May, he’ll be here with us. Author of Shuggie Bain and Young Mungo, Stuart is one of the most important contemporary novelists writing today. He'll be joining us to discuss his powerful new novel John of John in the beautiful setting of Holy Trinity Church. This is a rare opportunity to hear a writer of this calibre up close. Thurs 28 May Holy Trinity Church 1pm - 2pm The @thestrawyardberwick bar will be open before and after, so you can make an afternoon of it and keep the conversation going. Tickets £15 - book via The Straw Yard (link in bio or head to ) #DouglasStuart #BerwickLiteraryFestival #BookerPrize #LiveLiterature #AuthorEvent #BookLovers

Congratulations to Colin Fleetwood - member of the Berwick Writers’ Forum and brilliant compere of our Cabaret of Words - whose poem, Muckle Flugga, has been published by Ink, Sweat & Tears. This one feels particularly special. The poem began life during Anne Ryland’s workshop at last year’s Festival, and has been carefully shaped through redrafting and thoughtful feedback. Ink, Sweat & Tears is a respected UK webzine publishing new poetry and prose daily. 👏 Congratulations, Colin! We’re so pleased to see your work out in the world. 📖 Read Muckle Flugga here: /col-fleetwood/ #BerwickWritersForum #InkSweatAndTears #PoetryPublication #WritersCommunity #CabaretofWords #ThingsThatMakeForPeace #NorthEastWriters #PoetryLife

When the sun comes out, everything shifts. Including what you want to read. Too Glam to Give a Damn by Claire Carver is the kind of novel that moves quickly, pulls you in, and doesn’t let go. Smart, escapist, and made for long, bright afternoons - and the beach! Join us at Between the Lines, next week, to hear Claire talk about writing at pace, tight deadlines, and the realities behind the book. The bar will be open from 6.15pm - join us for a drink in the courtyard before the event's prompt start at 7pm. Just 10 tickets left (at last check!). Link to book via The Straw Yard is in the bio!

One month to go until our next Between the Lines event! What happens when a potential book deal comes to you? At our next Between the Lines event, romance author Claire Carver - @clairecarverauthor - joins us to talk about her unusual route into publishing her debut. Asked by her agent to write a full synopsis for a novel with an existing title and cover, the publisher gave her the go-ahead, then asked for two more. We’ll explore what that changes. How do you step into a project that already has a couple of elements in place? Where is the creative freedom, and where are the constraints? Between the Lines is a live conversation series about how writing really happens. The decisions, the compromises, and the moments that make the work feel alive. Join us for a pre-event drink from 6.15pm. Recording starts at 7pm prompt and signed books will be available, thanks to the fabulous @thebookloft_berwick . The Straw Yard, Berwick Thu 7 May, 7pm prompt start (bar open from 6.15pm) Free event, booking essential (via biolink or at /whatson)

🎤 Cabaret of Words - Wednesday 21 May at The Straw Yard A lively spoken word evening bringing together poets, storytellers and writers to share original work in a relaxed, welcoming setting. We'll be returning to our usual format, with 8 x 10-minute performance slots available to book in advance, alongside space for audience members to come along and enjoy the evening. Whether you’re performing or listening, it’s a chance to experience new writing live and be part of Berwick’s growing writing community. Come along for a drink from 6.15pm. The event starts at 7pm and runs until 9.30pm, but the bar at the Straw Yard will be open until close for post-event mixing and mingling. 🎟️ Free tickets (booking essential) via our biolink or: /event-details/cabaret-of-words-5

Our final Present Page workshop took place last night with Chloë Sayers / @chloesayersartist , and it was a quietly special way to close the series. A deeply relaxing session, as we explored the connection between movement and writing, letting the body lead rhythm, gesture and language on the page. A gentle, attentive evening that invited a different kind of creative pace, and one that many of us were reluctant to leave. That’s not quite the end of The Present Page, though. We’ll be hosting a Celebration of Journalling event at Jackal in June, revisiting some of the most resonant practices from the series for those who couldn’t make it, or for anyone who’d like to experience them again. We’re also working on a free digital course, so the benefits of journalling can reach more people, wherever they are. If you’d like to stay in the loop, you can sign up to Literary Festival news via the link in our bio. With thanks to Anna Chapman Parker for such thoughtful facilitation across the series, and to Create Berwick, Northumberland County Council and the North East Combined Authority for making the programme possible. #PresentPage #JournallingPractice #WritingPractice #EmbodiedWriting #BerwickUponTweed #CreateBerwick #NorthumberlandCountyCouncil #NorthEastCombinedAuthority

Our Present Page series continues tomorrow evening with our final workshop, Writing and movement, led by artist and facilitator Chloë Sayers. Chloë’s practice explores the relationship between body and language, inviting us to consider how writing might begin not just in the mind, but through movement, attention and physical awareness. In this session, participants will be guided through simple, playful exercises that bring movement and writing into conversation. Together, we’ll explore how the body can shape rhythm, gesture and voice on the page, opening up new ways of approaching creative practice. A small number of spaces have become available for this session. 👉 Snap yours up via the biolink or Eventbrite: /o/berwick-literary-festival-111064822411 With thanks to Create Berwick, Northumberland County Council and the North East Combined Authority for supporting The Present Page programme. #PresentPage #JournallingPractice #WritingPractice #EmbodiedWriting #BerwickUponTweed #CreateBerwick #NorthumberlandCountyCouncil #NorthEastCombinedAuthority

Become a Patron of Berwick Literary Festival and help shape what's ahead. Each October, the Festival brings writers, readers and ideas together in Berwick. But what you see in that one week is only part of the story. Behind it sits a year-round programme, a growing community of readers and writers, and a team of volunteers working steadily to create something meaningful for the town. Becoming a Patron is one of the most direct ways to support that work. Your Patronage helps us: • Keep the Festival ambitious and accessible • Grow our year-round events with visiting authors • Develop new work in schools and across the community • Build towards projects like care home reading programmes • Support events and community for Berwick-based writers via the Berwick Writers' Forum As a Patron, you’ll receive priority booking for the Festival programme and invitations to special events across the year. If the Festival matters to you, we’d love you to be part of what comes next. 🔗 Become a Patron via our bio link or /en-GB/ticketing/become-a-patron