Cheltenham’s world-renowned, 10-day literature festival is back in 2022, bigger and better than ever.
With live interviews, readings, family activities and live digital broadcast from storytelling greats – including horror legend Stephen King – there’s something for everyone.
Even with so much to choose from, popular events are already selling out.
Keep reading for your guide to this year’s festival, which runs from 7 to 16 October.
Discover some of the biggest names attending the Cheltenham Literature Festival 2022. Plus, check out our recommended reading to get you in the festival spirit, or to console you if tickets are no longer available for your favourite author.
1. Elizabeth Strout
American author Strout has written nine novels, of which the most well-known is arguably Olive Kitteridge.
The book won the 2009 Pulitzer prize for fiction and was made into a TV miniseries starring the multi-academy award-winning actor Frances McDormand and Oscar nominee Bill Murray.
Following the title character through 13 interconnected short stories, the novel was followed by a sequel, Olive, Again in 2019.
Strout will be at the festival talking about her new novel, Lucy by the Sea, itself a follow-up to 2016’s Man Booker prize-nominated My Name is Lucy Barton.
Recommended reading: Olive Kitteridge
2. Damon Galgut
Author of nine novels and four plays, South African novelist Galgut came to public attention in the UK when his latest novel, The Promise, won the Booker prize.
A family saga told over four decades, the plot revolves around the promise made by wife Rachel Swart to the family’s domestic servant, Salome. Although made in the presence of Rachel’s husband Manie, the promise looks set to go unkept, with repercussions for the whole family.
Galgut will speak about The Promise, as well as looking back at his career so far.
Recommended reading: The Promise
3. Malorie Blackman
Malorie Blackman, children’s laureate from 2013 to 2015, is the author of over 60 books for children.
Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses series (told across six books and three novellas) uses alternative history to create a society through which she explores themes of racism, love, and war. It was recently made into the BBC series Noughts + Crosses.
Blackman will be using her festival appearance to discuss her own story – from childhood to adult success – and the importance of dreaming big.
Recommended reading: Noughts and Crosses
4. Mieko Kawakami
Japanese literary sensation Kawakami has already had a TIME’s ‘Best 10 Books of 2020’ and has been shortlisted for the international Booker prize in 2022.
Breasts and Eggs, TIME’s 10th best novel of 2020, tells the story of three women in present-day Tokyo. Growing up in a poor district, Natsuko, her older sister Makiko, and Makiko’s teenage daughter Midoriko must navigate a world where the odds are never in their favour.
Kawakami will be appearing at the festival digitally, to discuss her latest work in English translation All The Lovers In The Night, as well as her career to date.
Recommended reading: Breasts and Eggs
5. Richard Osman
Pointless and House of Games presenter Osman was already a familiar face to teatime TV viewers when The Thursday Murder Club hit bookshop shelves in September 2020.
Four elderly residents of Cooper’s Chase retirement home meet every Thursday to discuss cold cases, little expecting a murder victim to appear on their doorsteps.
The book became an instant bestseller and since then, Osman has stayed busy. The big money sale of the film rights to movie legend Steven Spielberg has been followed by two sequels.
The Man Who Died Twice follows the further adventures of the Thursday Murder Club in a tale of mistaken identity and mafia diamonds.
Osman arrives at the festival ready to discuss the third outing for the crime-solving quartet, The Bullet That Missed. A decades-old cold case leads to a missing person and local newsreader legend Mike Waghorn.
Recommended reading: The Thursday Murder Club
6. Emma Carroll
Children’s author and “Queen of Historical Fiction” Emma Carroll will be making two appearances at this year’s festival.
From Letters from the Lighthouse and Secrets of a Sun King to The Girl Who Walked on Air Carroll has brought past worlds alive with her stunning adventure tales that have drawn comparisons to Michael Morpurgo.
In her latest, The Tale of Truthwater Lake, Carroll takes readers to a post-global warming world and the secrets that are revealed when our land dries up and water levels begin to fall again.
Carroll will also be appearing alongside Charlie and Lola-creator Lauren Child to discuss the pair’s first collaboration The Little Match Girl Strikes Back.
Recommended reading: Frost Hollow Hall
7. Stephen King
An author who needs no introduction, King’s 50-plus books are entwined in popular culture.
From films like Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption to creations like Pennywise the Clown and Jack Nicholson’s axe-wielding portrayal of The Shining’s Jack Torrance, King’s novels have defined horror for almost half a century.
As the latest recipient of the prestigious The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2022, King will appear digitally to speak with Mark Lawson about his remarkable career.
Recommended reading: The Stand
