Cheltenham Literature Festival has record-breaking year at box office

The Times and the Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival has had a record-breaking year at the box office in 2025.

Over 100,000 ticketholders attended more than 400 events at this year's event, with Cheltenham Festivals saying its bumper ticket sales reaffirm 'the enduring power of literature festivals'.

The 10-day celebration of the written and spoken word featured a host of high-profile names, including Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes, Graham Norton, Richard Osman, Joanna Page, Jaqueline Wilson, David Suchet and many more. 

The festival also saw bestselling author Jojo Moyes pay tribute to the late Jilly Cooper at her event, following Jilly's death this October 2025.

After a 10-year hiatus, this year marked the relaunch of The Big Read with over 150 copies of Kaliane Bradley's showstopping debut The Ministry of Time being distributed to book clubs, cafes, coffee shops and locations all over town for free, to get people reading, ahead of her appearance at the festival. 

Children's author A.F. Steadman completed the festival's longest-ever book signing; Nicola Dinan's Disappoint Me won the New Adult Book Prize – the first of its kind in the UK; and experts from authors and illustrators to educators came together for The Future of Reading Conference to address the declining rates of children reading for pleasure.

Waterstones Children's Laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who was in attendance, said: 'The Future of Reading Conference captured something vital – a shared belief that every child deserves to grow up with stories that reflect and expand their world. What Cheltenham Festivals is doing isn’t just celebrating books, it’s building the future of reading itself.'

Cheltenham Literature Festival also got the charity a big step closer to its goal of giving 80,000 children access to arts and culture in its 80th year, with over 12,000 school children taking part in the Literature for Schools programme, taking the total so far to 71,667.

Head of programming, Nicola Tuxworth, said: 'Cheltenham Literature Festival 2025 has been a truly remarkable year, with record-breaking audiences, inspiring events for children and families and unforgettable moments across the programme.

'From our youngest readers discovering the magic of books to debut authors taking centre stage, it’s been a joy to celebrate storytelling in all its forms.'

The charity is already preparing for next year, where it is taking part in the National Year of Reading 2026 initiative from the National Literacy Trust and Department for Education, expanding its year-round learning and participation programme to bring books and authors to classrooms and communities.

Nicola continued: 'We’re excited to build on this momentum as we head towards the National Year of Reading 2026, continuing our mission to spark curiosity, creativity and a lifelong love of reading.'