Cultural Events

Browse our events programme, from conversations and talks to performances and music, available at the Library and online.

What's on

  1. The Dylan Thomas Prize: A Shortlist Celebration

    The world’s largest literary award for young writers.

    More info
  2. image of DJ Gilles Peterson

    An Evening with Gilles Peterson

    One of the UK’s most iconic DJs in conversation with Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy for a Classic Album Sundays event.

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  3. European Writer's Festival 3 logo

    European Writers’ Festival

    Featuring authors from across Europe, an unmissable weekend of debate and conversation with European literary voices that matter.

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  4. Seven figures depicting the Seven Deadly Sins from the Testament of Jean de Meun, in the British Library collection.

    Self-Help from the Middle Ages

    Historian Peter Jones on what medieval thinkers can teach us about modern life.

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  5. Image of comedian Richard Ayoade with a sideway glance and a blue background

    The Fairy Tale Fan Club, with Richard Ayoade and David Roberts

    What happens when curious kids send letters to their fairy-tale idols?!

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  6. Portrait of Milton Hatoum seated against a neutral background, looking slightly to the side

    Writing Brazil, Writing the World: Milton Hatoum in conversation with Maya Jaggi

    A lecture and conversation.

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  7. storyteller Vanessa Woolf performing

    A Feast of Tales: The Stolen Smell and The Feast by the River

    One of our most popular storytellers, Vanessa Woolf, brings to life two wonderful folk tales.

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  8. President Gabriel Boric of Chile in Conversation

    with Isabel Hilton.

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  9. Image of Agatha Christie and covers of some of her books

    The Queen of Crime: The Life and Legacy of Agatha Christie

    JLF London opens with a special panel featuring Lucy Foley, James Prichard and Lucy Rowland in conversation with Shrabani Basu.

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  10. JLF London 2026. The Jaipur Literature Festival

    Two days of inspiring conversations, ideas, books, music, food and more.

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  11. Three speakers from the event

    The Empire Podcast: How Empires Fall

    William Dalrymple and Anita Anand in conversation with Bee Rowlatt.

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  12. Irish stew in a pot

    At the Irish Table

    Food, culture and tradition across the island of Ireland.

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  13. Photograph from 1954 of lunchtime at a school in Oswestry.

    Please Sir, I Want Some More: Revolutionising What Kids Eat

    How some school cooks are creating magic on a shoestring.

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  14. Painting of a Tudor family at a table with food

    Much Ado About Cooking

    Appetite, feasting and hunger in Shakespeare, with Simon Russell Beale and guests.

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  15. Bottled palm oil in a pan at the market

    Palm Oil: The Crisis of a Contested Food

    How a vital cultural ingredient came to be demonised.

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  16. Head shots of the speakers: Olly Smith, Orlando Murrin, Felicity Cloake, Gurdeep Loyal and Catherine Kurtz.

    From Fork to Fiction: Food and Drink Writers Turned Novelists

    Crossing genres and rewriting expectations with Catherine Kurtz, Felicity Cloake Gurdeep Loyal and Olly Smith.

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  17. Head shots of Andrew Clark, Sally Abé, Jay Rayner and Zoe Williams

    Bourdain and the Myth of the Kitchen Hero

    Jay Rayner, Sally Abé, Andrew Clarke and Zoe Williams on influence, masculinity and the pressures of chef culture.

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  18. Mermaid Chunky posing in the woods with yellow ribbons

    A Midsummer Night’s Fairy Tale, with Mermaid Chunky

    Late at the Library with a fabulous night of music, performance and solstice shenanigans. Guest DJ Zakia Sewell.

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  19. Head shots of Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins against a still life painting from Pompeii from 70 AD

    How to Party in Pompeii, with Mary Beard and Charlotte Higgins

    The celebrated classicists dig into the food of the Romans, at this Instant Classics live recording.

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  20. Three images from the British Library archive. The first is an illustration of two people walking in the snow, the second is the cover of a book till "The Railway Traveller's Walk Through Oxford and the third is of the person on a path gathering flowers.

    Paths Through Britain

    Nicholas Crane, Phoebe Smith and Chris Butterfield explore ancient routes, the enduring power of walking, and the landscapes that shape us.

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  21. Photo of a selection of cakes, biscuits and desserts from Honey & Co.

    The Honey & Co. Daily Afternoon Tea

    A special event with Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich to launch their latest cookbook, Honey & Co. Daily.

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  22. Photographs of Neneh Cherry and Andi Oliver

    Neneh & Andi: 45 years of Friendship, Family and Food

    With Neneh Cherry and Andi Oliver.

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  23. Minority Writes: How Queer Books and Bookshops Changed the World

    Layla McCay and AJ West join Damian Barr for a celebration of queer books and bookshops.

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