What's on
One Hundred Years of Reading
Colombia through its greatest novels.
WriteBack: An Evening of Writers Off Duty
Writers to speak on topics of their own choosing.
Words Across Waters: Afro Lit Fest
Experience the power of words, rhythm and culture at a bold new literature festival celebrating voices from Africa, the Caribbean and the global diaspora.
The PEN Pinter Prize 2025: Leila Aboulela
The annual award for writing and freedom of expression.
Oscar Wilde: The Legacy of A Scandal
The extraordinary story of Wilde’s reputation after his death. With Merlin Holland and Rupert Everett.
Books in their Elements: Print Culture in the Age of Climate Change
The Panizzi Lectures 2025, delivered by Professor Isabel Hofmeyr.
The Wordsworth Lecture: Romantic Ecology Rebooted
with Jonathan Bate.
Queer Fantasy
An evening with Juno Dawson, Samantha Shannon, Tasha Suri and TJ Klune.
Tales of the Weird: An Autumnal Festival
The return of the British Library’s celebration of strange, uncanny and horrifying writing.
World Wide Weird: Mariana Enríquez and Mona Awad
A special event to close Tales of the Weird: An Autumnal Festival.
Screening of African Apocalypse
The forgotten victims of colonial atrocity in a film from the award-winning director, Rob Lemkin.
Heart of Conrad
Joseph Conrad in Contemporary Culture.
Wild About Jane Austen: The Woman Behind the Novels
An energetic exploration of a writer for our times.
Darkland Tales: Benbecula
Booker-nominated Scottish author Graeme Macrae Burnet shares the research behind his newest work.
The W.G. Sebald Lecture 2025: Elif Shafak
The annual lecture on literary translation.