Tickets are now on sale for this year's South Warwickshire Literary Festival (SWLF), which "promises to be the most exciting and expansive" edition so far.

The 'local festival for local authors' will take place on Saturday 20 September at the Fold in Leamington Spa, and offers an "incredible" day of speeches and workshops.

At the core of the festival is the main hall programme, which will host a variety of talks, performances, and interviews with local authors and poets as well as book stalls and general networking opportunities.

Entry to the main hall is included in all ticket types and features:

• Self-publish like a pro, with Siân Smith
• Romantasy and fantasy discussion, with Kerry Williams & Ellie Tilley
• Co-writing, with Alison May & Janet Gover
• Horror fiction, with G J Phelps
• Thrillers with Mark Edwards
• Closing author panel Q&A

The main hall will also have live readings from the winners of the Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate and the SWLF writing competitions, and an open mic at lunchtime.

Alongside the main programme, there will also be a series of workshops:

• Romance writing, with Alison May
• Writing crime fiction, with Paul Gitsham
• Graphology, with Christina Strang
• An overview of memoir and creative non-fiction, with David Muir
• Flash fiction, with Michael Loveday
• Global poetry, with Emilie Lauren Jones
• Children's fiction writing, with Kay Brophy
• Developing characters, with Gabrielle Mullarkey

Not only that, new for 2025 is the chance to book one-to-one sessions with a selection of local experts, for tailored, personal advice and development:

• Agent query package, with Beth Ferguson
• Poetry feedback and strategy focus, with Gwyneth Box
• Manuscript feedback and strategy focus, with Shelley Wilson
• Handwriting analysis session, with Christina Strang
• Pitching your crime novel, with Paul Gitsham
• Non-fiction editorial feedback, with Siân Smith
• Writing for magazines, with Ann Evans

Entry to the main festival programme is £22. Tickets to the workshops are £32, while one-to-one sessions are £70 - both include admission to the main hall.

There is also the option of purchasing an all-inclusive festival package - which covers a one-to-one session, a workshop, and the main programme - for £90.

All ticket types are now available at www.southwarwickshireliteraryfestival.com. 

In an "exciting addition" for the 2025 festival, this year there will also be two evening fringe events. Both will take place at 1 Mill Street in Leamington from 7pm.

First, enjoy a lively summer evening of literature and laughs on Thursday 12 June with authors Dr Adam Sharp and Sarah Jane Downing in the company of compère and journalist Jo Durrant.

Then, on Thursday 18 September - just a couple of days before the main Festival - join a special evening of readings and talks from well-travelled local authors Caroline Mills, Pauline Crame and Dr Helen Liebling.

Tickets for each evening session are £22.50 and are available at www.southwarwickshireliteraryfestival.com. 

Festival Director Jacci Gooding was thrilled to finally be able to reveal the lineup for this year's Festival.

She said: "I'm so proud of the schedule we've been able to pull together for this year's Festival, which will absolutely be the biggest and best one yet!

"It's so exciting to see our Festival grow year-on-year, and the addition of both the one-to-one expert sessions and the evening fringe events really enhance what we have to offer.

"I can't wait for it to happen now - roll on September!"