Bridport Literary Festival | Friday 13 November
Event Details
The 22nd Bridport Literary Festival 2026 is Saturday 7 – Saturday 14 November and will bring a varied and exciting programme of events to lighten the dark days of Winter. A true celebration for all those who read books and love literature.
Day Seven: Friday 13 November
Event 52 | Peter Stanford | Gaudi
10am The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF
Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
Today Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished basilica, La Sagrada Família, welcomes five million visitors a year. Yet its creator died in a pauper’s hospital after he was hit by a tram and mistaken for a tramp. What led him to this fate?
Even in the centenary year of his death, much about this unworldly genius remains a mystery. Telegraph writer Peter Stanford tries to make sense of it, treading in the great man’s footsteps from the Catalan countryside to industrial Barcelona, a city in which Gaudi was at once a loner and a celebrity.
This revelatory biography explores how the tragedies and triumphs of Gaudi’s life connect, and how the architect’s work drew on his religious faith. He talks to broadcaster Gill Pyrah.
Event 53 | Luke Pepera | Motherland
11.30am at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF
Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
For centuries, Africa’s kaleidoscopic history has been viewed through a narrow, often colonial lens – but its true heritage spans an astonishing 500,000 years.
Join historian, archaeologist, and broadcaster Luke Pepera as he discusses his ground-breaking book, Motherland. A brilliant presenter of his subject, Pepera brings to life a remarkable cast of characters, from the wealthiest rulers of the ancient world to fierce warrior queens who defeated the Romans.
Moving effortlessly between ancient empires and modern pop culture, he reveals how African history shapes our world today. “Wonderful and illuminating … an essential readˮ, Simon Sebag Montefiore.
Event 54 | Mary Berry | Mary All In One
1pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY
Tickets: £18.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Electric Palace
Join broadcaster and cook Dame Mary Berry in conversation with the author and food writer Lucy Brazier.
This event marks the publication of Mary: All in One, a collection celebrating effortless, one-dish cooking. Alongside these new recipes, from chicken tartiflette to strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, the discussion will trace Mary’s journey from her classic Cordon Bleu training in Paris during the 1950s to her decades spent teaching Britain how to cook and her time as a judge on The Great British Bake Off.
An intimate and lively hour in the company of a woman who for over half a century has helped shape the way the nation gathers round the table and made us all aware of our “soggy bottomsˮ.
Event 55 | Patrick Gale | Love Lane
3pm at The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NY
Tickets: £16.50 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Electric Palace
One of Britain’s best-loved storytellers returns to Bridport Literary Festival to talk about his beguiling new work of fiction, an epic portrait of what it means to make a home spanning three generations of one family.
Although it’s a standalone novel, Love Lane features one of Gale’s most memorable characters, Canadian farmer Harry Cane, protagonist of the
Costa Award-shortlisted A Place Called Winter. Forced to sell up on the prairies and return to a Britain transformed by two world wars, he receives a mixed reception from his family. Can Harry make a new life for himself or will he be cast out again?
Patrick talks with fellow novelist Raffaella Barker. “A tender, delicately devastating novelˮ, Sarah Waters
Event 56 | Catherine Carr | Who’s the Favourite?: The Loving, Messy Realities of Sibling Relationships
4.30pm at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF
Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
Ever wondered if parents really do have a favourite child? BBC radio presenter, podcaster and producer Catherine Carr unpacks one of family life’s last remaining taboos. Stripping away the guilt and secrecy surrounding the subject, she’ll be diving into the dynamics of parental bias.
Carr explores why favouritism happens, how it affects both the chosen and the sidelined child, and the unexpected ways these early dynamics dictate our romantic relationships and even career choices as adults. It promises to be an eye-opening, hilarious and perhaps liberating hour. Chaired by Mary Morris. “Truly enlightening, charming and movingˮ, Jane Garvey
Event 57 | Andrew Wood | Noble Nine
5pm at Mercato Italiano, Unit 3B Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 5BU
Tickets: £20.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
Join plant biologist and wine expert Dr Andrew Wood upstairs at Mercato Italiano for a fascinating look at the world’s most popular drink. Andrew introduces his book Noble Nine, which explores the history and science behind the nine “nobleˮ grape varieties that have traditionally dominated wine racks.
He shares the human stories behind every bottle, from 18th-century French peasants discovering sweet Sauternes by accident, to how modern science is protecting our greatest vineyards from climate change.
This event will offer a fresh perspective on how botany, climate and culture intertwine in every glass. Tickets include a glass of wine or soft drink and table snacks.
Event 58 | Panel | Future Rural
6pm at at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF
Tickets: £10.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
What might the countryside of tomorrow look like? That’s the question asked in Future Rural, a new collection of essays published by Little Toller.
Roger Mortlock, Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, will be joined by some of the contributors including Kim Squirrell and Sophie Gregory. Together they will explore how climate change, nature recovery, housing needs, farming and, above all, creative thinking are reshaping rural Britain.
A lively and timely conversation that celebrates the power of writing to inspire change, offering an optimistic, imaginative vision of the landscapes, communities and stories that will change the countryside for future generations.
Event 59 | Lesley-Ann Jones | Tanya Bruce-Lockhart Event | David Bowie’s Hunkydory Live
8pm at Oxenbury’s Yard, Gundry Lane, Bridport DT6 3RL
Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online via our Ticket Page
Lesley-Ann Jones has a very personal perspective on David Bowie. As a schoolgirl, she first came across him when he was just Davie Jones. It was before he was famous. But, in suburban Beckenham, Kent, he was already a local hero.
One day she and a friend knocked on his door. He answered in a dirty yellow kimono and invited them in for tea. She was charmed. While Bowie would go on to global stardom, she would become one of the UK’s leading music journalists, her early experiences informing her acclaimed biography, David Bowie: Hero.
In this event, introduced by Jamie Giles, Lesley-Ann will lead the audience through Bowie’s iconic 1971 album Hunkydory track by track, using each song to offer insight into his life and work.
Having worked as a showbusiness correspondent, Lesley-Ann Jones became a full-time author in 1997 and has written more than twenty books about the music industry, including works on Freddie Mercury, John Lennon and Marc Bolan. This event will be followed by a drinks reception for friends of Tanya Bruce-Lockhart.
In association with Clocktower Records
More information about the festival can be found at http://www.bridlit.com