The Queen's Reading Room Festival

The Queen’s Reading Room is delighted to announce the return of its flagship literary festival – designed to celebrate the joy of reading and bringing together some of the greatest literary names of today. Join us on the 19th and 20th September for a weekend of talks with wonderful writers in the stunning grounds of Chatsworth in Derbyshire.

This year, we’ve expanded our programme across two days to bring you as many fantastic speakers as possible. Our star-studded headliners include:

Clare Balding | Harlan Coben | Lee Child | Meg Mason | Elif Shafak | Cecelia Ahern | Louise Penny | Ann Cleeves | Jeffery Archer | Kate Atkinson | William Boyd | Jessie Burton | Reeta Chakrabarti | Daisy Fancourt | Lucy Foley | Jane Harper | Philippa Perry | Jennifer Saint | Nussaibah Younis | Louisa Young | Louise Kennedy

All authors will have book signings after their talks, giving you the chance to meet your heroes, ask your burning questions and get yourself a signed copy.

Beyond our brilliant authors, we’ve packed our programme with even more entertainment, all of which is included in the Festival Pass.

We’re bringing back the highly popular Writers’ Room, with interviews from authors, publicists, editors and literary agents to inspire budding writers among our audience – delivering insights into the publishing industry and hopefully inspiring you to pick up your pens!

The Poetry Room, kindly supported by the T.S. Eliot Foundation, is also included in the Festival Pass and will provide a relaxed and engaging space celebrating poetry with a line-up of live readings and close-up conversations with poets and great lovers of poetry.

Festival passes will include entry to Chatsworth House itself, its spectacular 105-acre garden and farmyard, and its new exhibition House of Stories: Tales from the Chatsworth Library, bringing together literary treasures for the Chatsworth Library and Archives for the very first time.

We believe that books and stories belong to everyone, no matter who you are or what you read. We also know that cost can be a barrier to attending literary events. This year, a selection of Festival Passes and tickets to individual talks will be available at a reduced rate of £3 through Chatsworth’s Universal Credit Scheme.

We’re also proud to continue our partnership with The Elm Foundation, a Derbyshire based organisation supporting survivors of domestic violence. At last year’s festival, Her Majesty Queen Camilla joined a conversation around how reading can assist in wellbeing and recovery. Visitors to the Festival at Chatsworth were invited to donate books which were later distributed to The Elm Foundation. You can find out more about our work bringing books and shared reading programmes to vulnerable communities here.

We hope you’re able to join us at Chatsworth on the 19th and 20th September. Our world-class literary event forms part of our mission to encourage everyone to make room for reading in their lives.

And while you wait, we’ve got a fabulous treat for you. Every week during the month of April, we’ll be releasing one of our brilliant sessions from last year’s festival, featuring some of our favourite authors.

Enjoy!

The Queen’s Reading Room Festival has established itself as one of Britain’s most celebrated literary events, bringing together world-class live programming with grassroots community initiatives to celebrate the transformative power of books.

Since its inception in 2023, the festival has sold over 20,000 tickets and attracted audiences from across the globe, with visitors travelling from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to experience spell-binding performances set against some of the country’s most breathtaking historic surroundings. Her Majesty The Queen has attended every year, meeting authors, actors and readers alike, and demonstrating her enduring commitment to championing literature and literacy.

The inaugural festival took place at Hampton Court Palace in June 2023, featuring unforgettable performances from Dame Judi Dench and a stellar lineup including Ben Macintyre and Philippa Gregory. The festival returned to Hampton Court in 2024, where Helena Bonham Carter, Miriam Margolyes, Ian Rankin, Lee Child and Ann Cleeves delighted audiences.

In 2025, the festival moved to its stunning new home at Chatsworth in Derbyshire, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. The programme featured Dame Jilly Cooper, Helen Fielding, Richard Osman, Julia Quinn and many more, whilst garden screenings of Pride and Prejudice celebrated the estate’s famous role as Mr Darcy’s Pemberley.

Beyond the headline performances, The Queen’s Reading Room Festival is committed to ensuring books reach those who need them most. In 2025, the charity partnered with local domestic violence charity The Elm Foundation, with Her Majesty joining a discussion on reading and mental health led by Professor Sam Wass. All books donated at the festival were distributed to Elm Foundation service users, demonstrating that great literature belongs to everyone.