Liverpool Book Festival Christmas Special – BOXPARK, 15th November 2026

Events

Liverpool’s largest book festival is back, this time with a Christmas Special at BOXPARK Liverpool on the 15th of November 2026.

This is the fourth edition of the festival, and the organisers have made sure the authors, traders and musicians are different, so that there will be plenty of new things to see. It’s also taking place just as people start thinking about Christmas shopping, so it could be a good place to find presents for the book lovers in your life.

So what’s going on on the day?

More than 60 authors will be chatting and selling their books, giving visitors the chance to discover new writers, buy signed copies and meet the people who wrote them.

Some familiar faces will be there, including:

Comic book legends Tim Quinn and Kev Sutherland
SAS veteran Rusty Firmin
Celebrity chef Dave Critchley
Comedian Stan Boardman
Podcaster and activist Shaun Attwood
Poet Joseph Roberts
Bestselling authors Jane Costello and Caroline Corcoran

There will also be artisan stalls selling a mixture of artsy and bookish products, with bakers, makers and creators from across Liverpool taking part. You can even have a live portrait done while you are there. BOXPARK’s street food vendors will be open too, so there will be plenty of food and drink available.

A programme of talks will be taking place in the BeatBox conference room too. These include:

Book launch and poetry with Ged Thompson
Book launch and poetry with Joseph Roberts
A conversation with Jane Costello and Caroline Corcoran
Hard Time with podcaster and activist Shaun Attwood
First Contact with the Matses Tribe with Lewis Powell
Q&A with celebrity chef Dave Critchley
Q&A with Alison Schultz about her new book and living with MS
Q&A with ‘Lightning Man’ Campbell Gillespie
Q&A with Jude Lennon and Maggie Foggarty
Panel discussion with Maddison House Press

That’s quite the varied schedule, with everything from poetry and publishing to cooking, life with MS, the Matses people and stories from Shaun Attwood.

There will be live music throughout the day as well.

Tickets and Prices

The one day festival takes place between 11am and 5pm. The video above is from the summer edition, but gives you an idea of the vibe.

Tickets cost £12 for adults, while anyone under the age of 18 can attend for free.

There will obviously be other things to spend money on once you are inside, like books for one, as well as food, drinks and products from the artisan stalls, but £12 for six hours of authors, talks and live music is very good value.

Liverpool Book Festival has previously been featured by BBC News and finished third in the Event/Festival of the Year category at the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards, so it has done pretty well for an event that only launched in 2025.

Well worth a visit!