Book lovers packed into Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery and the University of West London (UWL) as the Ealing Book Festival returned for its second year, drawing over 1,900 attendees across four days of literary celebration from 24 to 27 April 2025.
With a programme spanning talks, workshops, walking tours and poetry recitals, the festival showcased a blend of high-profile and emerging voices.
Fiction writers Hanif Kureishi, Elif Shafak, Andrew O’Hagan, Tracy Chevalier, Abi Daré and Natasha Brown were among the headliners, while non-fiction highlights included Observer art critic Laura Cumming, music producer and author Joe Boyd, historian Anne Sebba, architect Ben Pentreath and suburban observer Simon Pollock.
Guardian correspondent Lanre Bakare led the inaugural Huntley Archive Talk, honouring Eric and Jessica Huntley’s trailblazing Black bookshop in West Ealing. Meanwhile, poetry was front and centre, with performances by Roger McGough and James Pendle and a workshop by local poet Narvir Singh.
Local voices were at the heart of the programme. Twenty published writers from across Ealing and its seven towns gathered for a local authors showcase giving readers a chance to connect with the borough’s literary talent. The authors were given two minutes to ‘pitch’ their book to a capacity crowd and hopefully persuade audience members to add a copy to their bookshelves.
The evening, hosted by Capital Xtra’s early breakfast presenter Jojo Silva – who is a huge advocate for reading, especially among younger age groups – included pitches for children’s books, crime fiction, non-fiction, dark comedy, poetry and historical drama inspired by true events.
Alongside this, a workshop on the journey to publication provided insight from across the literary landscape, with contributions from Curtis Brown agent Gordon Wise, bestselling novelist Alex Gerlis, debut author Nussaibah Younis, and Simon & Schuster UK’s publicity director Sabah Khan.
Children’s events, led by Ealing resident Sam Copeland and author-illustrator Steve Antony, proved popular. Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq fronted the first schools’ event at the University of West London with 170 children attending in person and others tuning in online. The Mayor of Ealing attended the awards for the children’s poetry and illustration competition, with winning entries set to go on display.
Chair Catherine Jaquiss said: “We had aimed to build on the success of the inaugural 2024 Ealing Book Festival, but this year’s festival exceeded all our expectations. From the outstanding lineup of established and emerging writers to the incredible support from our local community, partners, sponsors and volunteers, we couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved.”
Ms Jaquiss added: “This is a volunteer-led event, and we’re deeply grateful to our 51 volunteers who generously gave their time to make it happen. With the 2025 festival now complete, we’re already turning our thoughts to the next edition.”
Hanif Kureishi praised “a great occasion with a lovely audience”, while Anne Sebba called it “a wonderful experience”.
Planning is already underway for 2026.
