More than 3,400 people attended this year’s Ealing Book Festival, with organisers reporting record visitor numbers following an expanded five-day programme across the borough.
The 2026 festival, which ran from 29 April 2026 to 3 May 2026, sold almost 3,000 tickets — up from 1,900 in 2025 — while a further 300 pupils and teachers took part in schools events. Organisers said the inaugural Family Day on 9 May 2026 at Southall’s Dominion Centre also helped boost attendance figures.
The festival, now in its third year, featured 26 events which included a number of high-profile authors and speakers including Anthony Horowitz, William Boyd, Jung Chang, Simon Jenkins and Mary Portas.
Eleven events were held at Ealing’s University of West London, where talks by former student Jung Chang and novelist William Boyd drew the festival’s biggest audiences to date.
The university also hosted the festival’s Local Authors’ Showcase, where 20 local writers presented their work to an audience compered by radio presenter Jojo Silva. Organisers said more than 70 authors applied for a place this year.
Other venues included Questors Theatre and Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery.
Catherine Jaquiss, chair of Ealing Book Festival, said: “We are delighted with the positive response from authors, audiences and schools to Ealing Book Festival 2026. It has been really exciting and rewarding to work with new partners and in new ways this year as we continue to bring reading and the joy of books to audiences across Ealing and beyond.”
