If you're a bookworm or a budding author, then your radar will be twitching for a literary or book event while on your travels. Hit back and relax as The Wise Traveller takes you on a world of festival discovery in 2026.
Taipei International Book Exhibition, Taiwan
February 3-8
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TIBE is a leading book fair that showcases the Asian market packed with events, book signings, author dialogues, and performances. It features over 364 publishing houses, 31 countries, and 61 professional rights meetings. For its 34th edition, Thailand is the guest of honour, with the event centred on the theme "Reading is Amazing".
TIBE combines exhibits, sales and interactive events, showcasing Taiwan's thriving publishing industry and featuring pavilions designed around contemporary issues. The children's pavilion is set up like a food market, with stalls each featuring books on specific topics. Each book is paired with a dish, from vegetables to desserts, encouraging children to peruse a well-rounded selection of books that can help them grow, as a balanced, nutritional meal does.
The digital pavilion uses sound with the theme "voices from the pages," integrating artificial intelligence to transform readers' voices into digital trees, while the Taiwan comics pavilion centres on the idea of chasing celebrities, characters and products, inviting readers to follow comics like they would idols. The literature area will be themed around travelling through books.
Charleston Festival, Lewes, England
May 13–25
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Charleston was the modernist home and studio of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and a gathering for the Bloomsbury Group, some of the 20th century's most radical artists, writers and thinkers.
The 37th edition brings together artists, writers and performers to entertain, provoke debate, fuel the imagination and explore pressing issues in a schedule of over 60 talks and performances.
This year's Festival includes acclaimed spoken word performer, poet, and recording artist Kae Tempest; writer, actor and comedian Jennifer Saunders; award-winning cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason; human rights barrister Philippe Sands KC; international bestselling author Tayari Jones; and Scottish novelist and screenwriter Irvine Welsh, best known for the novel Trainspotting.
Hay Festival, Wales
May 21-31
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One of the most innovative festivals on the international literature circuit, this Festival, held in the pretty rural setting of Hay-on-Wye, attracts 300,000 visitors annually. Founded in 1987, the Festival has attracted attendees over the years, including former US president Bill Clinton.
This year’s event is launching The Pleasure List campaign for the National Year of Reading, crowdsourcing reading recommendations for new readers to help combat falling literacy rates.
Hay Festival has also revealed 45 earlybird events which highlight a dynamic programme of 600+ events while serving up a strong blend of entertainment, debate and creative inspiration.
Award-winning novelists will share new work, including Ocean Vuong (The Emperor of Gladness), Maggie O'Farrell (Land), Douglas Stuart (John of John), Ruth Ozeki (The Typing Lady), and Elizabeth Strout (The Things We Never Say).
Genre takeovers will celebrate the most popular fiction genres: Crime Day on 26 May leads with bestselling crime writer Val McDermid who joins author Fflur Dafydd; Graphic Novel Day on 27 May is led by cartoonist Neill Cameron and a spectacular Phoenix Comic Book Draw-Off; Arts Day on 28 May is led by art critic Katy Hessel and art historian Daisy Fancourt with The Art Cure; and Fantasy Day on 29 May is led by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season) and Saara El-Arifi (Faebound) on the power of otherworldly fiction.
Public figures will also open their personal libraries in a new series of My Life in Books events with chef, writer, Great British Bake Off presenter and fashion icon, Prue Leith and adventurer Bear Grylls sharing their favourite books, among others.
Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair, Malaysia
May 29-June 7
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Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (KLIBF) marks its 44th anniversary with this year's annual celebration of literature and culture. As one of the largest book fairs in Southeast Asia, the event attracts over 1 million visitors each year to browse a diverse array of publications, engage with authors, and participate in various cultural activities.
The fair is a platform for book lovers, publishers, and authors to connect and exchange ideas. Visitors can expect a wide range of programming, including book launches, seminars, workshops, and cultural performances.
Hosted at the World Trade Centre KL, KLIBF will feature more than 1,000 booths featuring local and international publishers and booksellers.
Norwegian Festival of Literature
June 1-7
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If you are seriously into Norsk crime noir and enjoy the mesmerizing landscapes, the Norwegian Festival of Literature, in Lillehammer is for you. Details of this summer's Festival are in the works, but if 2025's week-long event is anything to go by, it should be a real treat.
The Festival, celebrating its 30th anniversary, attracted over 30,000 people in 2025 and featured 400 writers and artists, and related events, such as readings, panel discussions and concerts.
Gothenburg Book Fair, Sweden
September 24–27
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The Gothenburg Book Fair is a prominent annual literary event. Launched in 1985 as a conference for librarians with 5,000 visitors the first time, the fair is now the second-largest book fair in Europe, attracting around 100,000 visitors and 900 exhibitors.
The fair serves as a vibrant meeting point for authors, publishers, and readers, showcasing a wide array of literary genres and themes. There are seminars, discussions, and workshops that encourage dialogue about literature and its role in society.
The 2026 Fair will highlight Popular Adult Education, the Nordic tradition of non-formal, community-based learning that strengthens individuals, fosters democracy, and promotes lifelong learning.
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), Bali
October 21-25
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Held annually, the Ubud Festival has gained international acclaim since its inception in 2004. Founded by Australian author Janet DeNeefe as a response to the 2002 Bali bombings, the Festival aims to promote healing and cultural exchange through literature and the arts.
Celebrated as Southeast Asia's leading Festival of words and ideas, UWRF attracts a diverse lineup of around 170 writers, artists, and thinkers. It features a rich programme of panel discussions, workshops, live performances, and intimate literary lunches.
This year's event will see international and Indonesian creatives contributing to a rich schedule of conversations, panels, workshops, performances and book launches, including emerging voices, with ten selected Indonesian writers.
Charleston Literary Festival, South Carolina, US
November 6-15
For more details, click here.
Charleston Literary Festival is a ten-day boutique literary festival with an international edge. With an emphasis on world-class literary programming, it is unparalleled in the US as a centre of literary excavation, innovation, and celebration in a powerfully evocative historic location.
The festival’s details are still to be announced but previous speakers include: Claire Keegan, Walter Isaacson, George Saunders, Adam Gopnik, James Shapiro, Patrick Radden Keefe, Jean Hanff Korelitz, Ben Okri, Colm Tóibin, and Joyce Carol Oates.
Andy Probert is a freelance journalist whose work about global travel news, aviation, business and human-interest features has appeared internationally in print and digital formats.
