Margate Bookie

Margate Bookie The friendly litfest by the sea! The Margate Bookie is a registered charity (no.
1174819) which works to encourage a love of literature.

A nine-day festival in marvellous Margate
Big name authors, creative writing workshops, poetry slam, children’s events, book launches, school visits, literary walks, podcasts. We have held a literary festival in Margate every August since 2015. Lovingly looked after by Andreas Loizou.

One thing we really love during Margate Week is how many people stick around after our evening events to continue the co...
03/12/2025

One thing we really love during Margate Week is how many people stick around after our evening events to continue the conversation. We love bringing book lovers together. Here is a selection of photos from this year.

A new addition to the festival this year was the Bookie Pub Quiz at the Shakespeare pub. It was such a fun night and a g...
26/11/2025

A new addition to the festival this year was the Bookie Pub Quiz at the Shakespeare pub. It was such a fun night and a great way to mark the mid-point of the programme. Thanks so much to the pub for hosting us and for Rachel Adkins for being such a great quizmaster.

Author Kathryn Clark photographed at this year’s Margate Bookie Schools Day at the Turner Contemporary.Schools Day is al...
19/11/2025

Author Kathryn Clark photographed at this year’s Margate Bookie Schools Day at the Turner Contemporary.

Schools Day is always a highlight of Margate Bookie for us. With the kind support of Thanet Rotary, we are able to invite local school children to meet published authors and learn more about what it takes to be a writer. They are also able to take away a free copy of a book by the authors they meet.

Kathryn Clark published her debut YA novel Things I Learned While I Was Dead in July this year. In the book, 17 year old Calico hopes to save her younger sister Asha’s life by having them both cryogenically frozen until medicine can cure her. But when Calico is brought back to life, she’s in a post climate catastrophe, low-tech future trapped in a research facility. And worst of all – Asha is missing.

In her sessions, Kathryn spoke to the children about her own background and her journey to becoming an author, as well as leading a discussion on the themes brought up in her book.

📸 Will Bastin

Author Felicity Epps photographed at this year’s Margate Bookie Schools Day at the Turner Contemporary.Schools Day is al...
18/11/2025

Author Felicity Epps photographed at this year’s Margate Bookie Schools Day at the Turner Contemporary.

Schools Day is always a highlight of Margate Bookie for us. With the kind support of Thanet Rotary, we are able to invite local school children to meet published authors and learn more about what it takes to be a writer. They are also able to take away a free copy of a book by the authors they meet.

Our first speaker at this year’s Schools Day was Broadstairs-based author Felicity Epps, who published her debut novel for young adults, A Grave Inheritance, in July this year - the first in a supernatural murder mystery series called the Society of Free Spirits published by Hachette. 

Felicity guided children from the Royal Harbour Academy and King Ethelbert schools through writing their own murder mysteries.

📸 1-4, 6 & 10 David Baboon / 5 & 7-9 Will Bastin

Thank you to Dan Broni and The School of Life for delivering a different sort of event for our final session in the Turn...
12/10/2025

Thank you to Dan Broni and The School of Life for delivering a different sort of event for our final session in the Turner programme. The Secrets of Successful Friendships really sparked some interesting conversations. Next up, we end Margate Bookie 2025 with our walking tour from the Turner to the Shakespeare pub.

Women by the Sea with Jacqueline Crooks and Xiaolu Guo. A wonderful session that turned into a thought provoking and ins...
12/10/2025

Women by the Sea with Jacqueline Crooks and Xiaolu Guo. A wonderful session that turned into a thought provoking and inspiring conversation with the audience about the draw and influence on creativity of the sea.

Absolutely riveting talk from Adam Weymouth about his 1000 mile walk across the Alps tracking a Slavc the wolf for his l...
12/10/2025

Absolutely riveting talk from Adam Weymouth about his 1000 mile walk across the Alps tracking a Slavc the wolf for his latest book Lone Wolf.

The latest 14 Anthology has officially been launched. Great to hear most of the poets featured in the magazine read thei...
12/10/2025

The latest 14 Anthology has officially been launched. Great to hear most of the poets featured in the magazine read their work:

Sophia Argyris
Clare Best
Neil Douglas
Naomi Foyle
Lisa Kelly
Fiona Larkin
Mary Mulholland
Alasdair Paterson
Rowan Reddington
Marina Scott
Emma Simon
Ziqi Yan
Richard Skinner reading Evalyn Lee

Thank you!

Big Weekend day two has begun! As the 14 Anthology launch gets underway, we thought we’d take this moment to say a huge ...
12/10/2025

Big Weekend day two has begun! As the 14 Anthology launch gets underway, we thought we’d take this moment to say a huge thank you to our MC Paul Dornan, providing a warm welcome and introduction to all of our speakers across the weekend. Thank you Paul!

TODAY AT MARGATE BOOKIEWhat a brilliant day we had yesterday! Four brilliant Big Weekend talks full of insight and anecd...
12/10/2025

TODAY AT MARGATE BOOKIE

What a brilliant day we had yesterday! Four brilliant Big Weekend talks full of insight and anecdotes, finishing with the brilliant Jay Rayner. And the Children’s Bookie upstairs was just a joyful place to be.

We’re back again today for the final day of Margate Bookie 2025. There’s still time to grab some last minute tickets - don’t miss out!

Book tickets at margatebookie.com

BIG WEEKEND

10.30AM: 14 ANTHOLOGY
14 Anthology is an annual poetry magazine devoted to poems of fourteen lines only and is published by Vanguard Editions. Join us for the launch of this year’s edition.

12PM: ADAM WEYMOUTH
Adam Weymouth shares the behind-the-scenes story of his latest book Lone Wolf. The record of a 1000 mile walk across the Alps in the footsteps of a wolf, Adam throws unique light on Europe’s mountainous hinterlands at a moment of political and environmental change. 

1.30PM: WOMEN BY THE SEA
Join authors Xiaolu Guo and Jacqueline Crooks for a lyrical and thought-provoking conversation on migration, creativity, and coastal life.

3PM: THE SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL FRIENDSHIPS
The School of Life is a global organisation helping people lead more fulfilled lives..  

CHILDREN’S BOOKIE

10.30AM: PABLO AND SPLASH
Get ready for a hilarious and creative comic book event as audiences join time-travelling penguins Pablo and Splash on their adventures; an unexpected visit to the age of the dinosaurs, a race back to the frozen ice age, and, in their next adventure, a trip to Ancient Rome!

12PM: DINOSAUR THAT POOPED DRAW-A-LONG
Join illustrator Garry Parsons for a dinosaur draw-a-long. Learn how to draw the start of the Dinosaur That Pooped series, written by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter.  

1.30PM: FUNNY POEM WRITING - FREE!
Write your own funny poems with AF Harrold, author of The Pocket Book of Pocket Poems.

3PM: A NATURAL HISTORY OF BUMS - FREE!
Where do bums come from? Why are they important? Do all animals have a bum? Why are bums so funny? Join Margate’s own Crab Museum as they attempt to answer most of these questions.

Book tickets at margatebookie.com

Thanks to Jay Rayner for closing day one of our Big Weekend at the Turner. Some amazing stories! We’ll be back again for...
11/10/2025

Thanks to Jay Rayner for closing day one of our Big Weekend at the Turner. Some amazing stories! We’ll be back again for the final day of Margate Bookie 2025 tomorrow. See you then!

Mayor of Margate Katie Pope meeting illustrator Ben Collin at the Children’s Bookie. And the Mayor and Mayor’s Consort S...
11/10/2025

Mayor of Margate Katie Pope meeting illustrator Ben Collin at the Children’s Bookie. And the Mayor and Mayor’s Consort Saffery Lee perusing the Tales On Moon Lane children’s bookshop with ten year old Theda.

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The Rendezvous
Margate
CT95RH

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