Mere Literary Festival

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Mere Literary Festival

We are pleased to confirm that the 2026 Mere Literary Festival will take place from 12th to 18th October.

Plans are already underway, and we look forward to sharing more about the programme in the months ahead. Each year, in October, residents of the small town of Mere in Wiltshire, along with their friends, get together to put on a Literary festival to support the local Linkscheme charity. Ably organised, as it has been from its inception in 1997, by Adrienne Howell, and staffed by volunteers, the fe

stival uses the talents of a combination of local writers and performers, and those from the international stage, to put on a variety of talks, workshops and shows. The festival caters for a wide range of interests including events for children, and audiences are drawn from those living in this rural district and visitors to the town, among them those shortlisted or commended in the biennial open poetry competition. Everyone is assured of a warm welcome to Mere, which nestles below downland on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. Visitors can explore winding lanes, woodland tracks or longer walks on Castle Hill with stunning views of the Blackmore Vale and Mere Downs as well as enjoy the Literary Festival events.

28/05/2026

Reading shapes so much of everyday life, yet for many adults, reading has never felt easy.

In episode three of the Mere Literary Festival podcast, we’re joined by Lydia and Marion from Read Easy Blackmore Vale North for a thoughtful conversation about adult literacy, confidence, and the quiet work being done in local communities to help people learn to read without judgement.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or here: www.mereliteraryfestival.com/podcast and if you’ve enjoyed listening today, we’d love it if you subscribed to the podcast and left us a quick review. It helps more people find these conversations and supports the festival enormously. Thank you for listening.

18/05/2026

We are delighted to launch our 2026 Mere Literary Festival Children’s and Young People’s Writing Competition. Last year we received some excellent entries and had some great winners. We hope you will send in your best, most interesting and imaginative writing.
This year, our theme is "Adventure". You can write using this theme in any way you like: it can be a story, a poem, a description or an account of how you think about it.
www.mereliteraryfestival.com/mere-literary-festival-childrens-and-young-peoples-writing-competition

14/05/2026

What's on the MLF committee's reading list this May?

We love seeing the variety each month, and we're just as curious about what you're reading. Drop your current book in the comments below 📚

29/04/2026

In the second episode of our podcast, Festival Director Ashley Gray joins John Fitzgerald at The Brush and Broom on the outskirts of Mere to discuss the vital role that the Mere & District Link Scheme plays in the community. They discuss the importance of volunteers, of access to local hospitals and pharmacies and the long relationship between the charity and the Mere Literary Festival.
Listen to their conversation here: www.mereliteraryfestival.com/podcast/mere-district-link-scheme or wherever you get your podcasts

09/04/2026

Here's what our committee members are reading this April. We'd love to see the variety on YOUR shelves too. Tell us what you're currently reading in the comments 📚

27/03/2026

Independent bookshops are doing more than selling books.

They are shaping reading communities, championing authors, and holding their ground in a difficult retail landscape.

In our first episode of the Mere Literary Festival Podcast, we speak with Hunting Raven Books about what it takes to run an independent bookshop today and why these spaces still matter.

It’s an honest look at the role bookshops play in connecting readers, supporting writers, and keeping literary culture rooted in local communities.

Listen to the episode here: https://mereliteraryfestival.com/podcast/winstones-hunting-raven-books-frome/

12/03/2026

Oh so lovely to see our group of volunteers at a special event held just for them last night 🥂

They play a vital part during Festival week (12th -18th October, mark it on your calendar 😉) and we cannot manage without them!

If you would like to join our team of volunteers, please send Rosalind an email at: [email protected]

05/03/2026

March reading recommendations from our committee. 📚We’d love to know what’s on your reading list this month - please let us know in the comments!

01/03/2026

It’s always wonderful to see where the festival’s fundraising makes a difference.

Thanks to the support of everyone who attended Mere Literary Festival 2025, we were able to donate funds to Mere Preschool, and we’re delighted to see their new blinds now in place.

Every ticket bought, every event attended, helps support local causes. Thank you for being part of it.

20/02/2026

We’re delighted to welcome Ashley Gray as the new Festival Director of the Mere Literary Festival.

Ashley joins us at an exciting time for the festival, building on its strong foundations and community spirit. With a passion for literature and bringing people together, he’s looking forward to shaping the next chapter and continuing to celebrate both established and emerging writers here in Mere and from the Blackmore Vale to the Vale of Wardour.

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