Tickets now on sale for the 2026 Bournemouth Writing Festival! Masterclasses, agent 121s, talks, walks and much, much more!
See the programme here
Venues
All events are in venues within Bournemouth Town Centre and are within a ten-minute walk of each other.
The Festival Hub will be at Pavilion Dance (which houses three of our talk spaces), plus Patch (where our Children's Activities and Writers' Hive will take place), Palace Court Theatre, Marsham Court Hotel, Russell-Cotes Museum and Horseshoe Common.
Bournemouth Town Centre
Writing activities and events are happening in Bournemouth Town Centre over the three-day festival.
As well as our main venues (see map below), networking and informal events are happening in cafes and restaurants across the town centre. Please check the relevant programme pages for details.
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Arrive by bus - Many buses stop along Westover Road and The Square, so are very close by to our main venues. Check out the bus timetables and routes here.
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Arrive by train - Bournemouth Train Station is 1.5 miles away - or a 30-minute walk. Take a bus or taxi into the town centre.
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Arrive by Taxi
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Arrive by car - we encourage you to use other transport options, but if you do drive there are extremely limited on-street parking options. Please use the pay-and-display or NCP car parks dotted around the town centre.
Pavilion Dance
Pavilion Dance is a charity arts centre located next to the Lower Gardens and is at the rear of the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre.
The Bournemouth Writing Festival will be making use of several of its spaces on all three days, including:
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A 180-seat theatre
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A 50-seat Seafront studio
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A 50-seat Garden studio
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Information Desk
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Speaker's bookshop
The garden studio is on the first floor and is accessible via a lift.
It is ideally suited for public transport, with all major bus routes stopping very close by.
Numerous car parking options are available within walking distance.
The majority of tickets for the festival (whether at the Pavilion Dance or our other venues) will be puchasable through the Pavilion Dance ticketing portal. Buy gift vouchers here for events, talks and 1-2-1 sessions.
Patch
(1st Floor of Bobbys)
Located on the 1st Floor of Bobbys Department Store, Patch is a brand-new co-working space.
On Saturday 25th April, all of our children's free drop-in activities and ticketed workshops will take place here.
On Sunday 26th April, writing panels will happen in their Academy Room and the open-plan area will host our Writers' Hive.
The entrance to Patch is on the lefthand side of Bobbys, by the Parlour Cafe.
Horseshoe Common
Our free Poetry Marquee will be located on Horseshoe Common. There will be regular performances plus drop-in activities on both Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
The Marquee will be next to Turtle Bay restaurant.
Palace Court Theatre
The Palace Court Theatre, owned by Arts University Bournemouth, will be holding talks through the day on Saturday and Sunday. It is located on Hinton Road, just a few minutes walk from the Pavilion Dance.
To find out more about the Palace Court Theatre click here.
Please note that electric/molbility scooters are unable to enter the theatre.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
The Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum will be our relaxing area for attendees to digest and decompress. Ideal for festival-goers who need space to unwind and relax.
Free, chilled and hosted drop-in writing activities will take place throughout the weekend, including for beginners (Saturday morning) and people with dementia (Sunday morning).
Plus, our masterclasses will take place in the new conservatory with stunning sea views.
Marsham Court Hotel
Our literary agent 121s will be in The Snug of the award-winning Marsham Court Hotel. Please arrive at reception at least 15 minutes before your timeslot and a festival volunteer will meet you.
