Ipswich Book Festival

2-4 October 2026

Venues for 2026 are still to be finalised.
We deliberately choose a mix of historic, cultural and unexpected spaces to encourage exploration of Ipswich. This strategy creates a festival atmosphere across the whole town. Past venues include:

  • The Hold

  • DanceEast

  • St Stephen’s Church

  • The Ipswich Institute

  • The Unitarian Meeting House

  • Ipswich Library

  • A Routemaster bus on the Cornhill

  • A vacant Superdry unit in a shopping centre

New map
coming soon
for 2026

The Venues

131 Fore St
Ipswich
IP4 1LR

Friars Street
Ipswich
IP1 1TD

Civic Drive
Ipswich
IP1 2AS

Northgate Street
Ipswich
IP1 3DE

Jerwood Dance House
Foundry Lane
Ipswich
IP4 1DW

13 Tower Street
Ipswich
IP1 3BE

The Ancient House

30 Buttermarket
Ipswich
IP1 1BT

St. Clement’s Arts Centre

Fore Street
Ipswich
IP1 1JZ

Ex Superdry Retail Unit

Buttermarket Shopping Centre
Ipswich
IP1 1SL

St. Stephen’s Church

St. Stephen’s Lane
Ipswich
IP1 1DP

A bus on the Cornhill

Cornhill
Ipswich
IP4 1DL

CHIp Studios

16 Turret Lane
Ipswich
IP4 1DL

  • "Great to see vibrancy and culture in the town!"

    Festival participant, 2025

  • "The variety of interesting venues around Ipswich was a really good idea."

    Festival participant, 2025

  • "Ashley Hickson-Lovence on the bus at the Cornhill Sunday was magical."

    Festival participant, 2025

  • "The volunteers were all really welcoming and helpful, great publicity and mapping of events."

    Festival participant, 2025

  • "Brilliant atmosphere. It was nice to see lots of smiling faces."

    Festival participant, 2025

Accessibility & Inclusivity

Still have questions? Please reach out at anytime. If you’re feeling ready, go ahead and register for a workshop.

Your Questions, Answered