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Isle of Wight Literary Festival: Friday

Friday’s Isle of Wight Literary Festival programme in Cowes includes Robert Hardman, A N Wilson, Jill Dougherty and Penny Junor.

Past event · Friday 9 October 2026

These are the historical details. If this event returns in 2027, the new details are not published yet.

Browse the October 2026 archiveSee current events

Friday is a full day of literary conversation in Cowes. The Isle of Wight Literary Festival’s advertised programme includes Robert Hardman, A N Wilson, Jill Dougherty, Penny Junor and Megan Jacobs. Subjects and speakers vary, so pick your sessions rather than treating the day as one long event. Talks take place at several festival locations around town, and the venue printed on each ticket matters, especially if you’ve booked sessions back to back.

The first listed session starts at 11am on 9 October. The ticket page shows one starting at 4.30pm, but we haven’t given a finish time for the day because the length of that last session may vary. Tickets are sold per session at different prices, so check the live TicketSource listings for current costs and remaining seats. Leave time to walk between venues in case a talk overruns or you want to stop for food. Without a car? The Red Jet runs to Cowes.

At this scale, a community cultural event can fill a whole day. One carefully chosen talk works just as well. Access arrangements may differ between venues, so contact the festival if you need seating or step-free information for a particular session. The festival programme has the wider line-up. For each booking, your ticket confirmation has the address and arrival instructions. Check for changes before you set out.

Organised by Isle of Wight Literary Festival