Brian Jackman - Lion Song
| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 10.30 am |
| Where: Bull Ballroom |
Brian Jackman - Lion Song
| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 10.30 am |
| Where: Bull Ballroom |
Julian Baggini - The Book of Coffee - A Philosophy
Julian Baggini has long been fascinated by the philosophical ideas behind how we eat and drink. The chance discovery in Tokyo of a copy of The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura (published in 1906) led him on a journey to explore our relationship with coffee. In The Book of Coffee (co-authored with James Hoffmann), Baggini considers how a humble bean transformed global commerce and fuelled the European Enlightenment, continuing to influence the way we work and socialise. What can the world’s favourite hot drink teach us about the art of living? Ticket price includes a freshly brewed cup of hot coffee and a biscotto, served within the delightfully informal setting of Mercato Italiano. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 10.30 am |
| Where: Mercato Italiano |
Amy Jeffs - Arthur - A New Life
Historian, artist, musician and author of the Sunday Times bestsellers Storyland and Wild, Dr Amy Jeffs turns her focus to Britain’s most enduring legend. Known for bringing ancient folklore to life through meticulous research and her own beautifully bold line drawings, Jeffs gives fresh form to a story we only think we know. Drawing from early medieval Welsh, Latin and French sources, she strips away Victorian romanticism to resurrect an earlier, earthier Arthur: a warlord raised by fairies, leader of the Wild Hunt and monster-slayer. Journeying from deep forests to the underworld, Jeffs explores how these ancient stories were continually reshaped to serve the political needs of their day. In conversation with the writer James Crowden. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 12 noon |
| Where: Bull Ballroom |
Amanda Craig - High and Low
Few novelists capture the “state of the nation” better than Amanda Craig, who we’re delighted to welcome back to the festival. High and Low is the latest in her gripping and eagle-eyed depictions of Britain today. Set in a six-hour timeframe, a small group of writers, bakers and shopkeepers are under siege from an armed mob. Inside a café, they have nothing but books and flour to defend not just themselves, but a child being hunted by a gang. This is a fascinating novel about moral choices made in extreme situations. What do we owe strangers, neighbours or even our enemies? Amanda Craig is the author of 10 novels, including A Vicious Circle, The Three Graces, Hearts and Minds and The Lie of the Land. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 1.30 pm |
| Where: Bull Ballroom |
Judith Mackrell - Artists, Siblings, Visionaries - The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John
Acclaimed biographer and former Guardian critic Judith Mackrell examines the entwined lives of two artistic giants. While Augustus achieved early fame as a bohemian prodigy, his reclusive sister Gwen combined a devotion to her subtle portraits with a series of obsessive romantic affairs in Paris. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Mackrell’s exceptional dual biography explores their fierce sibling rivalry, shared obsession with absolute creative freedom and complex private lives. She reveals how two strikingly different personalities, reshaped British art. Chaired by Gill Pyrah.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 3.00 pm |
| Where: Bridport Arts Centre |
| Sponsored by: Bettina & Michael Pescod |
Tobias Ellwood - Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three
Putin’s Russia at the throat of Ukraine. War across the Middle East. China seeking leadership of the Global South. Nuclear-armed rogue states. The world is closer than it ever has been to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. So how worried should we be? In conversation with former BBC correspondent Andrew Cassell, politician and military veteran Tobias Ellwood introduces his book Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three. Drawing on his frontline service in the Royal Green Jackets and his experience as a defence minister and chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, Ellwood and asks what the west can do to avert the unthinkable.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 4.30 pm |
| Where: Electric Palace |
| Sponsored by Barry Mawhinney | Helen & Andrew Carless |
Debbie McGee - A Magical Life
Famously, and cruelly, the comedian Caroline Aherne asked Debbie McGee: “What attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?” But the ultimate magician’s “assistant” has had the last laugh. Her self-described “first and only” memoir depicts a rich and varied life. A dancer by trade, she spent time at the Royal Ballet School before joining Iran’s national ballet – having to flee the country during the revolution. While she is universally recognised as Daniels’ wife, few people know she was the first woman to be admitted to the Magic Circle. One of the great showbiz survivors talks to journalist Teddy Jamieson about her life on and off stage, facing breast cancer, coping with the public loss of her husband, and finding a new fanbase through Strictly.
Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 6.30pm |
| Where: Electric Palace |
Martin Maudsley - Common Threads
Storyteller and writer Martin Maudsley weaves together a performance piece specially commissioned for the festival, mixing folklore, oral history and personal experience. Since moving to Dorset in 2013, Martin has been researching, recording and re-imagining stories about Bridport and its surrounding landscapes. Drawing on many of these colourful strands, Common Threads is a spoken word tapestry of living voices and traditional heritage, delivered for the first time in the newly renovated workshop space of Oxenbury’s Yard. A passionate praise-song to town and country, people and place. “Martin is a master craftsman, telling old tales with new resonance”, Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival. Priority booking opens Friday 28 August, while general booking opens on Friday 11 September. Become a Friend today and enjoy two weeks of priority booking, giving you first access to the programme. Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901.| When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 8.00 pm |
| Where: Oxenbury’s Yard |