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As the nights draw in, you know that Cheltenham Literature Festival is just around the corner...

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THE Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival returns from October 10 to 19 with a must-see line up across more than 400 events.

The world’s longest-running literature festival continues to lead the way in celebrating the written and spoken word, and world-famous names will sit alongside brand-new voices, emphasising the festival's commitment to look towards - and help create - the future.

Here's just a taster of who and what you can see...

Acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie joins an elite list of winners in receiving The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2025. At the festival, she discusses her career and latest novel, Dream Count, a publishing event 10 years in the making. Last year’s Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey reflects on her remarkable career and novel Orbital. In conversation with Max Porter, they discuss their experiences of winning the Booker Prize and the evolving landscape of contemporary fiction. There will also be an introduction to this year’s Booker Prize Shortlist, with the six authors joining in person and virtually.

Ian McEwan discusses his latest fictional tour de force What We Can Know, reclaiming the present from our looming sense of catastrophe, and imagining a future where all is not quite lost. Two master storytellers come together to discuss their historical epics: Kate Mosse on the 20th anniversary of Labyrinth; and Ken Follett on latest novel Circle of Days, telling the human story behind the building of Stonehenge.