Familiar faces feature among star-studded festival line-up

Ilkley Literature Festival has announced its 2025 lineup and there's some very famous faces.

- by Nicola Adam

A host of household names, including politicians, national treasures, journalists, novelists, historians, comedians and academics, head to the spa town across 17 packed days in October from Friday 3 to Sunday 19.

Tickets go on general sale on Tuesday August 26 (priority bookings opened for Friends of the Festival on Wednesday August 20).

Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister now president, global affairs, at Meta, opens the festival with a look at the state of the internet with his book, How to Save the Internet.

A star of the global literary scene, Wild Swans author Jung Chang, brings the followup to her epic personal history that defined a generation.

Audiences can spend an evening with the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, as he reads from his two new poetry books, Dwell and New Cemetery.

The ever-intrepid Michael Palin transports audiences to South America, with an account of his travels in Venezuela, and festival favourite Gyles Brandreth discusses his book Somewhere, A Boy and A Bear marking the centenary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh.

Lady Hale, the former president of the Supreme Court, brings an eyeopening event on the British justice system.

Hot topics also include an insight into the Post Office scandal with subpostmaster Jo Hamilton.