Borderlines Carlisle Book Festival 2026
Twelve author, poetry and family events take place at Old Fire Station, Tullie and Cakes and Ale from 20 October to 8 November 2026.
Tuesday 27 October 202619:30–20:30Old Fire Station, Tullie and Cakes and Ale
AgeMost events all ages; Animal Antics is aimed at ages 3 to 8
FormatMulti-venue talks, readings and family activities
Duration1h
Tickets fromDigiTickets
OrganiserBorderlines Book Festival CIC
Choose a performance
11 upcoming
Charlie Higson and Vaseem Khan in Conversation
Doors 19:00 · £12; under-25 discount
Poetry Open Mic Night
Free; ticket required
Tom McNally and David Felton: Forty Fells
£10; under-25 discount
Animal Antics with Jake Hope
£4 child; book a free adult ticket
Monisha Rajesh: Moonlight Express
£10; under-25 discount
Sarah Hall: Helm, the Gwenda Matthews Talk
£10; under-25 discount
Charlie Walker: On Thin Ice
£10; under-25 discount
Karen Lloyd: Earthworks
£10; under-25 discount
Alistair Moffat: Assassins and Secret Listeners
£10; under-25 discount
Nicola Wilding with James Rebanks: These Wild English
£10; under-25 discount
Tea and Cake with Kirstie Pelling
£12 including refreshments; under-25 discount
Worth It
A compact, thoughtful city festival with strong Cumbrian links. The Saturday and Sunday Tullie programme makes it practical to combine several talks in one visit.
The programme opens with the separately listed Lee and Andrew Child event on 20 October, followed by Charlie Higson and Vaseem Khan on 27 October. The main festival weekend runs from 6 to 8 November with a free Poetry Open Mic, Cumbrian landscape and nature writing, travel, history, children's stories and fiction.
Ticket prices range from free to £22. Most one-hour Tullie talks cost £10. Under-25 savings are shown on the individual official listings; choose the correct concession when booking.
The parent Event holds eleven programme occurrences in this pack. Lee and Andrew Child remains a separate canonical Event and is linked rather than duplicated. Live capacity varies by session.
Accessibility
Access varies by venue. Assistance dogs are welcome when arranged in advance. Cakes and Ale has a step-free side entrance on Long Lane. Contact borderlinescarlisle@gmail.com before booking if an adjustment is essential.
Weather plan
Indoor events, but allow extra travel time between venues in poor weather.
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Read more about this event
Borderlines Carlisle Book Festival 2026: Line-Up, Tickets and Parking
Borderlines Carlisle Book Festival runs from 20 October to 8 November 2026 with twelve events at Old Fire Station, Tullie and Cakes and Ale.