Dorchester Literary Festival

Gyles Brandreth – Somewhere a Boy and a Bear – A Biography of A A Milne and Winnie-the- Pooh
2025-10-25 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | The Dorford Centre, 2 Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR, United Kingdom
Next year marks the centenary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh, one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. Best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth knew the real Christopher Robin and his new book is both an intimate and revealing biography of A A Milne (to whom there was so much more than Pooh) and a fascinating exploration of fathers and sons, children and their parents and the nature of childhood itself.

Gyles Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, actor, former MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and one of Britain’s most sought-after award ceremony hosts and after-dinner speakers. A star of Celebrity Gogglebox, a veteran of QI and Have I Got News For You, a reporter on The One Show, a presenter on Pointless, a guest on Would I Lie to You? and Sunday Brunch, a regular on This Morning, and since the 1980s one of the mainstays of Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4, his recent books include a biography of Queen Elizabeth II: Elizabeth: an intimate portrait – an immediate Sunday Times No 1 best-seller.

Tickets £32 including a copy of the book. £46 for two tickets including one book. Friends discount applies to ticket only.

Jonathan Sumption – The Challenges of Democracy
2025-10-25 14:30 - 15:30 | The Dorford Centre, 2 Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR, United Kingdom
Across the globe, democracy is in crisis – in the UK it has been rocked by Brexit, the pandemic and successive attempts by governments to bypass legal norms. But how did this happen, and where might we go from here? In a provocative series of essays, former Supreme Court judge and Sunday Times-bestselling author, Jonathan Sumption cuts through the political noise with acute analysis of the state of democracy today – from the vulnerabilities of international law, to the deepening suppression of democracy activism in Hong Kong, and from the complexities of human rights legislation to the defence of freedom of speech.

Timely, incisive and wholly original, The Challenges of Democracy applies the brilliance of the ‘cleverest man in Britain’ to the most urgent and far-reaching political issue of our day.

Jonathan Sumption is a British judge and historian, who served as a Supreme Court Justice from 2012 – 2018. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Trials of the State, Law in a Time of Crisis, and Divided Houses, which won the 2009 Wolfson History Prize.

Jonathan Sumption will be in conversation with Jo Durrant.

Tickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)

Jeremy Vine – Murder on Line One
2025-10-25 18:30 - 19:30 | The Dorford Centre, 2 Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR, United Kingdom
Darkness looms over sunny Sidmouth, when an unsolved murder comes to the attention of late-night radio talk show host Edward Temmis.

Recently sacked from his beloved job after a devastating tragedy, Edward is cast adrift – until he meets Stevie, whose grandmother, a devoted listener, died in a suspicious fire last year. Well, nobody hurts his listeners and helping Stevie might just give him the purpose he needs.

Joined by his old fling, Kim, they discover Stevie’s grandmother wasn’t the only one of his listeners targeted – this is just the tip of the iceberg.

But who is pursuing his ageing audience and why? And can Edward, Stevie and Kim get to the bottom of this mystery before it’s too late?

Jeremy Vine is a journalist and broadcaster who reaches millions of listeners and viewers per week. He hosts a daily breakfast show on Channel 5 and a peak slot on BBC Radio 2 every lunchtime, presenting news, views, interviews and popular guests on Britain’s most listened-to radio news programme. He has previously hosted Eggheads, Points of View, Crimewatch and Panorama among others, and presents the general election infographics. His early obsession was with Agatha Christie, after his mum gave him Hercule Poirot’s Christmas when he was eleven. By eighteen he had read all sixty-six Agathas, but he waited forty years to write about his first murder. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time, he rides a penny farthing.

Tickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)

Martin Clunes – Meetings With Remarkable Animals
2025-11-12 17:30 - 18:30 | The Dorford Centre, 2 Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR, United Kingdom
Please note that this event has been rescheduled for 12th November. Existing ticket holders can email contact@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com if they are unable to make this date and wish to request a refund.

Inspired by Martin Clunes’ own adoption of a former guide dog, Meetings With Remarkable Animals celebrates the fascinating, moving and sometimes astonishing ways animals have enriched our lives. From search and rescue dogs to mine-sniffing rats, and life-saving dolphins, to therapy horses and medal-winning cats and pigeons, the stories brought to life will charm, surprise and astonish in equal measure.

Together with his own life-changing encounters with animals around the world, Martin has celebrated the intelligence, loyalty, and companionship of some truly extraordinary creatures whose lives have been entwined with our own.

Martin Clunes has been a familiar and much-loved face on our television screens since the 1990s. Alongside appearing in hit shows like Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin, he has presented numerous documentaries from around the world including Lemurs of Madagascar, Islands of the Pacific and A Dog Called Laura. He was awarded the OBE in 2015 for his contribution to drama, charity and the community in Dorset where he lives with his family and lots of animals.

Tickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)

Poetry Slam with Angie Porter
2025-11-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Shire Hall Museum Cafe, High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UY, United Kingdom
An open mic event for local writers and poets.

Join us to hear poets read and perform their work. To sign up to participate at this event please contact us directly via contact@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com or just come along and listen.

Angie Porter is a local poet, performer and painter who brings creativity to the fore in whatever she does. Her monthly She Speaks poetry slams are hugely popular and Angie is actively involved in promoting new poetry work.

Tickets £6.00
