Join us for a look back at the end of the Second World War 80 years ago this year, with a particular focus on VJ Day (15 Aug 1945) but also looking at VE Day (8 May 1945).
We welcome any reminiscences you are happy to share with us, or memories relating to the end of conflict that have been told to you by parents or grandparents.
Tea and coffee provided, and adults of all ages welcome.
From trams to buses and cars to trains and bikes, come share your memories- good and bad - of transport in Leeds past and present.
Open to adults of all ages, with contributions from our curatorial staff. Hot drink and biscuits provided.
Free, no booking required.
Open to musicians, students and fans wanting a behind-the-scenes-peek at one of the UK’s foremost jazz labels — join us for an informal conversation with Edition Records, as they discuss working with some of the international jazz scene’s leading lights, and what goes into releasing Jazz nationally and internationally in 2025.
Join us for an in-conversation with Gemma Styles. To talk about mental health and Gemma’s debut book ‘Why Am I Like This’.
Gemma Styles is a published author, award-winning podcaster, eyewear brand founder and mental health advocate with more than 14 million followers across her platforms including over 10 million on Instagram alone.
An exclusive one-off event showcasing the legendary White Rabbit Books, purveyors of some of the best books about music and pop culture in recent memory.
Join us for a special panel event with White Rabbit supremo Lee Brackstone, writer, poet, cultural critic and memoirist Adelle Stripe and the one and only David Keenan, author of the cult classic This Is Memorial Device and several other works of genre-bending fiction and non-fiction.
This is our showpiece event for Leeds LitFest 2025 and is not one to be missed.
But: Life Isn't Like That, Is It? is the new book by Boff Whalley, musician, author, and a founding member of the anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba and commoners choir.
These stories are about real lives and real people - stuttering, wayward, disjointed, funny, ridiculous and unplanned.
Boff will be at the beautiful Mill Hill Chapel to talk about, and sing, the stories that make up the book.
Lucy Vine is a writer, editor and the bestselling author of novels Hot Mess, What Fresh Hell and Are We Nearly There Yet?
Laura Wood is an academic and a writer. She is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children's Writing and the author of the Poppy Pym series.
They’ll be talking romance with Rebecca Ryan, who will be moderating our event.
Florence Grimes is a 31-year-old party girl who always takes the easy way out. After a dismal end to her girlband career, she's living in West London, single, broke and unfulfilled with only her son Dylan to keep her afloat. But then Alfie Risby, the ten-year-old heir to a frozen food empire and Dylan’s school rival, mysteriously vanishes on a class trip, and Dylan becomes a prime suspect.
In Wild Women Writing the North, author and poet Rachel Bower is in conversation with poet, academic and folklorist Professor Emily Zobel Marshall. Rachel will talk about, and read from, her debut novel It Comes from the River (Bloomsbury) as well as her new poetry collection, Bee (Hazel Press). Emily will share her insights and also read from her first poetry collection, Bath of Herbs (Peepal Tree Press).
Join Christopher R. Moore (Leeds Poetry Festival Award 2023, Frances Browne Literary Festival Award 2024) for a short lecture on sports, A. E Housman, and the surprising importance of single-syllable words in poetry.
This will be followed by a workshop, which will explore setting, voice, and poetic structure through a series of unique and collaborative prompts.
You will also have the opportunity to perform and receive feedback on the poems created in this workshop. What Have You In Your Heart is designed to help you create cleaner, braver poetry.