John Cooper Clarke, Grace Dent, Hamza Yusuf, Katie Piper And Mishal Husain Headline Bradford Literature Festival 2025

Bradford Literature Festival (BLF), one of Europe’s most inclusive and innovative cultural celebrations, returns for its 11th year from 27 June - 6 July 2025 with an expansive and eclectic programme designed to spark dialogue, delight audiences, and welcome visitors into the heart of a newly transformed city centre.

Founded in 2014, the festival set out to create a destination cultural event that would promote literacy, attract visitors from across the UK and beyond, and change the national perception of Bradford by showcasing the city’s rich heritage, vibrant communities, and creative potential. BLF has played a pivotal role in shaping Bradford’s cultural and civic landscape, helping to secure the city’s place as UK City of Culture 2025 and supporting the now-completed regeneration of the city centre.

This year’s programme builds on record-breaking momentum from 2024, when over 155,000 attendees from 24 countries took part in 699 events, a 34% rise in attendance from the previous year.

Headliners for 2025 include:

• John Cooper Clarke, the legendary punk poet, who reflects on his extraordinary life before delivering a blistering live reading of his most iconic work.

• Grace Dent, in conversation with Nisha Katona, launching the Big Tasty Read, a national celebration of food, literature and community, in partnership with the Reading Agency, BBC Arts and Bradford 2025.

• Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, one of the world’s leading Islamic scholars, appearing in a landmark event exploring compassion and sacred history.

• Katie Piper, who shares her empowering new book on ageing, resilience, and redefining life’s milestones.

• Mishal Husain, BBC broadcaster and journalist, who will discuss her powerful new memoir Broken Threads, tracing her family’s journey through empire, independence, and identity across India, Pakistan, and Britain.

They will be joined by Steph McGovern, journalist and activist Ash Sarkar, politician Jeremy Corbyn, actor Larry Lamb, comedian Jessica Fostekew, poet, academic and musician Anthony Joseph, and comedian, actor and writer, Robin Ince.

Reflecting the breadth and complexity of our times, BLF has become a platform for tough discussion on some of the most pressing issues on the global news agenda. This year debates tackling pressing issues, include Gaza 2040: Imagining the Future, Freedom of Expression: Who Gets to Speak?, Islamophobia Now, and The Great Unravelling: Democracy & Development in the Age of Populism. The festival’s distinctive approach combines wide public appeal with unique and often underrepresented perspectives.

This year’s key themes include Art and Architecture, Faith, Mysticism and Philosophy, Poetry, Neurodiversity, History, Nature and Citizenship as well as programming around 250 Years of Jane Austen. Doha Debates returns to BLF for a second year with a town hall discussion on the future of national identity and the nation state, with Wael Hallaq, Shashi Tharoor, David Engels and moderated by Malika Bilal.

As always, BLF’s programme offers more than talks and panels. A wide array of events are open to the public, from exhibitions and comedy nights to heritage walking tours and live performances and film screenings. Highlights include four free Family Fun Days in City Park, and a wide-ranging showcase of visual culture. From superhero storytelling and manga drawing workshops, to behind-the-scenes TV writing masterclasses and very special screening of David Attenborough’s Ocean with a talk from co-creator Colin Butfield, the festival welcomes attendees of all ages and interests.

This year’s festival will also feature a selection of exciting book launches, including Liz Mistry’s Deadly Reckoning, the latest gripping instalment in the Solanki and McQueen crime series, and Pauline Brown’s Diego’s Team, a heartwarming tale of kindness, courage and alpacas, perfect for children and families.

Each year, BLF brings together communities from across the region and around the globe. Its Ethical Ticketing Policy and deep community outreach mean that 89% of audiences accessed the 2024 programme for free, and 61% of audiences have household incomes below the UK average. With 53% ethnically diverse audiences and 55% ethnically diverse artists, the festival’s commitment to representation remains at its core.

Founder and Artistic Director Syima Aslam said: “Bradford Literature Festival was founded on the belief that culture is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. At a moment rich with possibility for reimagining how we live, learn, and listen to one another, we remain committed to offering space for reflection, dialogue, and creativity. This year’s programme is our most ambitious yet: a bold, joyful, and deeply thoughtful celebration of ideas, imagination, and identity. BLF continues to be shaped by the communities we serve—international in scope, proudly rooted in Bradford, and grounded in the principle that everyone deserves access to culture, no matter who they are or where they come from. This year, we are also especially proud to celebrate Bradford’s designation as the UK City of Culture 2025—an accolade that reflects the vibrant cultural landscape and creative energy the festival has helped to nurture and shape over the years."

Over the past 11 years, BLF has hosted 3,484 events, welcomed 3,544 artists, and reached nearly 710,000 people — including 270,000 children and young people through its free-to-access Education Programme, the largest of any UK festival. In 2025, the programme continues to expand, offering live shows, author workshops, and curriculum-linked sessions for Key Stages 2–4, with the goal of embedding creativity and critical thinking into every child’s learning journey.

As the city steps into the national spotlight as the UK City of Culture, BLF stands as a proud ambassador of Bradford’s new era — rooted in its community, open to the world, and determined to offer cultural experiences that are inclusive, imaginative, and fiercely relevant.

For more information and to book tickets, visit: www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk