Hertford Club Literary Festival

Applications are now open to authors, speakers and musicians to join the line up for the 2025 Hertford Literary Festival! Taking place on Friday 4th & Saturday 5th July 2025. If you are interested in taking part then fill in the form and we'll be in touch. https://www.hertfordlitfest.co.uk/guestforms

Starting tomorrow! Check out our full line up at hertfordlitfest.co.uk

FREE entry and all inquisitive minds welcome! 🙂

Join Pat, Peter and Mike at 2pm on Friday 5th July for our Songwriters Sessions. Learn what inspires them to write and compose.

Then from from 8pm on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th July Pat hosts an evening of musical entertainment.

Take a journey back in time to the 1500’s when Lombard House, now better known as The Hertford Club, was occupied by the Tooke family.

John will be giving a fascinating talk about the history of the shields on the central fireplace opposite the front door of The Hertford Club.

Entry to the festival is free!

Join us from 7pm on both nights of the festival for a spot of poetry! has invited people from all walks of life to join him to perform their own (or other) poetry. Daren’s own poetry is playful, imaginative, amusing and inventive. A local poet and spoken word artist Daren has been writing for over twenty years.

Free entry to the festival on both days!

Quiet Man film fans! As part of this year’s festival we’ve organised breakfast and a fan talk by film expert Des MacHale on Saturday 5th July.

For just £21, join us for a sumptuous breakfast at the Hertford Club on Saturday 5th July at 9am, followed by a stroll round the corner to The Quiet Man pub for a fan-based talk by film expert, Professor Des MacHale at 10.30am

Enjoy the first pint (or glass) of the day while we live-stream Des from Cork, Ireland and listen to his fascinating insights on this wonderful, classic film. A must for any Quiet Man fan.

Pop into the Hertford Club to purchase a ticket.

The rest of the festival is completely free!

Join us on Friday 5th July as we kick things off with the wonderful Sara Challice.

After giving up her career to look after her husband full-time when he became ill, Sara became unwell from the continuous stress of caring. She then found new ways to regain her health and enjoy life again. Sara joins us on the first day of the festival to share her story and the positive ethos she now lives her life by.

Remember it’s FREE ENTRY and all are welcome.

The full festival line up...and more! Check out our latest newsletter

Will you join us for breakfast? Prof. Des MacHale; The Quiet Man Breakfast & Fan Talk Saturday, 6th July, 9am How to Become a Quiet Maniac Join us for a sumptuous breakfast at the Hertford Club on the Saturday morning at 9am, followed by a stroll round the corner to The Quiet Man pub for a fan-based talk at 10.30, by film expert,....

Join Dave at 1.30pm on Friday 5th July and visit his pet rats who reside in his attic. A bizarre metaphor for what will surely be an interesting talk about the scribbles and notes jotted in his creative mind.

Remember the festival is FREE and open to all.

Guess who is bringing the sunshine to the Hertford Literary Festival this summer on the 5th and 6th July‽ Our very own Jerk Chicken Man. will be serving authentic Jamaican dishes on both days of the festival. Happy days :)

Remember it’s FREE entry to the festival, and you can keep up with the latest on our fantastic line up of guests, performers, musicians and poets by signing up to our newsletter via the website hertfordlitfest.co.uk ☀️

joins us at the Hertford Literary Festival on the Saturday to tell the tale of Agent Zo; the incredible story of courageous resistance fighter Elżbieta Zawacka, also known as Elizabeth Watson but more often as ‘Zo’.

Clare is an author and historian primarily focused on women’s experiences during the Second World War. Recently appearing on the BBC series The Rise of the N***s, as well as Newsnight and The One Show.

Rewiring The Matrix with Matt Stroud on Saturday the 6th July at 2pm. Join Matt on our Garden Stage as he explores the imminent convergence of three critical drivers of our future - data, artificial intelligence, society’s intricate social graph, and warns of a looming crisis that threatens to challenge the very foundations of liberal democracies.
Be prepared to think differently!
Remember entry to the Hertford Literary Festival is FREE!
Subscribe via the website for updates. Hertfordlitfest.co.uk

Join Aoife on Friday 5th July at 3pm as she speaks candidly about her journey over the past year discovering her estranged fathers past. From his experiences being kidnapped and tortured by the Provisional IRA to learning of his passing, Aoife tells the tale of her father’s life and the fascinating and sometimes harrowing journey her exploration has led her on.

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil is the 7th Marquess of Salisbury and lives in Hatfield House, home of the Cecil family since 1611.

Lord Salisbury will be joining us on Friday 5th July at 4pm to talk about the history of the House and the Estate as well as setting out his hopes and aspirations for the future.

Remember it’s free entry to the Hertford Literary Festival. All inquisitive minds welcome! Sign up to the newsletter on our website. Hertfordlitfest.co.uk

Carly was the first person in the UK to receive a prescription for herbal Cannabis privately since the law change in 2018. She now advocates for patient access to Medical Cannabis as director of Cancard .

We’re thrilled that Carly can join us on Saturday 6th July at 4pm to talk about her extraordinary journey… and her hopes for the future.

Remember entry to the Hertford Literary Festival is FREE! Sign up to our newsletter via the website and keep up to date.

Www.hertfordlitfest.co.uk

Richard’s grandfather, Sir Lionel Faudel-Phillips was the last owner of Balls Park, the Grade I Listed mid-17th-century house in Hertford. The estate and house are set in over 63 acres of parkland and has been claimed to have been the inspiration for Netherfield in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.

Richard is currently writing the family history during the time they lived there, between 1880-1945 and is joining us on Friday 5th at 5pm to talk about this fascinating subject.

So here we go! Delighted that Helen Lederer is joining us at this year’s festival to talk about her book ‘Not That I’m Bitter’ on Saturday 6th July at 6pm.

Helen is probably best known for her role as the dippy ‘Catriona’ in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ alongside Jennifer Saunders in all six series and more recently in ‘Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie’.

will be talking to Helen about her book, life and everything in between. Join us on 5th and 6th July for the 6th annual Hertford Literary Festival at the The Hertford Club

Keep up to date and subscribe via our website for the latest news. www.hertfordlitfest.co.uk

We're delighted to announce that as part of this year's festival we are organising a weekend trip to Co. Mayo, Ireland to take the award winning tour of The Quiet Man filming locations. It's a must for any Quiet Man enthusiasts! From 28th - 30th June 2024.

Spaces are expected to go quickly so do fill in our Quiet Man excursion form on our website if you are interested in coming along.

The Quiet Man Tour | Hertford Lit Fest 28th - 30th June 2024. As part of this year's festival we are organising a weekend trip to Co. Mayo, Ireland to take the award winning tour of The Quiet Man filming locations, a must for any Quiet Man enthusiasts.

We are really happy to announce that the Hertford Literary Festival will be taking place on 5th and 6th July 2024. AND we have a new website where you can find out more, watch videos from the 3023 festival and keep up to date with all the latest for the 2024 festival. Do take a look! www.hertfordlitfest.co.uk