Thanks to all our stallholders, speakers and visitors who made this such a special event! We hope to see you again at another OxIA event!
Wallingford Literary Festival 2026
The 2026 OxIA Wallingford Literary Festival – supported by Wallingford Bookshop, Wallingford Town Council and Wallingford School – will be held on Saturday, 3rd October 2026 from 10am to 4pm in several venues around Wallingford: St. Mary’s Church, the Methodist Church, the Library and the Corn Exchange.
Book session tickets!
All the sessions and workshops are free, but booking is recommended as numbers are limited.
https://www.ticketsource.com/oxford-independent-authors-oxia
The literary festival will provide a selection of stallholders in both locations that are independent authors (self or small press traditionally published) or businesses supporting the independent author sector. This will be supplemented by a series of children’s workshops at St. Mary’s Church and adult focused talks at the Methodist Church.
Wallingford Literary Festival will also be the next opportunity to celebrate the OxIA Short Story Collection, which we launched at our Wolvercote Literary Festival earlier in the year.
Venues and Supporters
St Mary's Church, Wallingford is one of our venues for the festival, with stallholders and children's workshops.
The Methodist Church is one of our venues for the festival, with stallholders and adult focused talks.
The Library is the venue for a children's workshop.
The Corn Exchange is the venue for a crime writers' panel.
Wallingford Bookshop is supporting the Festival.
Talks & Workshops
Sessions for adult readers and aspiring authors
Wallingford Methodist Church
10:20 – 11:05 Wallingford as a literary town and its association with Agatha Christie With Actor, Author and local councillor Marcus Harris and local crime writer, Colin Wade.
11:10 – 11:50 Book Launch Special If you are looking for something new, this is for you. Local authors Jacquii John, Amanda Roberts, Charles Boundy, Peter Howlett, Sue Cox and Sue Clark, talk about their latest releases.
11:55 – 12:55 Sifting fact from myth in historical fiction and non-fiction writing With local authors Amanda Roberts, Charles Boundy, Alex Proudfoot and Carolyn Kirby, the session will explore what can at times be a murky line between historical fact and myth, and how we navigate in our books.
13:00 – 14:15 Wellbeing and Resilience – How Sharing Stories Can Help With local authors Michelle Hammond, Dr Cathy Wield, Gilly Mulford & Dr Julie Paine.
14:20 – 15:30 Experiences of Writing, Publishing and Selling With local authors Mary McClarey, Sue Whisstock and Kath Crew. Joined by Publisher Andy Severn, we explore different aspects of writing, publishing and selling.
Corn Exchange, Wallingford
14:30 – 15:30 There’s more than one way to skin a cat – or plot a murder With local crime writers Steve Lunn, Peter Tickler, Chris Clarke & Anna Beer, we explore the motives, means and opportunities in their crime writing.
Sessions for children
St Mary’s Church, Wallingford
13:00 – 14:00 Billy and Boots - Companionship and happy memories With local author and illustrator Lizzy Price, come and listen to the story of Billy and his dog Boots, with a a chance to create your own animal pictures.
14:10 – 15:10 From Sketchbook to Spellbook: The Art of Nesta The Earth Witch With local children’s author Anna Sutton, come and listen to the story of Nesta the Witch, with a chance to chance to design your own magical hat.
Wallingford Library
14:00 – 15:00 Secrets of the Shore With local children’s author Sue Palmer, find out about the amazing life on our shores, as she talks about her book The Shell Secret. There will be prizes, a quiz and colouring sheets to take away.