Stroud Book Festival has announced two Friday evening events for 6 November, offering audiences a choice between explorations of the night and conversations about the enduring appeal of scary stories.
The programme update comes as the festival counts down to its 2026 season, which is now five weeks away. Organisers said the November setting, with its shorter days and darker nights, helped shape the two events.
Two events for Friday 6 November
Because the Night will bring together Arifa Akbar and Dan Richards for an evening focused on darkness, nocturnal life and the people who work while much of the world is asleep.
Akbar, chief theatre critic for The Guardian, drew on encounters with night-time workers for her book Wolf Moon: A Woman’s Journey Into Night. The festival describes the book as a wide-ranging exploration of the night.
Richards’ Overnight: Journeys, Conversations and Stories After Dark examines night-time wildlife, travel, dreams and art. It also recounts his encounters with people whose work takes place overnight, bringing their experiences to a wider audience.
The second event, Scare Stories, will feature novelists Claire Fuller and Leigh Radford. Taking place shortly after Halloween, it will examine why readers are drawn to frightening stories and how horror can be used to explore difficult ideas.
Fuller’s award-winning novel Hunger and Thirst is set in 1987 and centres on a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end. The festival says the book explores loneliness, female friendship and horrors both external and internal, with influences including The Shining, Rosemary’s Baby and The Stepford Wives.
Radford’s debut novel One Yellow Eye is described as a subversive undead love story set during a zombie pandemic. Its central character, Kesta, is trying to find a cure for her husband Tim after he is bitten, while he remains tied to a bed in a spare room.
“Horror is an amazing language to be able to tap into. It is our way of saying things that are unsayable to most people.”
Radford made the comment in an interview with The Bookseller, quoted by the festival.
How to book tickets
Tickets for the festival’s 2026 events are on sale now. Readers can book online through the Sub Rooms website, by calling the Sub Rooms Box Office on 01453 796880, or in person at the box office.
The box office is open from Tuesday to Saturday, between 10am and 4pm. The festival has warned that tickets for some events are being sold through other providers, so prospective attendees should check the information attached to each event before booking.
Writing course at Hawkwood
The festival has also highlighted a forthcoming writing course at Hawkwood. Bring Your Story to Life! runs from 11 to 15 October and is a four-day residential course about turning personal experience into compelling literature.
Writers Ali Millar and Horatio Clare will lead workshops, discussions and dedicated writing sessions exploring the craft of life writing. Laura Cumming, described by the festival as a writer, memoirist and journalist, will also provide insights during an evening question-and-answer session.
Further information and booking for the course are available through Hawkwood’s programme. The festival also noted that Clare is among its author guests for this year’s event.
Stroud Book Festival said more news would follow the following week, and encouraged readers to continue checking its regular social-media posts for updates.
