Folkestone’s unofficial guide to what’s going on.
Venue
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Arts organisation managing programmes and creative spaces.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Penguin Cafe perform music from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra at Quarterhouse in Folkestone. Led by Arthur Jeffes, the concert celebrates Simon Jeffes’ legacy with classic pieces including “Music from a Found Harmonium” and “Perpetuum Mobile”, alongside the ensemble’s distinctive blend of instrumental pop, folk, minimalism, classical and world music influences.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Join local writer and historian Tony Quarrington and Folkestone Book Festival curator Sophie Haydock for a guided walk through Folkestone’s streets and seafront. Hear how writers including Charles Dickens, H. G. Wells, Carol Ann Duffy and Wilfred Owen connected with the town. The walk includes a refreshment stop or two. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Folkestone Book Festival 2026 returns as one of the UK’s longest-running literary festivals, bringing big ideas and powerful stories to the town across two weeks. The programme includes storytelling, author events, headliners, a Local Authors Showcase and a Primary School Series, with writers and speakers including Christine Dawood, Tessa Hadley and Jem Calder. Tickets start from £5.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Sir Tony Robinson opens the 2026 Folkestone Book Festival with a conversation about his new novel, The House of Wolf, and his career in storytelling, history, writing and broadcasting. The hour-long talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, novelists Jarred McGinnis and Nell Stevens discuss identity and the stories people tell about themselves, drawing on their new novels There Is No Meant to Be and The Original. The conversation lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Debut novelist Jem Calder discusses I Want You to Be Happy and its portrayal of love, friendship and the search for connection in contemporary life. The talk lasts one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked. Part of Folkestone Book Festival.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Philippa Perry discusses her debut crime novel, Shrink Solves Murder, and the links between therapy, deception and detective work. The talk lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Christine Dawood discusses her memoir Ninety-Six Hours, reflecting on the Titan submersible disaster, the loss of her husband Shahzada and son Suleman, and living with grief. The conversation lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Dame Marina Warner discusses her book Sanctuary: Ways of Telling, Ways of Dwelling, exploring refuge and belonging through myth, literature, history and refugee storytelling. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks; Waterstones is the festival bookseller.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Dominic Gregory discusses Lifeboat at the End of the World and his experiences as a volunteer RNLI crew member at Dungeness. The conversation is expected to last one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Ian McEwan discusses his novel What We Can Know and reflects on his writing career at Folkestone Book Festival. The talk is expected to last one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, garden designer Juliet Sargeant discusses her book Soil and why healthy soil matters for gardens, biodiversity, food production, climate resilience and wellbeing. Sargeant was the first Black woman to win a gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Paul Sinton-Hewitt discusses his memoir One Small Step and how a free weekly run with 13 participants grew into the global parkrun community. The conversation lasts one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
AL Kennedy discusses her novel Alive in the Merciful Country at Folkestone Book Festival, exploring family, memory, justice and hope. The conversation lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Esther Ghey discusses her memoir Under a Pink Sky, her daughter Brianna’s life, transphobia and grief, and her campaigning for young people’s online safety. The hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, food writer Felicity Cloake discusses her debut novel The Underdog with journalist and author Claire Cohen. The hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks. Organised by Creative Folkestone.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Poorna Bell and Helen Thorn discuss reinvention, resilience and midlife through their books She Wanted More and How to Face Big Changes and Come Back Stronger. The one-hour conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and £5 Cost of Living tickets are available without eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, former Chancellor and Home Secretary Sajid Javid discusses The Colour of Home, his memoir about family, identity, belonging and his path into British politics. The conversation lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Cory Doctorow discusses Enshittification, exploring why digital platforms deteriorate and what can be done about it. The hour-long talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and a £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked. Part of Folkestone Book Festival.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
AI ethicist and University of Cambridge researcher Dr Eleanor Drage discusses who gets to shape the future of artificial intelligence. Drawing on her book What If We Got AI Right?, she explores Big Tech, biased algorithms, justice, democracy and human values. The hour-long talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing; Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Historian Iain MacGregor discusses his book Battle and what conflicts from ancient Greece to Ukraine reveal about warfare and the course of nations. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the hour-long talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Art critic and curator Hettie Judah discusses her book How to Enter the Art World and the different paths into a creative career. The hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Cambridge economist Victoria Bateman discusses Economica, exploring overlooked contributions to economic history, particularly those of women. The talk lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Viktor Wynd presents an hour of dark fairy-tale storytelling inspired by his book Dark Fairy Tales, exploring witches, curses, ghosts and unsettling folklore. A book signing in The Clearing follows, with Waterstones as the festival bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available without eligibility questions. Not suitable for the faint-hearted.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Historian and author Alison Weir discusses her novel The Boleyn Secret, Queens of the Age of Chivalry, and her writing on medieval and Tudor history. The hour-long talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and a £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Creative business mentor Claire Venus leads a three-hour masterclass on growing a readership and building a loyal community through Substack. For writers, artists, freelancers, entrepreneurs and creative business owners, the session covers finding an audience, developing a distinctive voice and creating content that connects. There is a short break. Places are limited to 20, and advance booking is essential.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Journalist and author Hazel Sheffield discusses her book Meet the Neighbours and the community-led projects reshaping places across Britain. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the conversation lasts one hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Historian Matthew Sweet discusses his biography The Great Dictator with Barbara Cartland’s granddaughter, Tara Parker. The conversation lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Siri Hustvedt joins live online from New York to discuss Ghost Stories, her memoir about life after the death of her husband, writer Paul Auster. The hour-long conversation explores their shared life, grief and memory. A book signing in The Clearing is scheduled afterwards, although Hustvedt will not be there in person. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Novelists Yvvette Edwards, Laura Barnett and Jennie Godfrey discuss family secrets, friendship and community through their books Good Good Loving, Births, Deaths and Marriages, and The Barbecue at No 9. The conversation is expected to last one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Fifteen writers selected by ballot each have three minutes to share unpublished poetry, stories, memoirs, novel extracts or works in progress with a live Folkestone Book Festival audience. The event lasts one hour. Audience tickets include a £5 Cost of Living Ticket available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Biographer James Bailey discusses Muriel Spark’s life and writing through his book Like a Cat Loves a Bird: The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the one-hour talk is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Sarah Perry discusses her memoir Death of an Ordinary Man, which recounts the final days of her father-in-law David. The hour-long conversation explores caregiving, grief and memory. There will be no book signing, but Waterstones will sell Perry ’s books upstairs in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Amy Abdelnoor joins Megha Mohan to discuss her debut novel Ever Land, inspired by her experiences in the West Bank and refugee camps in Lebanon. Their hour-long conversation explores belonging, female perspectives, fiction and politics. A book signing in The Clearing follows. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, author and former criminal barrister Harriet Tyce discusses Witch Trial, her thriller about a murder case caught up in suspicion and public judgement. The talk lasts about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available without eligibility checks.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
ITV News political editor Robert Peston discusses his new thriller, The K*ll Switch, and what the collision of political power and artificial intelligence could mean for democracy. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the talk is expected to last about an hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, novelist Tessa Hadley discusses Alone with a Book and the writers who have shaped her, including Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bowen, Alice Munro and Anne Tyler. Hosted by Creative Folkestone, the talk lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Writer and illustrator Astrid Goldsmith, creator of the graphic memoir The Crystal Vase, joins historian and novelist Wendy Holden, author of Born Survivors and The Teacher of Auschwitz, to discuss Holocaust remembrance, family history and stories passed between generations. Presented by Creative Folkestone as part of Folkestone Book Festival, the conversation lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri and artist Rosemary Clunie discuss their collaborative book, The True Artist Breaks Out of Jail, and explore creativity, freedom and the artist’s role in difficult times. The conversation lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Climate scientist and author Bill McGuire discusses his book The Fate of the World, exploring what past climate changes reveal about the decades ahead. The hour-long talk starts at 4pm and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Lynda La Plante discusses creating Prime Suspect and Jane Tennison, her television career, her new novel and the appeal of crime fiction. The talk lasts about an hour and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no eligibility questions.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, human rights barrister and mediator Marina Wheeler KC discusses her book A More Perfect Union and Britain’s future relationship with Europe. The one-hour conversation covers security, trade, democracy, migration and the rule of law. A book signing follows in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Journalist Serena Kutchinsky talks with jewellery historian Carol Woolton about Kutchinsky’s Egg, her memoir of family secrets and a decades-long search for a missing jewelled masterpiece. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the one-hour conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller, and £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, Alasdair Gill talks with chef and food writer Jon Spiteri about his memoir Knives and Spoons, life in professional kitchens, addiction and recovery, family and identity. The hour-long conversation is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. Waterstones is the official bookseller. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
At Folkestone Book Festival, travel writer and biographer Sara Wheeler discusses Jan Morris: A Life, drawing on Morris’s papers and conversations with her family and friends. The talk is expected to last one hour, followed by a book signing in The Clearing. A £5 Cost of Living Ticket is available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Museum leaders Gus Casely-Hayford and Sonia Solicari discuss how objects, collections and preserved rooms tell stories about identity and memory, drawing on their books Objects & Us: Why Things Matter and Real Rooms. Part of Folkestone Book Festival, the hour-long conversation begins at noon and is followed by a book signing in The Clearing. £5 Cost of Living Tickets are available with no questions asked.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Stand-up comedian Ian Stone brings his show Looking for the Wow to Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse. The set explores the search for moments of wonder in everyday life, with material drawn from his perspective as a comedian, broadcaster, podcaster and writer.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
James Yorkston brings a solo set with special guests to Quarterhouse in Folkestone. The Scottish singer-songwriter and author is known for an intimate, literary folk sound shaped by tradition and collaboration.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Adam Riches brings his 2026 comedy show to Creative Folkestone Quarterhouse. The show follows his acclaimed 2025 Christmas run and features Riches performing as ‘Sean Bean’, with audience participation as ‘A Bunch of Bastards’.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Max Cooper brings his immersive electronic music and visual performance to the Quarterhouse. The show features music from Feeling Is Structure, earlier releases and new compositions. Organised by Melting Vinyl.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
The Quarterhouse, Folkestone Music and Seaview Studio present a showcase of emerging artists playing original music. Hixtyria, Spy from Moscow, King of Everything, The South Social and Isaac Parker will each perform a 20-minute set spanning rock, blues, Americana and folk. Doors open at 18:30 for a prompt 19:00 start; the event ends at 23:00.
Quarterhouse, Folkestone
Smoking Apples Theatre brings a family-friendly production of A Christmas Carol to Quarterhouse in Folkestone. Through puppetry, storytelling and visual theatre, Scrooge encounters the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future, alongside Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. The performance lasts 1 hour 40 minutes, including a 15-minute interval. Tickets start from £12.75.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
A cinema screening exploring love and human connection in Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s paintings. The film offers close views of works from the National Gallery exhibition alongside expert commentary. It was made in collaboration with the National Gallery and the Musée d’Orsay.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Watch a live cinema relay of Puccini’s Wild West opera from the Met. Richard Jones directs the new staging, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. Vida Miknevičiūtė makes her Met debut as Minnie, alongside SeokJong Baek and Christopher Maltman.
The Clearing at Quarterhouse, 49 Tontine Street, Folkestone
Real Writers Circle brings Kent-based writers together in The Clearing at Quarterhouse for conversation, a guest-speaker discussion, a short writing exercise and optional readings. Writers of any genre or experience level are welcome. Bring a pen and notebook. Free tickets are available to writers who could not otherwise attend; contact the organisers about access requirements. Hosted in partnership with Creative Folkestone and Folkestone is a Library.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
See Barrie Kosky’s contemporary staging of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, the finale of the Ring cycle. Antonio Pappano conducts, with Elisabet Strid, Andreas Schager and Mika Kares leading the cast alongside the Royal Opera House orchestra and chorus. Presented by Creative Folkestone at Quarterhouse.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Mozart’s opera follows two young men who test their partners’ fidelity after a bet. Netia Jones directs a contemporary production, with Thomas Hengelbrock conducting a cast including Louise Alder, Simone McIntosh, Mingjie Lei, Huw Montague Rendall, Gerald Finley and Emily Pogorelc.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Creative Folkestone presents an evening with former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan. He’ll share stories from his life and years with the band, alongside an acoustic performance with his guitarist.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
A seated concert bringing together Scottish and American folk with contemporary acoustic songwriting. Doors open at 19:00 and the performance starts at 20:00. Tickets are £25 plus a booking fee or £29 on the door. Ages 14+; under-16s must be accompanied.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet follows Alice down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, where she meets strange creatures and the Knave of Hearts. The Royal Ballet production features music by Joby Talbot and designs by Bob Crowley.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Doppelgang3r presents The Smyths, a band recreating the sound of The Smiths live. They have played more than 1,000 shows, including appearances at Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Liam Scarlett’s production of Swan Lake tells the story of Princess Odette, cursed by Von Rothbart to live as a swan, and Prince Siegfried, who pledges to free her. The Royal Ballet production features Tchaikovsky’s score and designs by John Macfarlane.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Rob Auton performs his comedy show Jupiter, built around the fictional story of working as an estate agent on the planet. It is his 13th hour-long show, following his 2025–26 UK tour.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Oliver Mears’s production of Puccini’s Tosca sets the story in a contemporary, war-torn Rome. Daniel Oren conducts Aleksandra Kurzak as Tosca, Saimir Pirgu as Cavaradossi and Christopher Maltman as Scarpia.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Creative Folkestone presents a screening of a documentary about Claude Monet, celebrating Tate Britain’s Monet and Time exhibition. Explore his use of light and colour, his famous garden and his role in Impressionism.
Creative Folkestone, Quarterhouse Mill Bay, Folkestone
Royal Ballet & Opera's Romeo and Juliet follows two lovers divided by their feuding families. After Mercutio's death, Romeo is exiled while Juliet faces pressure to marry another suitor.