South London festival returns

A South London book festival that started in April 2024 is back on Saturday, April 25, 2026, and it is charging no entry fee at the gate even though its programme includes ticketed author talks, workshops, guided walks and a market inside Beckenham Place Park. (booksinthepark.org) The event is called Books in the Park, and it is being staged at Beckenham Place Park in southeast London rather than in a convention hall, which is why the day is built around a mansion, a courtyard classroom, park paths and cafes instead of trade stands. (booksinthepark.org) That setup comes from the people who founded it: Arts in the Park Community Interest Company, a group created by the park’s community gardeners, says it launched the festival to combine books with nature in one place. (booksinthepark.org) The festival is now in its third successive year, which means it has moved quickly from a first edition in 2024 to a repeat in 2025 and another return in 2026. (booksinthepark.org, booksinthepark.org) The adult programme starts at 11 a.m. in Beckenham Place Mansion, and one of the biggest names on this year’s schedule is Ruth Ware, who is appearing to discuss her thriller The Woman in Suite 11. (booksinthepark.org) The line-up also pulls hard toward place and memory: Simon Goddard and Alexander Larman are doing a David Bowie event because Bowie lived in Beckenham, and the festival says 2026 marks 10 years since his death. (booksinthepark.org, booksinthepark.org) Off the main stage, the day is designed to keep people moving. Wild South London is leading two free walks at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and the route around the park includes stops to talk about spring wildlife and read passages from nature books. (booksinthepark.org) Inside the mansion, the festival is also handing space to a local independent bookseller and a sewing school. Beckenham Bookshop is running a pop-up from 9 a.m., and KHY Sewing School is offering a 7-to-14-year-old sewing machine workshop with 12 spaces plus drop-in craft sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (booksinthepark.org) The children’s side starts even earlier than the author talks. The programme begins at 9:45 a.m. in the Homestead Education Centre, while separate writing workshops run upstairs in the same courtyard building. (booksinthepark.org) The food part is not an afterthought. The festival is leaning on the park’s existing Food and Farmers Market, and ticket holders get 10% off food and drink at both the Mansion Bar and Cafe and the Homestead Cafe. (booksinthepark.org, booksinthepark.org) That mix is what makes this feel different from London Book Fair, which is a publishing industry event built around rights deals and business meetings. Books in the Park is using books as the reason to spend a Saturday in a public park with talks, crafts, walks, coffee and a local bookshop. (owlrecommends.com, booksinthepark.org)