Amazing Authors - Brilliant Books - Charming Cuckfield
News
We were excited to learn that four of our authors attending Cuckfield Bookfest 2026 have had their works listed on the Sunday Times’ ‘the best books to read this summer’:
Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War by Jane Rogoyska
Shortlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, Jane Rogoyska’s Hotel Exile intricately weaves social, cultural, and medical history together in telling the story of the Hôtel Lutetia of the Parisian Left Bank. The book narrates the hotel’s complex history as a thriving space for artists, writers, and German exiles in the 1930s, turned Nazi lodgings in 1940, and then a space of rehabilitation for the prisoners of war and concentration camp victims upon France’s liberation in 1944. The Lutetia’s art nouveau walls have been made to talk thanks to Rogoyska’s Hotel Exile.
A Shellshocked Nation: Britain Between the Wars by Alwyn Turner
Described by the Times as “a fascinating, factoid-rich read”, Alwyn Turner’s work A Shellshocked Nation is a vibrant and detailed history of inter-war Britain. Turner is our witty and analytical guide, leading us through the scandals, extremist politics, socialites, and Jazz-Age entertainments offered up to the shell-shocked Briton.
The Story of Birds: An Evolutionary History of the Dinosaurs that Live Among Us by Steve Brusatte
Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte reveals our feathered friends to be descendants of dinosaurs in The Story of Birds. Reviews describe ‘demonic ducks’ and birds’ eggs ‘as big as watermelons’ – guaranteed to provide you with fact that feels like its bordering on fantasy. Brusatte successfully provides a whopping 150 million years of evolutionary history in this book, described by Waterstones as ‘lively, majestic and full of wonder.’
Trafalgar: Battle & Aftermath by Paul O’Keeffe
O’Keeffe offers up a ‘gloriously gory’ account of Britain’s greatest naval battle, according to The Times. If you’re looking for a more intimate, arresting, and visceral account of what it was like to be in the middle of the battle of Trafalgar, this work spares no detail. O’Keeffe exposes a more complex, human side to naval history; peeling back the elaborate funeral decorations of Admiral Lord Nelson and showing us an awesome and horrific vision of war.
Zadie Smith at Hurst Festival, in partnership with Cuckfield Bookfest
Cuckfield Bookfest is delighted to be joining forces with Hurst Festival this September, bringing bestselling novelist Zadie Smith to Holy Trinity Church for an evening with one of Britain’s most distinctive literary voices.
One of Britain’s most celebrated novelists, Zadie Smith, will discuss The Fraud, her brilliant, witty first foray into historical fiction.
The Fraud is rooted in the real-life Tichborne case, a Victorian trial that gripped the nation. When a man claiming to be the long-lost heir to a baronetcy arrives in England, Andrew Bogle – a man who grew up enslaved on a Jamaican sugar plantation – finds himself a key witness, with his own future resting on which story gets believed. Spanning literary London and the cane fields of Jamaica, the novel is a sharp and searching exploration of truth, identity, class and whose voice carries weight.
Smith is the bestselling author of White Teeth, On Beauty, NW and Swing Time, and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Women’s Prize. The Fraud marked her return to long-form fiction after several years and was named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year and one of NPR’s Best Books of the Year.
This is a rare opportunity to hear one of the sharpest literary minds at work — in conversation about a novel that feels as timely as it does Victorian.
When: 16 September, 7.30–8.30pm
Where: Holy Trinity Church, Hurstpierpoint
Tickets for Zadie Smith are only available through the Hurst Festival website. Please click HERE for tickets.
Cuckfield Bookfest goes all in:
We’ve pledged our support for the National Year of Reading 2026
We’re thrilled to announce that Cuckfield Bookfest has pledged its support for the National Year of Reading 2026 — a UK-wide campaign calling on all of us to go all in with reading.
The National Year of Reading, led by the National Literacy Trust and backed by the Department for Education, exists for one simple reason: reading transforms lives. It expands worlds, sharpens minds, and fuels creativity and yet reading for pleasure is in decline across all age groups. This is a moment for communities, organisations, and individuals to come together and change that.
As a book festival that has celebrated the joy of reading in the heart of Mid Sussex for nearly a decade, pledging our support felt like the most natural thing in the world. We’re committed to spreading the word about the campaign, championing reading with local schools, and making our 2026 festival a moment that puts books and reading centre stage for everyone.
Because books aren’t just something we love. They’re something we believe in.
Find out more and pledge your own support at goallin.org.uk.
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Zadie Smith – SOLD OUT
Zadie Smith – SOLD OUT
Zadie Smith The Fraud with Peter Guttridge Holy Trinity Church, Hurstpierpoint In The Fraud, her first historical novel, Zadie Smith transports us from literary London to Jamaica’s sugar-cane plantations, weaving
Literary Quiz
Literary Quiz
Literary Quiz The Hayloft at The Talbot The ever popular literary quiz is on again this year, a week before the Festival weekend to get everyone into the Bookfest spirit.
Celebration Supper at Ockenden Manor with Sir Jeremy Hunt MP.
Celebration Supper at Ockenden Manor with Sir Jeremy Hunt MP.
Celebration Supper at Ockenden Manor, Cuckfield with Sir Jeremy Hunt MP 7pm for 7.30pm Tickets include a glass of sparkling wine at the welcoming reception. A two-course meal with four
Juliet Nicolson
Juliet Nicolson
Juliet Nicolson The Book of Revelations A History of the Secrets Women Keep and Tell From the ‘silent generation’ of women in the 1950s to the influencers of the 2020s,
Matt Newnham
Matt Newnham
Matt Newnham Space Ranger Fred and the Great Galactic Bake Off Upstairs at Bookfest 7-9 years Blast off on a fun-filled space adventure with author of Space Ranger Fred and
