Norwich History Festival is back from 14th - 24th July 2026 and booking is now open, with an exciting programme of 34 talks, 30 walks and a plethora of other events across the city.

 Tuesday 14th July, 5pm at The Octagon Chapel

Kate Williams presents an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them, from Cleopatra to Grace Kelly. 

 Wednesday 15th July, 5pm at The Octagon Chapel

Join Athena Kugblenu, stand-up comedian and author, for stories of creative truth-telling and questionable decision making that will make young readers gasp at the past.

 Thursday 16th July, 7pm at The Octagon Chapel

Presenter and author Nicholas Crane explores the hidden history of Britain's coast-to-coast web.

Friday 17th July, 3pm at The Octagon Chapel

Nandini Das will be offering a startlingly new, globally resonant vision of England’s past and what it meant to be English. It is a story of a nation in the making told through the traces of those often written out of it. 

Saturday 18th July, 3pm at University of East Anglia

Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad, searches for the truth about Grigori Rasputin, the wild mystic who laid the ground for the Russian Revolution.

Monday 20th July, 6pm at Dragon Hall

Matthew Cobb will be discussing his major new biography of Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, pioneering neuroscientist, and twentieth-century genius

Monday 20th July, 7.30pm at Dragon Hall

Sophie Baccus-Waterman will discuss Elizabeth's early years, her marriage to Thomas Boleyn, and her long career in Katherine of Aragon's household before either Mary or Anne Boleyn caught Henry VIII's eye. 

Tuesday 21st July, 6pm at Dragon Hall

Gareth Russell will be discussing his latest book, a groundbreaking and insightful exploration of King James I - through the six love affairs that shaped his journey.  

Tuesday 21st July, 7.30pm at Dragon Hall

Historian Estelle Paranque will explore the life of a woman who has mesmerised the English public for centuries, and particularly at the relationship between Anne Boleyn and the French court.  

Wednesday 22nd July, 6.30pm at Old Meeting House

Iain Sinclair, writer, filmmaker and pioneer of ‘psychogeography’ will discuss how writing history can be explored as a form of resistance.

Thursday 23rd July, 7.30pm at University of East Anglia

Charlie Higson, leading light of The Fast Show, has written a funny and irreverent history of Britain's Kings and Queens. This event will find out how he has got enthused with history.

Friday 24th July, 5pm at Cinema City

Jeremy Deller is one of the country’s leading visual artists. This event will explore how he has used historical events in his public artworks and films, reflecting on his approach and motivations, and accompanied by film clips.