Tickets
General booking opens Wednesday 31st July, with Friends of the Festival booking open from the 18th July. Tickets can be collected from the Bell Bookshop in Henley or posted to you. During the Festival the Box Office will be situated in the Fire Station Gallery Monday-Thursday and in the Market Place Friday-Sunday.
Tickets are all variably priced. For details please check our website.
For group bookings from book clubs please contact the Box Office or view our website for further details about discounts and our special Book Club Friday.
Tickets are non-refundable unless the event in question has sold out. Please contact the Box Office to return tickets.
Waiting lists will be available for all sold out events and will be dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis. If any tickets are returned for a sold out event the first person on the waiting list will be contacted prior to the Festival.
There are no fees for debit card transactions but a £1.50 bank charge will be applied to all credit card bookings.
Postage of tickets is charged at £1 per order. Tickets can be collected from the Bell Bookshop in Henley before the Festival and at the Box Office in the Fire Station Gallery and the Market Place during the week of the Festival.
Terms and Conditions
Seating is unreserved. Doors open a minimum of 15 minutes before the event. Tickets are non-refundable unless the event is sold out.
During the Festival, any changes to the programme will be posted at the live Box Office or on the Festival website. HLF reserves the right to cancel or alter events due to unforeseen circumstances but we will make every effort to let ticket holders know in advance where possible.
Disabled Access
All of our venues have disabled access. The Hibernia is suitable for wheelchair access, however, there are no disabled toilet facilities on the boat. Please notify the box office if you require disabled access to a venue as the venue must be notified prior to arrival.
Our Patrons
The Henley Literary Festival is delighted to welcome its first patrons. They are people from various backgrounds who have supported the festival since its inception; appeared at events or who have helped Henley to become established as a highly-rated literary celebration.
Nansi Diamond is a leading figure in Henley’s theatrical life as a performer, administrator and volunteer and has directed the River Readings at the festival since 2007 with skill and panache and has been a true supporter of the HLF in every aspect.
Emma Freud has worked as a TV presenter for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 and as a radio broadcaster on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 4, a trustee of Comic Relief, director of Red Nose Day and the script editor of for all her partner Richard Curtis’ films including Four Weddings and A Funeral, Bridget Jones’ Diary, Notting Hill and Love Actually.
Daniel Hahn is the author of the history book The Tower Menagerie and one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide a series of reading guides for children and teenagers, his translation of The Book of Chameleons won the Indepdendent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2007.
Sir Alastair Horne the distinguished historian and biographer was a Foreign Correspondent with the Daily Telegraph and has been an inspiration to his local festival with his regular appearances.
Andrew Subramaniam is a partner at HW Fisher & Company, chartered accountants and heads The Authors and Journalists Team dedicated to writers and journalists.
Donald Trelford was editor of The Observer newspaper from 1975 to 1993, a regular broadcaster and has published books on snooker and cricket and co-authored (with Daniel King) a book on the 1993 Times World Chess Championship in London between Nigel Short and Gary Kasparov.
Simon Williams is one of our best known and highly-regarded actors with a string of television,West End and film successes who first came to prominence playing James Bellamy in Upstairs Downstairs.
Getting to Henley
By Car Henley is situated about four miles from Reading. If coming from London take junction 8/9 off the M4. Traffic into Henley can be bad, particularly in the evenings and at weekends, so please allow enough time. There is parking for Festival goers in the centre of Henley. Local car parks can be found on Kings Road, Greys Road, at the Station and along the river front towards the River and Rowing Museum.
By Train Henley has its own train station in the town centre. Most trains from London Paddington require changing at Twyford. Transfers to Henley-on-Thames run from Reading Station every half an hour, again most require a change at Twyford. There are fast trains from Paddington to Reading around every ten or fifteen minutes and the journey takes 24 minutes. It is then a 15 minute taxi ride to Henley.
By Bus Buses run very regularly from Reading to Henley-on-Thames.
Taxis Henley Taxis LTD 01491 574222 Chiltern Cars 01491 414151 Henley on Thames Taxis 01491 526202 Prestige Taxis 01491 262626
Parking
Parking is available in Henley town centre at Kings Road, Greys Road and at the Station. There is also parking available along the river front towards the River and Rowing Museum.
Bix Manor and The Quince Tree are out of town venues and have their own free parking. Please note the parking at Bix is in a field. Disabled spaces will be available.
Food and Drink
Coffees, teas and other drinks are available at all our venues or nearby. Lunch is available to buy at Bix Manor, The Quince Tree, The Red Lion and The River & Rowing Museum. Henley also has a wide selection of cafes and restaurants in the town centre.
