NAWGFest – Our Annual Open Festival of Writing
Contents
Welcome to the NAWGFest area. Here you'll find general information about the festival. There are also plenty of links to pages with more detailed information.
Latest Festival News
- The 2026 NAWGFest event will be online and is available for booking. We hope to see you there.
- Mark the dates in your diary: Friday 18th September and Saturday 19th September.
- Free for all attendees, but you'll need to book the events you want to attend.
Last updated: 11-Aug-2026
Festival Dates ↑
Here are the NAWGFest dates. You can click on the event titles for more details.
| Event | Dates | Venue | Notes & Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAWGFest 2026 | 18th — 19th Sep. | Online via Zoom. | Zoom details will be available when you book your events. |
| Previous events… | |||
| NAWGFest 2021 | 3rd — 5th Sep. | Yarnfield Park Conference Centre. | |
| NAWGFest 2020 | 4th — 6th Sep. | Yarnfield Park Conference Centre. | Event cancelled due to the covid pandemic. |
| NAWGFest 2019 | ? | ? | |
| NAWGFest 2018 | 31st Aug. — 2nd Sep. | University of Warwick. | After-dinner speaker was Milly Johnson. |
| NAWGFest 2017 | 1st—3rd Sep. | University of Warwick. | After-dinner speaker was Peter Robinson. |
| NAWGFest 2016 | 2nd—4th Sep. | University of Warwick. | After-dinner speaker was Gervase Phinn. |
| Festival 2015 | 4th—6th Sep. | University of Warwick. | Welcome reception by Lady Emma & Lord Julian Fellowes. After-dinner speaker was Lynne Hackles. |
| Festival 2014 | 29th—31st Aug. | University of Warwick. | After-dinner speaker was David Nobbs. |
| Festival 2013 | ? | ? |
Do you have any information about these events? Perhaps you were there. Please let us know: #aXRAbmF3Zy5jby51aw==#. |
| Festival 2012 | ? | University of Nottingham. | |
| Festival 2011 | ? | University of Nottingham. | |
| Festival 2010 | 3rd—5th Sep. | Collingwood College, Durham. | |
| … | |||
| Festival 2002 | ? | University of Durham | |
What is the Festival? ↑
Group photo at pre-dinner drinks, NAWGFest 2016.
On a weekend, usually after the August Bank Holiday, like-minded writers with a broad spectrum of abilities, get together for an exceptional set of events, focussed on improving their writing.
The festival provides:
- Opportunities to network with writers, agents & publishers.
- Workshops run by professional tutors, to improve your writing.
- All meals, including our annual Gala Dinner – a highly entertaining evening.
- Awards ceremony for competition prize winners.
It's an open festival, so all are welcome to join us. Don't be shy we are a friendly group.
Festival Venues ↑
Here are the venues for the events. Follow the links for more details.
- Online via Zoom.
- Yarnfield Park Conference Centre.
- University of Warwick.
- University of Nottingham.
Workshops & Talks ↑
The main educational components of NAWGFest are the tutored workshops. The format of these varies slightly from year to year, but you'll have a wide range of sessions to choose from.
In addition, there will be free talks to attend, if you wish.
Full details can be found on the NAWGFest 2026 page.
Activities ↑
In addition to the main workshops and lectures, there will be a wide variety of additional activities you can take part in. Previous festivals' activities have included:
- Open Mic session – your five minutes of fame,
- Marketplace for selling books and other items,
- Meet the author; readings from books,
- Mini-tales competition,
- Grand raffle.
Full details can be found on the NAWGFest 2026 page.
Gala Dinner ↑
One of the highlights of the festival is the Gala Dinner and its related entertainment, which takes place on the Saturday evening.
Note that there is no gala dinner for NAWGFest 2026, since we're not meeting in person.
Guest Speaker ↑
Following the dinner, is the After-dinner Talk. Each year we have a different guest speaker to entertain us.
Awards Ceremony ↑
Following the guest speaker, we have the Awards Ceremony, where the winners of the NAWG members' competitions are announced.
Prices & Payment ↑
NAWGFest 2026 activities are all free for everyone, but you'll need to book your events as some have limited places.
Booking ↑
All NAWGFest 2026 activities are free to everyone, but you'll need to register.
To book, please send a message to #Ym9va2luZ0BuYXdnLmNvLnVr#, indicating which events you wish to attend.
Some events have limited places, so it's first come first served, with priority going to NAWG members.
Brochure ↑
There's no brochure this year, as the festival is fully online. Details of the events can be found in the festival timetable.
Documents ↑
If you've lost any of your NAWGFest documents, then don't worry, help is at hand. You can download them again from here, ready to print out or use on your mobile devices.
No festival documents are currently available.
Brochures from Previous Festivals
From here you can view and download some of the brochures from previous NAWGFest events.
