Beyond the Book: Catherine Jaquiss on Building a Festival for All

With a line-up that includes literary giants such as Hanif Kureishi, Elif Shafak, Tracy Chevalier and Andrew O’Hagan, the Ealing Book Festival is fast establishing itself as a must-visit event on London’s cultural calendar.Following the resounding success of its inaugural year, the festival returns from 24–27 April 2025 with a rich and varied programme featuring world-renowned authors, emerging talent, inspiring non-fiction, creative workshops, and family-friendly events.

At the heart of this growing celebration of books and ideas is Chair of the Ealing Book Festival, Catherine Jaquiss. We caught up with her to hear how this year’s festival was curated, what visitors can look forward to in 2025, and how the team behind the festival are working to make it a cornerstone of Ealing’s cultural life.

With such an incredible line-up of internationally acclaimed authors for the 2025 Ealing Book Festival, how do you curate the programme to reflect the diversity of literary voices while also appealing to the local community?
What makes Ealing Book Festival unique is the breadth of our programme, which blends a diverse range of literary voices. This year, we’re proud to feature world-renowned authors such as Hanif Kureishi and Elif Shafak, whose books are read around the world, while also celebrating writers whose voices may be less familiar, such as up-and-coming author Natasha Brown and local artist and poet Narvir Singh.

Another key highlight of the festival is our popular Local Authors' Showcase, which gives Ealing-based writers a platform to share their work and connect with the community. Ultimately, our aim is to create a programme that reflects the rich diversity of both the literary world and our local community. We hope that visitors will come to see the authors they already know and love, but also feel inspired to explore new voices and discover writers they may not yet be familiar with.

After the tremendous success of the inaugural festival, what new elements or events can attendees look forward to in the 2025 edition that will enhance their experience?
The success of the first Ealing Book Festival showed us that we had hit on a winning formula. However, we aren’t resting on our laurels, and we’re confident this year’s festival will be even better.

In particular, we’re excited to introduce a new event with special local relevance. In the very first Ealing Book Festival Huntley Archive Talk, we will celebrate the work of Eric and Jessica Huntley - pioneering Black social activists who founded one of Britain's first Black bookshops and publishing houses in West Ealing 50 years ago. At the event, Lanre Bakare will discuss his much-heralded book We Were There: How Black Culture, Resistance and Community Shaped Modern Britain with Dr Margaret Andrews, a patron of the Friends of the Huntley Archive. As one of two events we’re hosting at the University of West London’s Ealing Campus this year, the Huntley Archive Talk also marks an expansion of the festival’s footprint to a new venue.

Separately, at our From Page to Pitch to Publication event, aspiring writers will gain insights into every stage of the publishing process. Attendees will hear from top UK literary agent Gordon Wise; acclaimed debut novelist Nussaibah Younis, whose novel Fundamentally is on the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist; and Simon & Schuster UK publicity director Sabah Khan. The event will be chaired by bestselling local author Alex Gerlis.

It would also be remiss of me not to mention our partners. In addition to Savills, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, the University of West London, St Benedict’s School, and Advanced Thinking Tuition - who are partnering with us for the second year running - we’re very grateful to For Art’s Sake, OPEN Ealing, Paperback Coffee and Books and the Pitshanger Community Association, all of whom will be supporting Ealing Book Festival for the first time this year.

As Chair of the Ealing Book Festival, how do you see the festival contributing to Ealing’s cultural landscape, and what are your long-term aspirations for its growth?
We were delighted with the response to last year’s event, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see the festival continuing to grow in both awareness and impact as we head into year two. While we’re expanding this year’s festival, we’re mindful not to overextend ourselves and remain focused on maintaining the quality of the experience we offer.

We’re also committed to fostering a love of reading among younger generations, which is why we plan to extend our schools programme. By encouraging children and young people to engage with books and authors, we hope to inspire a lifelong passion for literature.

Another of our key goals is to represent the entire borough of Ealing and reach as many members of our community as possible. In the coming years, we’ll be focusing on expanding the festival to other parts of the borough. We hope that, in time, the festival will increasingly be seen as a cornerstone of Ealing’s cultural landscape.