Spring Readers’ Day is a regular, and extremely popular feature of the Festival and this spring we will be bringing the very best summer reads to West Horsley Place.

The day takes the format of a mini festival in a day with five authors, including debut fiction writers and established novelists, talking about their lives, their inspirations and their latest projects. There is also an opportunity to meet the authors and have books signed.

We’re pleased to give you more choice and are offering two tickets, one enabling you to bring your own lunch and one with a light lunch provided.

Both options include a Goody Bag, and the venue offers free parking on site and a coffee van with hot drinks and tasty snacks in the courtyard.

Hosted by Patricia Nicol

Patricia Nicol is a regular book reviewer for The Sunday Times, and also writes a weekly audio column, reviewing radio and podcasts. She also writes the Best Books column for the Daily Mail.

She has interviewed many authors including Maggie O'Farrell, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith, Curtis Sittenfeld, David Nicholls and Mick Herron.

She is the author of a topical non-fiction book, Sucking Eggs: What Your Wartime Granny Could Teach you about Diet, Thrift and Going Green.

Originally from Scotland, she now lives in south-east London with her husband and two sons, where she enjoys swimming at Charlton Lido.

Patricia is delighted to be back in Surrey, having attended St Catherine's, Bramley, and Godalming Sixth Form College.  

ALEX HAY

The Queen of Fives

Alex Hay's debut novel The Housekeepers won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022, and was published to great critical acclaim. The Queen of Fives is twisty and compelling historical fiction in which London's most talented con woman has five days to lift a fortune from the richest family in England.

KRISTEN PERRIN

How to Seal Your Own Fate

Kristen Perrin is back with the second novel in her Castle Knoll series. Annie Adams is caught in a new web of murder that spans decades, returning us to the idyllic English village that holds layers of secrets.

S.J.PARRIS

Traitor’s Legacy

Join #1 Sunday Times bestseller S. J. Parris as she discusses Traitors’ Legacy, the first in a brand-new historical crime series following former agent Sophia de Wolfe who is called to investigate a murder that reaches directly into the heart of the court of Elizabeth I.

LARRY LAMB

All Wrapped Up

Join acclaimed actor and author Larry Lamb in conversation with journalist Patricia Nicol as they delve into All Wrapped Up, his gripping novel of filmmaking under fire. Expect behind-the-scenes drama, industry insights, and the real struggles of bringing stories to life - on and off set.  

SWEAT

Emma Healey

Sweat is set in a gym where protagonist Cassie works as a personal trainer. When her controlling ex, Liam, comes in looking for a PT, she’s faced with an opportunity to take control after the anguish he caused her when they were together. An adrenaline-pumping read with a darkly twisted revenge plot at its centre, Sweat asks how far we’d go to take revenge on someone who wronged us.

SAVE THE DATES FOR THE AUTUMN…

Thursday 25 Sept

KATE MOSSE

Sunday 28 Sept

readers’ day: LILY SAMSON, MILLY JOHNSON, JANE HAWKING, JOANNE RUSH

Tuesday 30 Sept

REV RICHARD COLE in conversation with greg mosse

Tuesday 14 Oct

Jeremy hunt

Thursday 16 Oct

raymond Blanc