Key Points
- Dame Mary Berry and Harriet Tyce from BBC hit series The Traitors are among headline authors at this year’s Cambridge Literary Festival spring programme.
- The Cambridge Literary Festival Spring 2026 will run from 22 to 26 April in venues across the city, including the Cambridge Union and University Arms.
- Former Great British Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry, 90, will appear to discuss her latest book My Gardening Life, exploring the role of nature and gardens in her life and work.
- Crime writer and The Traitors faithful contestant Harriet Tyce will discuss her forthcoming legal thriller Witch Trial, centred on the murder of 18-year-old Christian Shaw in an Edinburgh park and the trial of her two best friends.
- As reported by upday News, Harriet Tyce’s appearance will revisit her viral confrontation with fellow contestant Rachel on The Traitors, which brought her to a wider television audience.
- The festival will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of mystery writer Agatha Christie with dedicated events and reflections on her legacy.
- It will also mark the 100th anniversary of the first publication of feminist classic Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, highlighting its continuing influence.
- Lectures across the programme include an event with Hot Milk author Deborah Levy, who will speak on her work and contemporary literature.
- Former Green Party MP, writer and campaigner Caroline Lucas will deliver a lecture responding to the global climate crisis and discussing environmental politics.
- The festival is partnering with the Go All In campaign to deliver a free children’s programme aimed at reconnecting children and young people with reading as part of the UK’s National Year of Reading.
- A dedicated Children’s Zone will run throughout the festival weekend, offering storytelling, craft activities and other events for families.
- The wider programme includes appearances and highlights such as broadcaster Samira Ahmed, publisher and editor Margaret Busby, historian and author Jung Chang, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey and others.
- Harriet Tyce will feature in a special “Literary Lunch with Harriet Tyce” event at University Arms, chaired by broadcaster and journalist Alex Clark, to discuss Witch Trial and her career from criminal barrister to bestselling author.
- The Cambridge Literary Festival, established in 2003, is now a key fixture in the UK literary calendar, bringing together writers, thinkers and readers each year.
Cambridge (Cambridge Tribune) February 9, 2026 –Dame Mary Berry and crime writer Harriet Tyce, known to television audiences from BBC hit series The Traitors, are among the headline authors set to appear at this spring’s Cambridge Literary Festival, which will also mark major literary anniversaries and expand its programme for children and young people.
Who are the headline names at the Cambridge Literary Festival?
As reported by the upday News entertainment desk, Dame Mary Berry and Harriet Tyce have been confirmed as two of the most prominent names appearing at the Cambridge Literary Festival Spring 2026, which runs from 22 to 26 April. Dame Mary, a household name as a food writer and television presenter, is best known to many viewers as a judge on The Great British Bake Off during its BBC run from 2010 to 2016.
According to the festival’s programme information and social media previews, the line-up for the spring edition also features a range of well-known broadcasters, authors and public figures, including journalist Samira Ahmed, pioneering publisher Margaret Busby, acclaimed historian Jung Chang and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey. Together, these appearances situate the Cambridge Literary Festival as a national platform for discussions ranging from contemporary fiction and memoir to politics, history and culture.
What will Harriet Tyce discuss at the festival?
As reported by upday News and confirmed by the Cambridge Literary Festival event listing, Harriet Tyce will appear to talk about her forthcoming legal thriller Witch Trial, which is being heavily trailed ahead of its release. Tyce first came to a television audience as a faithful contestant on the BBC reality game show The Traitors, where she went viral after a tense confrontation with fellow contestant Rachel, but she is already well established as a Sunday Times bestselling crime author.
The festival website’s “Literary Lunch with Harriet Tyce” announcement states that she will join readers for a two‑course lunch with wine at University Arms, where she will “set down her pen, pick up her fork, and serve up a criminally compelling conversation” about life as a criminal barrister and novelist. As detailed by Cambridge Literary Festival’s event description, Witch Trial is described as “a modern-day media storm sparked by the murder of a teenage girl in Edinburgh, the arrest of her two closest friends, and a case that spirals into rumours of bullying, obsession and something far darker,” asking “who can be trusted – and what really happened?”
What is Witch Trial about?
As set out by event information from Cambridge Literary Festival, Waterstones Glasgow and promotional material on social media, Witch Trial centres on the case of 18‑year‑old Christian Shaw, who is found dead in an Edinburgh park, shocking the city. As reported in the Waterstones event listing for Harriet Tyce’s in‑conversation appearance, the shock intensifies when police charge Christian’s best friends, Eliza Lawson and Isobel Smyth, with her murder, triggering a court case that becomes a “modern-day witch trial that will divide the nation.”
The synopsis shared by booksellers and publishers explains that as social media “explodes and headlines scream for justice,” rumours of bullying, rituals and a teenage pact gone wrong begin to swirl. In this narrative, Matthew Phillips, a respected heart surgeon, is drawn into the story when he is reluctantly called for jury duty, forcing him to confront his own judgement as the girls unveil a defence that unsettles his assumptions about truth, trust and the nature of justice.
How is Dame Mary Berry involved in the festival?
As reported by upday News, Dame Mary Berry will attend the festival to present and discuss her latest book, My Gardening Life, which explores the central role that gardening and the natural world have played in her long career and personal life. The Cambridge Literary Festival’s Spring 2026 overview includes Mary Berry in its highlighted events, noting a session titled “Mary Berry | My Gardening Life” scheduled for Thursday 23 April at the TTP stage at the Cambridge Union.
According to the upday report, Dame Mary will draw on her decades of experience as a food writer, television presenter and judge to reflect on how gardens and seasonal produce have shaped her approach to cooking and to life more broadly. The programme situates her appearance alongside other non‑fiction and memoir speakers, indicating that the festival is aiming to balance high‑profile popular figures with more specialist literary and political voices.
What key anniversaries will the festival mark?
As reported by upday News and echoed by subsequent coverage, this year’s Cambridge Literary Festival will mark two significant anniversaries in literary history. The first is the 50th anniversary of the death of Agatha Christie, one of the best‑selling and most influential crime writers of the twentieth century, whose work continues to shape popular detective fiction and crime narratives today.
The second commemoration is the centenary of the publication of Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, a feminist classic first published in 1926 that tells the story of a woman who frees herself from the constraints of family expectations. By foregrounding these anniversaries, the festival underlines its commitment to connecting contemporary writing with the longer history of women’s literature and crime fiction, providing a backdrop for events featuring authors such as Harriet Tyce and Mary Berry.
What lectures and discussions are planned on literature and politics?
As reported in the upday News piece on the festival line‑up, one of the key literary lectures will be delivered by Deborah Levy, the acclaimed author of Hot Milk, who will speak about her work and broader themes in contemporary writing. Levy’s presence reflects the festival’s tradition of inviting authors whose books provoke debate about identity, politics and the personal, and her lecture is expected to draw a large audience of readers and students.
In addition, former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas will appear in her capacity as a writer and campaigner to address the global climate crisis. According to the upday report, Lucas will provide her response to the environmental emergency, situating climate concerns within current political debates and likely drawing on her experience as an MP and party leader. Together, these events show the festival’s intent to offer not only literary discussions but also forums for exploring pressing social and political questions.
How is the festival supporting children and young readers?
As reported by upday News, this year’s Cambridge Literary Festival will partner with the Go All In campaign, a national initiative designed to reconnect children and young people with reading. The collaboration is part of the UK’s National Year of Reading, and the festival will host a free children’s programme as part of its spring schedule.
According to the same report, the festival will feature a dedicated Children’s Zone, where families will be able to access storytelling sessions, craft activities and other interactive events throughout the weekend. This emphasis on younger audiences sits alongside the adult literary and political programme, indicating an attempt to cultivate a culture of reading across generations and to use the festival platform to address concerns about declining reading habits among children.
What is the wider context of the Cambridge Literary Festival?
As noted in the upday News background section, the Cambridge Literary Festival has been running since 2003 and has grown into a major event on the UK literary calendar, drawing authors, academics, politicians and campaigners to the city. The Spring 2026 programme listed on the festival website includes more than 50 events, ranging from high‑profile talks and debates to more intimate conversations and themed sessions.
The festival’s publicity material and shared programme images highlight the breadth of its offering, with sessions that span fiction, non‑fiction, poetry, history, science and current affairs. The inclusion of figures such as Mary Berry and Harriet Tyce alongside political leaders and literary innovators reinforces Cambridge Literary Festival’s role as a meeting point between popular culture, serious literature and public debate.
Why does the presence of Mary Berry and Harriet Tyce matter?
As reported by upday News’ entertainment coverage, the decision to place Dame Mary Berry and Harriet Tyce at the forefront of the festival’s publicity reflects both their individual popularity and the festival’s desire to reach diverse audiences. Mary Berry’s multi‑generational appeal as a broadcaster and writer, coupled with the accessible theme of gardening, is likely to attract attendees who may not see themselves as regular literary festival‑goers.
Similarly, Harriet Tyce’s profile has been significantly raised by her appearance on The Traitors, where she combined the persona of a seasoned barrister and crime writer with the drama of reality television. By giving her a platform to explore Witch Trial and her wider body of work, the festival is drawing on that public recognition to introduce audiences to contemporary crime fiction that engages with themes of justice, media scrutiny and social pressure.
