London’s longest running literary festival returns home to Kings Place, bringing together over 150 speakers across 90 events in-person and online. Covering fiction, faith, politics, music, and everything in between, the 74th edition will see world-renowned thinkers take the stage, from Nicholas Hytner, Emma Barnett and Simon Sebag Montefiore to Jonathan Freedland, Elif Shafak, Susan Neiman and Lionel Shriver.
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Jewish Book Week is back again at the world-class Kings Place, within the vibrant new cultural quarter in King’s Cross, for nine days of enlightening debates, talks, and performances. Running from 1st-9th March 2025, the festival will see a pantheon of award-winning authors and thinkers come together to celebrate the Jewish cultural highlight of the year. From Olivier-winner Nicholas Hytner and bestseller Elif Shafak to Orange-Prize winner Lionel Shriver and Orwell-Prize winner Jonathan Freedland, the festival attracts literary and creative excellence worldwide.
Hosted by the Jewish Literary Foundation, the 74th edition of the festival will grapple with our fast-changing world through a challenging and enriching programme. Among those speaking at the event for the first time are Private Eye diarist Craig Brown, screenwriter and comedic talent Robert Popper, author and journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, football manager David Pleat, and award-winning Ukrainian writer Ilya Kaminsky. They feature alongside returning favourites Emma Barnett, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Anne Sebba, and Susan Neiman.
The festival’s opening night will kick off the festival with an evening full of music, debate, and open conversation. A performance by pianist Danny Driver, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and cellist Gemma Rosefield will be followed by a discussion with Mark Lawson, Lionel Shriver, and Lord Vaizey on ‘Arts in the Age of Boycotts’. With events spanning the breadth of Jewish experience, poetry readings and discussions will be intermingled with Ladino, Israeli, and European Jewish music, designed to entertain and platform a wide range of cultural perspectives.
Sir Nicholas Hytner will discuss the sold-out play Giant with playwright Mark Rosenblatt ahead of its West End transfer, having been previewed exclusively at Jewish Book Week 2024. Simon Sebag Montefiore will explore the persistence of antisemitism with Dave Rich and Hadley Freeman, while Tom Segev will delve into the new edition of his New York Times Book of the Year One Palestine, Complete.
With over 70 events in-person at Kings Place, the online-only events will cover subjects as varied as political polarisation, a new biography of Anne Frank, the influential humour of MAD Magazine, and John Singer Sargent’s portraits. With more free fringe and online events than ever before, in addition to £5 tickets for under 30s, the 2025 festival is set to be its most accessible yet.
The festival builds on the outstanding success of its 2024 festival, which saw over 15,000 people pack out the venues and tune in online. Adding to its plethora of partners and sponsors, including the Times Literary Supplement, Dangoor Education, and the National Library of Israel, the festival is thrilled to partner for the first time with the Wingate Literary Prize, hosting its award ceremony on 8th March at Kings Place. The festival also continues its long-term partnership with the Genesis Foundation for its Genesis Emerging Writers Programme, where debut writers will take the stage.
As Creative Director Claudia Rubenstein says, “Jewish Book Week wouldn’t be serving its mission of inspiring the readers and writers of tomorrow if it wasn’t a genuine home for some of our most exciting international voices, giving their ideas and creativity the exposure they deserve.”
