Weston-library Image credit: K T Bruce ©

The Weston Library is the festival hub and includes a venue and a festival cafe

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Location and travel

Getting to the festival.

Venues

Festival events mostly take place at the Sheldonian Theatre, Bodleian Library, Weston Library, the Oxford Martin School, Trinity College, St John’s College, Worcester College, Exeter College, Lincoln College, Pusey House and Oxford University Mathematical Institute.

Please note: venues for festival events sometimes change after you have purchased your ticket to accommodate the specific requirements of authors or to meet demand for tickets. Please check the website to confirm the venue for your event and always arrive in good time.

Accessibility

All the main festival venues are accessible and many have hearing loops. For full details, visit the relevant venue websites by clicking on the links below.

Many festival venues operate a disability equality scheme. This is kept under review, taking into account the views of visitors and others. Comments and suggestions are therefore welcome and may be directed to the disability librarian at the Bodleian Library (for Convocation House, Divinity School and Weston Library) and the custodian at the Sheldonian Theatre. For other college and university venues please contact the domestic bursar or department administrator.

To ensure the safe evacuation of wheelchair users in case of emergency, it may occasionally be necessary to limit the number of wheelchair users at a given event. Evac-chairs are provided and duty volunteers trained to assist. A safety briefing for all festival-goers is provided at the start of each event.

Arriving

By train

Oxford is well served from all areas of the country.There are trains to the centre of Oxford from London Marylebone and London Paddington and services from the south coast, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, the Midlands and Gloucestershire. Worcester College is a ten-minute walk from the central station and the Sheldonian Theatre and other venues a 20-minute walk. There is a taxi rank at the station.

By coach

There is a fast and frequent coach service to Oxford from London, the Oxford Tube, with several departures every hour. In Oxford, festival-goers can alight at High Street stops which are within a few minutes’ walk of festival venues. National Express coaches also serve Oxford. The coach station at Gloucester Green is a five-minute walk from Worcester College and a ten-minute walk from the Sheldonian Theatre and other venues.

By car

Street parking is extremely limited. There are car parks at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxpens, at Gloucester Street and in Worcester Street, all within 10 minutes’ walk of festival venues. Oxford is well served by a regular park-and-ride bus service from several points at the city perimeter.

Blue badge parking

For events at the Bodleian Library, Weston Library, Lincoln College, Oxford Martin School and the Sheldonian Theatre, disabled badge holder designated parking is available in Broad Street. Designated parking is available in Beaumont Street for Worcester College, and in St Giles for St Cross College.

The Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

The Telegraph Festival media partner University of Oxford European Union Supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the UK Cultural Relations Platform Supporter of the festival's Voices of Europe programme Bodleian Libraries Festival cultural partner Oxford Martin School Festival ideas partner Oxford Mathematics Spanish Embassy The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture Cervantes Institute, London The Cervantes Institute, London elBullifoundation Blackwell’s Festival on-site and online bookseller Symington Wines of the Douro Valley Compassion in World Farming Pasture to Plate Oxford Business College Where learning meets opportunity: education partners of the festival Old Bank Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Old Parsonage Hotel Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection Oxford Brookes University Oxford International Centre for Publishing Critchleys Accountants to the festival Confucius Institute Voltaire Foundation Felicity Bryan Associates Goldmoney Properties Princeton University Press Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024 Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Jewish Book Week Partner of Oxford Literary Festival Jim Mellon Miles Young Tim and Marion Stevenson Martin and Elise Becket Smith Ian and Carol Sellars David Isaac Mary and Cecil Quillen Supporters of the programme of American literature and culture Other donors Yale University Press London New College New College founded 1379 Exeter College Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314 Worcester College Worcester College founded 1714 Lincoln College Lincoln College founded 1427 Trinity College Trinity College founded 1555 Magdalen College Magdalen College founded 1458 Reuben College Reuben College founded in 2019 Pusey House Founded 1884 Brasenose College Brasenose College founded in 1512 New Dutch Writing Human Ecology Project MACROVegan Bear Ram Elk Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design Racalia Olive Oil Olive oil from Sicily Paul Bloomfield Ltd University of Oxford Alumni Office Alumni Office The Sheldonian Theatre Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Oxford University Images Oxford University Images CAV Oxford The Litmus Partnership Schoolreaders Windrush Group The Oxford Times BBC Radio Oxford Local radio partner Conference Oxford Ox in a Box OX magazine