Literature Festival at Sea 2023

Find yourself absorbed in a true literary haven, surrounded by fellow book lovers on board the Literature Festival at Sea. This event, curated by the programming team of The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, sees authors, poets, journalists, critics, and historians unite, bringing the spirit of the Festival to your voyage.
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19 - 26 November 2023, Queen Mary 2

Curated by the programming team of Cheltenham Festivals, this unique voyage celebrates the written word in its many forms.

Enjoy a daily dose of news from Times journalists. Lose yourself in thought-provoking conversation at Q&A sessions. Meet your favourite writers at intimate book signings. Listen as literary greats dissect everything from art and film to history and politics. You could fill every day on board with all kinds of literature-based activities and experiences. And that’s on top of exploring the range of signature Cunard experiences you can already look forward to when you holiday with us.

Discover a line-up that includes Scottish novelist Chris Brookmyre and his co-writer and wife, Marisa Haetzman, former US ambassador to the UK Matthew Barzun, and Sunday Times journalist Decca Aitkenhead, with more authors to be announced. The Literature Festival at Sea is a must for book lovers and free thinkers everywhere.

Special guests on board

Anna Murphy

Fashion Director for The Times.

Marcus Brigstocke

Multi-award-winning comedian, actor, writer, playwright, director, and satirist.

Hashi Mohamed

Barrister at Landmark Chambers, broadcaster, and published author.

Paterson Joseph

British actor and writer.

Rachel Parris

Bafta Award-nominated comedian, musician and improviser with segments on BBC2's The Mash Report.

Julia Wheeler

Writer, journalist, former BBC Gulf correspondent, Cheltenham Literature and Science Festival Chair.

Richard Rogan

Crossword Editor for The Times.

Kavita Puri

Award-winning journalist, producer, and broadcaster.

Chris Clark

Senior figure in the business world.

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Kate Mosse

International bestselling novelist, playwright and non-fiction writer.

Greg Mosse

Writer and ‘encourager of writers’, and founder of the Criterion New Writing script development programme.

Lynda La Plante CBE

Multi-award-winning screenwriter.

Clare Mackintosh

Multi-award-winning author.

Luigi Bonomi

Former Editorial Director for Penguin Books and literary agent to Sir Terry Wogan, Kirstie Allsopp, and Alan Titchmarsh.

Antony Beevor

Award-winning author.

Yvonne Battle-Felton

Fiction and creative non-fiction writer.

Peter Kemp

The Sunday Times’s Chief Fiction Reviewer and writer.

Hugo Rifkind

Columnist, critic and leader writer for The Times and a presenter on Times Radio.

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Alan Johnson

Former political figure and award-winning author.

Alan Titchmarsh

Gardener, writer, novelist, and broadcaster.

Daniel Finkelstein

Associate Editor, columnist and Lead Writer for The Times.

Val McDermid

Accomplished novelist.

Matt Chorley

Writer and broadcaster for The Times.

Artemis Cooper

Author.

Alison Bonomi

Editor, agent and author.

Douglas Stuart

Booker Prize 2020 winning author.

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Clare Clark

Award-winning author.

Andrew Hunter Murray

Author, comedian, and broadcaster.

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Book your place on the 2023 voyage today

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