Writers’ Hub @ Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival
Writers’ Hub 2026 September 23/24, 10 – 6pm
The 2026 Writers’ Hub brings together local and South West writers in a bespoke space for two days as part of Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival. Passholders can enjoy a host of activities, talks and panel conversations, as well as an array of stalls within the tent, and an opportunity to display their own works alongside writing workshops, and lots of networking and chatting. We even have a Poet in Residence this year! Stalls include wonderful Ink & Page with their beautiful writer-adjacent goods and Poetry Pharmacy items, Jawbone Collective, Roadsong Books (Wednesday only), and Winter & Drew. And of course all the delights of the main festival (including the catering tent!) are a step away.
Wednesday Writers’ Hub 23rd September
10 – 10.45
Writing Breakfast – with brownies! Gently led writing exercises to gear us into the day.
11.15 – 12.45
Why Write?
A panel discussion about the benefits of writing - and reading – and their power to change
Mary Stephenson – former writer in residence at HMP Channings Wood, founder of Stories Connect and Storybook Dads – a project that gets fathers in prison writing and reading stories for their children.
Kev Mud – as someone who has lived with addiction, homelessness and mental health crises, Kev is now a poet and comedian who also works in suicide prevention, with first-hand experience of the power of finding his voice as a writer.
Zoe Flood – independent journalist and documentary film maker. Her journalism and documentary filmmaking have been featured by outlets, including the BBC, The Guardian, The New York Times, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera.
Harula Ladd – Poet and creative facilitator, Harula has worked in a huge range of settings from hospitals to trauma centres for battle veterans. We are also delighted to have Harula as our Poet in Residence for the Hub.
Lunch
1.30 – 2.30
What’s your Story?
Over to YOU! A facilitated opportunity for pass holders to introduce themselves and their writing (briefly!) and discover sparks and connections. There will be cake, but bring your coffee over from the marquee!
3.00 – 4.00
Tom Cox – a conversation about adventures in writing, publishing and talking dogs.
Former music journalist, golfer, and Guardian columnist (21st Century Yokel) Tom is wonderful witty, warm company and knows a thing or two about writing. Experienced in every style of writing and of publishing, he is someone who – in his determination not to follow fashion – is, of course, effortlessly cool.
Sophie James and Tom will begin this conversation, but everyone is invited to join in! We encourage you to read Everything Will Swallow You, and/or Notebook (nice and short!) prior to the conversation. And wear a cardigan.
4.30 onwards
Whose story?
Documentary maker and journalist Zoe Flood knows first hand about the pitfalls and politics of telling other people’s stories. She will give an engaging and provocative talk (20 mins max) on the ethics and implications of the stories we choose to amplify, then we will open up for questions, counterarguments and discussion – about truth, about memoir, about appropriation and whether there are limits to who can tell what story.
Lively conversation with a glass of fizz – what could be better?
Closing poem from Harula Ladd. The tent closes at 6pm
Thursday Writers’ Hub
10.00 – 10.45
Writing Breakfast – with brownies! Led by Harula Ladd, our poet in residence.
10.55 – 11.15
Entering Competitions – 10 lessons from the Exeter Novel Prize with David Lloyd and Kim Squirrell
11.20 – 12.20
What particular challenges do older women writers face? And what opportunities?
A panel of women writers will share work from their debut collection, (in)visibilities, and open up a conversation about finding our voices – whoever we are. “We all understand what it is to be seen and unseen, welcomed and dismissed, central and peripheral – sometimes all at once. From these sifting positions, we write.
12.30 Lunch – networking
2.00 – 3.00
AI - what every writer needs to know
Lindsay Bennet Ford and Theo Jones from the Society of Authors will enlighten and inform us in a session recorded for the SoA podcast. Starting with an overview of the AI landscape and its implications, and touching on everything from creativity and human authorship to legislation, self-publishing and AI in workflows, this session will help us understand how to use - and avoid – AI judiciously (especially where submissions and competitions are concerned!)
3.15 – 4.45
The writer, the agent, the publicist, the publisher: the journey to publication
10 minutes from each on their role and their advice to writers, then over to you all for questions
Juliet Pickering literary agent at Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, representing a broad range of contemporary fiction and non-fiction. She is also on the advisory board of the Working Class Writers’ Festival. Juliet started out as a bookseller and fiction buyer for Waterstone’s.
Jude Cook is a writer whose first novel Byron Easy was followed by Jacob's Advice. In 2025, he founded the UK-based independent small press Conduit Books to publish literary fiction and memoir, focusing initially on male authors.
Hayley Camis is Head of Publicity with a focus on non-fiction at Bloomsbury. She started her publishing career at HarperCollins before joining Little, Brown in 2016 where she worked across the literary imprints Abacus, Corsair, Fleet and Virago and headed up the publicity for the Virago Modern Classics list.
Clare Owen - YA author and now a debut novelist for adults
5.00 – 5.45
Orlando Murrin: from Cookery to Crime – a conversation about the publishing worlds that Orlando has encountered, and his ambitions for CLOTTED CRIME – an informal network for Devon crime writers.
Followed by time to network chat with a glass, and hear our final poem from Harula Ladd, Poet in Residence, to close our time in the marquee.
6.30 – 8.30
Open Mic
Join us over in Brook Kitchen, 5 minutes from the tent, for an Open Mic which begins at 6.30pm and features Kev Mud as a special guest. Tickets for this are sold separately through the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival site, and are limited, so book early! Pre-book food with Brook Kitchen. To go on the readers list, email sidmouthdavid@outlook.com.
