A destination for landmark cultural moments, the Southbank Centre is proud to announce its Summer Literature & Spoken Word 2025 season from May to October 2025, offering unbeatable experiences to audiences across London and the UK.
Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature & Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, says:
“From poetry to podcasts, the Southbank Centre’s Summer Literature and Spoken Word 2025 season offers a programme packed with writers whose words enliven and enrich our cultural lives. From Raymond Antrobus, attuning us to the diverse experiences of D/deaf communities, to Jeanette Winterson, Ocean Vuong and Carlo Rovelli, the season covers a breadth of perspectives with enduring resonance and relevance.This season takes our partnerships with PalFest and The Booker Prize to new levels, alongside new partnerships with OWN IT! who celebrate a decade of their boundary-pushing work publishing and platforming diverse voices.”
From the enduring relevance of works in the modern canon to writing at the cutting edge of contemporary fiction, this season features London-exclusive events with Jeanette Winterson as her internationally-renowned work Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit turns 40 and an evening of readings in celebration of Hanya Yanaghara’s acclaimed novel, A Little Life to marks its 10th anniversary.
With something for everyone, this season platforms a range of new works from the award-winning Raymond Antrobus whose memoir explores deafness, language and identity to Ocean Vuong who presents his latest book, Emperor of Gladness, to Edward St Aubyn who celebrates the launch of his new novel, Parallel Lines. As well as exclusive events from women on the world stage including Nicola Sturgeon who reflects on her career at the helm of Scottish politics to Justice Jackson who discusses her life and career as the first Black woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
A place for forging new ideas, the Southbank Centre presents a new partnership with the boundary-breaking independent publisher OWN IT! who celebrate their 10th anniversary with a night of unforgettable interdisciplinary performances. And building upon our partnership with the Booker Prize, we will host a live public event to announce the shortlist for the first time. The 2025 judging panel, featuring Roddy Doyle as chair, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Power and Kiley Reid, will reveal the six books in contention for this year’s prize live on stage.
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