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Nowhere in the world is more suited to celebrating women’s writing than the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth - the former home of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, the literary siblings who, to this day, remain an inspiration to novelists, poets, and artists across the globe. The Brontë Festival of Women’s Writing returns later this month for its 15th year with a programme that highlights the relevance and longevity of the sisters’ work alongside a new generation of female authors, including actress, filmmaker, and writer Emerald Fennell (Saltburn); bestselling American-British novelist Tracy Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring); and Australian author and TV presenter Holly Ringland (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart).
The theme for this year’s festival is Writers from and Based in the North, with a focus on stories shaped by northern landscapes and Brontëan influence and showcasing new work from Northern Publishers Peeple Tree Press, Fly on the Wall, Bluemoose Books and Saraband. Available to attend both in person and online through a digital pass, the weekend hosts a vibrant mix of established and emerging writers who will gather in Haworth to explore and share their interpretations of the North - at a time when the wider Bradford district, with Haworth at its heart, celebrates a year in the spotlight as 2025 UK City of Culture.
Rebecca Yorke, Director of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, said: “This year at the museum, we’ve fully embraced our role in Bradford’s growing creative story, and this continues through the festival. Packed with guests and events that inspire and ignite the imagination, we’re especially excited about the four writers we’ve worked with in collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and the Writers Project of Ghana.
"As children in Haworth, the Brontë siblings dreamed up a series of imaginary worlds—including Angria, a fantastical kingdom that maps directly onto the coast of West Africa. We know the family would be thrilled that four emerging writers (two from Bradford, two from Ghana) have written new stories inspired by Angria but rooted in their own imaginations.”
Programme Highlights
Friday 26 September
- In Conversation with Emerald Fennell: The latest filmmaker to adapt a Brontë novel for the big screen, Emerald Fennell will discuss her much-anticipated version of Wuthering Heights, set to be released in February 2026.
(This event is sold out but will be available to watch digitally after the festival.)
Saturday 27 September
- Northern Voices: Irish Trinidadian Amanda Smyth (Look at You), Wakefield’s SJ Bradley (Maps of Imaginary Towns), and West Yorkshire’s Anna Chilvers (East Coast Road) in conversation with Chair of the Brontë Society and fellow author, Lucy Powrie.
- Northern Writers: Bradford-based Sairish Hussain (Hidden Fires), Manchester’s Colette Snowdon (Captain Jesus), and Rozie Kelly (Kingfisher), from Hebden Bridge - chat with local author Linda Green (The Woman with All the Answers).
- Northern Stories: Arts writer Yvette Huddleston explores historical fiction set in Yorkshire and northern folklore with Bradford’s Rachel Bower (It Comes from the River),and Jennie Godfrey (The List of Suspicious Things), originally from West Yorkshire but now living in Somerset.
- Wandering Imaginations – The Brontë’s imaginary worlds reimagined for 2025: From the cross-cultural collaboration between Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, the Brontë Parsonage Museum, and the Writers Project of Ghana. Four writers, Claire Govender and Kristina Diprose (Bradford),and Akorfa Dawson and Peggy Kere Osman (Ghana) revisit the Brontë’s imaginary world of Angria, for a new collection of stories and animations.
- In Conversation with Tracy Chevalier and Holly Ringland: Hosted by Yvette Huddleston, this special event brings together two celebrated authors to reflect on how their writing has been shaped by the Brontës’ legacy.
Sunday 28 September
- Writing in the Wild Workshop (Sold Out)
- Contemporary Women Writers Panel: A special opportunity to hear from Brontë Society Trustees and representatives from UK-based literary organisations Arvon and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Host Helen Meller (Vice Chair of the Brontë Society and Co-Director of Lumb Bank and Arvon at Home) will chat with Chair Lucy Powrie (Real When I’m With You), Trustee Ellie Keel (The Four), Trustee Penny Batchelor (The Woman Next Door), and Rozie Kelly (Kingfisher).
- Writing Courses Prospective authors can also sign up for ‘Writing a Novel’ courses with best-selling local author Linda Green, available both in person and online.
Full Festival details and tickets are available HERE
Poetry at the Parsonage Day (11 October) follows the Festival, bringing together new and established poets and northern publisher Carcanet, once again inspired by the Brontës and the North.
