The Facts
The London Literature Festival Book Swap returns to Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall from October 28 through November 1, 2026, inviting readers to bring one book and take one home. The free event, running 10am–8pm and closing at 7:30pm on the final day, accepts fiction, poetry, non-fiction, memoir, young adult, and children's titles, each left with a handwritten recommendation note. Leftover books will be donated to Upper Norwood Library Trust in Lambeth. The swap is part of London Literature Festival, supported by Bukhman Philanthropies, and includes contributions from artists in the centre's 75th anniversary programme.
The Signal
The swap turns book-giving into a participatory, no-cost public programme, lowering the barrier to festival engagement beyond ticketed events. For an institution marking its 75th anniversary, it also reinforces community-building as a legacy strategy, with the library donation extending the festival's impact beyond the Southbank and into local Lambeth collections.
- Museums: Southbank Centre
- Locations: London
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