The Southbank Centre has set the dates for the 2026 London Literature Festival: Wednesday 21 October through Sunday 1 November, according to the venue's event page for the family show The Smeds and the Smoos, which is listed as part of the festival programme (Southbank Centre).

That gives the festival a twelve-day run along the South Bank of the Thames. The Southbank Centre — a complex of concert halls, galleries and performance spaces including the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall — has hosted the London Literature Festival since 2007, making it one of the longer-running literary events on the capital's calendar.

The dates surfaced through the listing for The Smeds and the Smoos, a staged adaptation of the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The production appears as part of the festival's family strand, which typically runs alongside author talks, readings and panel discussions featuring writers from across the UK and internationally.

No further programme details — specific author appearances, ticket prices, or on-sale dates — have been announced publicly beyond the festival window itself. The full line-up is likely to be confirmed closer to the event.

For readers who have not attended before, the London Literature Festival functions as part ticketed event series, part free-entry cultural programme. Past editions have featured novelists, poets, journalists and politicians in conversation, alongside workshops and activities for children. The family strand, where The Smeds and the Smoos sits, is aimed at younger audiences and usually includes interactive performances and storytelling sessions.

Donaldson and Scheffler are the pairing behind The Gruffalo, one of the best-selling children's picture books of the past quarter-century. The Smeds and the Smoos, published in 2019, tells the story of two rival alien groups whose children become friends; the stage version has toured UK theatres since its premiere.

With the festival running from late October into early November, it falls just after the announcement of the Booker Prize winner — typically revealed in late October or early November — which in past years has allowed the festival to host shortlisted or winning authors in a timely slot.

More details are expected from the Southbank Centre in the coming months.