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PERSEPHONE FESTIVAL FAQS

The Persephone Festival, held in celebration of our 25th anniversary, takes place on Friday April 19, Saturday April 20 and Sunday April 21. Events run from approximately 9am in the morning until 9pm at night; the full programme is available to view here and tickets are on sale now. 

All Festival tickets include entry to the pop-up Persephone tearoom at the Assembly Rooms.

Everyone attending an event will also receive a Festival badge to wear around town, as well as a rather charming Festival bag made for us by Re-Wrap in India that is large enough for a book but sturdy enough to use as a clutch bag. To claim yours, stop by the Persephone bookshop any time over the three days of the Festival.

Will I need to show proof of purchase to gain entry to Festival events?

Yes, to gain access to Festival events you will need to show the order confirmation email for your tickets, either on your phone or as a print-out. Please check in advance that you are able to access it and be sure to bring it with you and have it ready to show the ushers on your way in to the venue. Seats are not assigned so inevitably some will have a better view of the stage than others; we suggest arriving early if this is an issue for you.

Will the events be recorded?

They certainly will and you'll be able to listen to the recordings on our website in the week following the Festival. There will not be a charge for this. 

Venue information

  • Persephone Books, 8 Edgar Buildings, Bath BA1 2EE. Access is up two flights of stairs so it is not fully accessible (this just refers to the event space; the bookshop is on the ground floor and access is up two small steps.) 
  • The Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath BA1 2QH. However, for the purposes of the Festival, please enter via the Festival tearoom on the corner of Alfred Street and Saville Row. Fully accessible. A two minute walk from Persephone Books.
  • The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath, BA2 4DB. Fully accessible. A fifteen minute walk from Persephone Books.
  • Landrace Upstairs, 61 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BN. Access is via a spiral staircase with a small hand rail and is not fully accessible. A five minute walk from Persephone Books.
  • Castle Farm, Midford Road, Midford, Bath BA2 7PU. Fully accessible but it is a 10 minute drive out of Bath. You will need to arrange your own transport. Taxis can be booked on 01225 423377 or download the Veezu app; alternatively, there are taxi ranks by Bath Abbey and at the train station.

The Persephone Tea Room

For the duration of the Festival, there will be a pop-up Persephone tearoom in the Assembly Rooms that will be open from 10am up until the evening. Tea and cake will available for £1 each and it will be an opportunity to meet and talk to the Persephone team, to the speakers and, most importantly, to fellow readers. The entrance to the tearoom is on the corner of Albert Street and Saville Row: from the Persephone bookshop, turn left out the door then left up Bartlett Street and keep going and you'll see it. It's about a two minute walk. You will need to show the order confirmation email for your tickets in order to enter. 

Things to do when not attending a Festival event

When you are not attending one of the Festival events, we recommend the following:

  • come to the Persephone tearoom and chat to other Persephone readers and members of the Persephone team.
  • visit the Persephone bookshop, browse the books and meet the office dog, Gilbert.
  • go for a walk with the Persephone Literary Map.
  • visit the Holburne Museum then go for a walk in Sydney Gardens.
  • look around the Roman Baths.
  • seek out Bath's other bookshops: Mr B's, Toppings and Bayntun’s.
  • walk to the Royal Crescent then Victoria Park.
  • if you have more time, the Bath Skyline walk is terrific too.

Tourist information

The closest car park to Persephone Books is Charlotte Street car park and we are an easy 10 minute walk from Bath Spa train station. Our favourite restaurant nearby is Landrace, our favourite bar the Beckford Bottle Shop. We don't know much about local hotels but Bath has plenty of them and we have secured a discounted rate at a few here. For any other tourist information, please contact the Bath tourist board here.

Further questions

If you have further questions about the Persephone Festival, please e-mail us at events@persephonebooks.co.uk, call us at 01225 425050 (outside the UK +44 1225 425050) or come in and see us at 8 Edgar Buildings, Bath, and we will do our best to answer them.

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