Spring Readers' Day 2026

Spend the day in the company of some of Britain’s best-loved authors as they share their stories, inspirations and latest projects.

Spring Readers’ Day is a regular, and extremely popular feature of the main Festival and once again we will be bringing the very best spring and summer reads to West Horsley Place.

The day takes the format of a mini festival in a day with five authors, including debut fiction writers and established novelists, talking about their lives, their inspirations and their latest projects. There is also an opportunity to meet the authors and have books signed.

Once again, we’re pleased to give you more choice and are offering two tickets, one enabling you to bring your own lunch and one with a light lunch provided.

Both options include a Goody Bag, and the venue offers free parking on site and a coffee van with hot drinks and tasty snacks in the courtyard.

Our host for the day is author and journalist, Patricia Nicol. Patricia is a regular book reviewer for The Sunday Times, and also writes a weekly audio column, reviewing radio and podcasts. She also writes the Best Books column for the Daily Mail.

Patrick Gale – Love Lane

When veteran Canadian wheat farmer, Harry Cane is brutally obliged to sell up and sail home to an England transformed by two world wars, his arrival triggers unwelcome self-examination for the family he abandoned, and for whom he has never been more than a distant myth.His daughter feels duty bound to take him in but is riven with doubt and ambushed by a long buried anger she has never before expressed. Harry's effect on the next generation is less predictable, and enables his granddaughter to deal with an unspeakable trauma, while her gentle husband feels seen for who he truly is. Can Harry stay and make a new life before it's too late, or will he find himself cast out again, punished for having witnessed and understood too much? From the rural plains of Canada to 1950s Liverpool and Yorkshire, Love Lane is a searing portrayal of escape and entrapment, and a powerful exploration of what home and family can really be.

Georgina Moore – River of Stars

Jo hasn’t seen Oliver since that magical, life-changing summer when their idyllic island paradise was shattered. Growing up on Walnut Tree Island, they were everything to each other, defying a feud that fractured their families decades before. If first love runs deep, Jo and Oliver’s ran like the river itself, fast and true.

On Walnut Tree Island, love affairs and secrets come and go like the tides. Once the pulse of a flourishing 1960s music scene, it’s where Mary Star fell in love with a young musician about to hit the big time, only to be left with a baby and a broken heart. Mary has made the island a haven for two generations of Star women, raising her daughter and her granddaughter, surrounded by the river, supported by a bohemian, artistic community.

But Oliver’s return to the island after years away throws everyone into a frenzy. The threat of change is coming to paradise. And for Jo, Oliver’s return opens the wounds of a love she thought she had lost for ever…

Greg Mosse - The Chateau Murder

Zoe Pascal has settled into her new life in the picturesque village of Sainte-Catherine, running her beloved bookshop with her new companion, Russell the dog.

When an old friend invites Zoe to join her family at Chateau Palotte for the holidays, Zoe heads off into the French countryside to the grand, yet slightly dilapidated, castle.

But there's a frosty atmosphere at the chateau - and when the butler is found dead, Zoe is forced to ask: Was this an accident, or is there a murderer in the grounds?

Soon, Zoe uncovers that everyone staying at the chateau has a motive for murder - can she uncover the truth, before they strike again?

Sarah Vaughan - Based on a True Story

Sarah Vaughan, author of huge bestseller Anatomy of a Scandal, returns with her gripping new thriller Based on a True Story, a compelling novel about money, power and lies, set at a lavish 70th birthday party on the windswept Cornish coast.

Fran Littlewood - The Favourite

Alex, Eva and Nancy.Three grown-up sisters; each wonderful and messy in their own individual ways. And loved equally by their parents, Vivienne and Patrick.

Or so they thought... Until on their annual family holiday, Patrick accidentally reveals that he has a favourite daughter - causing other long-buried secrets to come to light.

Set over a single week, but examining the highs and lows that define a family over the decades, The Favourite is a story about rivalries and long-held resentments, about loss and grief and blame – and, above all, about love.

PLEASE NOTE

Light lunch includes a sandwich, a packet of crisps, piece of fruit and small mini bite.

There is a coffee van on-site so bring your reusable cup with you.

For refreshments we will have tap water and cordial available so bring a reuseable cup or water bottle with you.

Are you a member of a Book Club or Reading Group?

We offer 10% discount when booking for 5 or more people together. To book for a group please email alexandrews@guildfordbookfestival.co.uk.