Off the Shelf

Photos from Off the Shelf 2022

Autumn in Sheffield is pretty much synonymous with literary delights, as Off the Shelf festival of books, words and ideas returns to the city. The festival hosts a programme packed with talks and readings from world renowned authors and poets, famous folk off the telly, and a few knowledgable locals.

Each year, the festival absorbs audiences in topics ranging from pop music to politics, fine art to feminism.

Come back soon for dates and our highlights among the writer talks, workshops and events in the 2026 programme.

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Sheffield Festivals Guide

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Literature

Change the Word Collective

A collective of new poets from around the world – DRC, Ethiopia, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Pakistan, Sudan, UK – who have now made Sheffield their homes. Making connections to one another and to the city, through poetry.

Porter Book Shop

A chalkboard out front invites “stuff fans” into this small but stacked secondhand bookshop on the independent high street of Sharrow Vale Road.

Rhyme and Reason

For over two decades this colourful, charming shop has specialised in books for children. In recent years it’s expanded into a place where adults too can treat themselves to a new read.

The Other Festival

Fri. 24 July 2026 — Sun. 26 July 2026

Sidney & Matilda

Sidney & Matilda may take the cake for the most stacked lineup of the fringe with over 50 acts across three days (won’t somebody think of the sound guy!). Including country-dream-pop, new-wave electronica combined with general hilarity, and lots more.

The Sheffield culture guide written by in-the-know locals