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

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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Float Along Festival

Sat. 26 September 2026

Float Along music festival returns to Sheffield city centre to do it all again for the fifth year running. The lineup so far includes: White Lies, Sprints, Warmduscher, Opus Kink, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Nuha Ruby Ra, Gia Ford and more.

Dami 'The Gannette' Okhiria

A slam poetry champion, medic and comedy connoisseur – observing different social phenomena, expressing them in writing, bringing them to life on stage or in front of the camera, and inviting reflection.

Helen Mort

A poet with one foot in Sheffield and another in Derbyshire, who finds inspiration at the top of hills, in ghost stories, pubs, friendship, the aftertaste of whisky, the miners' strike, and in lost love.

Rae de Soleil

A firm fixture on Sheffield's poetry scene, weaving the ills of society and its oppression within each word and unravelling the personal-political.