Terms and Conditions

1. All events take place in the venue printed on your ticket. You will be contacted by email in advance of an event if the venue changes.

2. Unless an event is cancelled e.g. because the speaker is ill or becomes unavailable, tickets are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged. All tickets include VAT. All details and prices are as advertised, but may be liable to change. If an event is sold out, we may consider refunding your ticket if we believe we can re-sell it. This is at the discretion of the Festival Director and refunds will not include the booking fee.

3. Tickets are sold though an external box office. Ticket sales online finish shortly before an event starts. To book tickets by phone please call 0333 666 3366. Lines are open Monday to Friday 9am-7pm (excluding bank holidays). All tickets booked by phone or online incur a booking fee. This fee is for the costs of running the external box office and is not revenue for the Festival. Tickets can be purchased on the door during the Festival, subject to availability. Tickets sent out in the post will cost an additional £2.50. Customers can add their tickets to their Apple or Google wallet.

4. Books are available to purchase after each event at the pop-up Waterstones bookshop and, if relevant, authors will sign copies of their book after each event. We request that you do not bring copies of books not purchased at the event for signing.

5. Some events may be filmed and we have a photographer at the Festival taking pictures for marketing purposes. By buying a ticket you are giving your consent to being filmed or photographed. Please let a senior member of the Festival team know if you do not wish to be filmed or photographed. Parents/guardians will be consulted before any images of children are taken.

6. The Crowne Plaza Hotel has step free access and accessible toilets. If you require assistance with access or seating at a venue or have other special requirements, please notify us here in advance so that we can assist you.

7. We reserve the right to alter the programme or substitute speakers, performers or workshop tutors at our discretion or if circumstances dictate. Please check the website or follow us on Instagram @Stratfordlitfest for programme change alerts.

8. If a headline speaker has to withdraw, and no suitable alternative speaker is available, then pursuant to clause 7 above, tickets will be refunded. For the avoidance of doubt, where any event has two or more speakers, the withdrawal of one of them for any reason will not give rise to the entitlement to a refund. We will endeavour to replace the speaker who cannot attend, or the event will go ahead with the remaining speaker.

9. Any refund of tickets will be through our external box office Ticketsource or direct from the Festival to the card the purchase was made from. This may take a few days to show up on your statement. Booking fees and other charges may not be included in any refund.

10. All seats are unreserved, though some tickets in the Festival Ballroom may be for the front or back of the auditorium. All events are an hour long unless otherwise stated and doors open half an hour before the start time.

11. Adults are expected to buy a ticket for Family Events unless the programme states otherwise. All children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. The Festival takes no responsibility for unaccompanied children. Children under 2 and babes in arms do not need a ticket.

12. We give guidance on the suitable age range for a Family Event but this is guidance only and parents or guardians should make their own judgement.

13. We are committed to freedom of speech. All opinions expressed by speakers attending the Festival are theirs and may not be those of the Festival. We will not tolerate hate speech or abuse of our speakers or other members of the public, and reserve the right to ask people to leave an event if they are deemed to be being abusive or disruptive.

14. No animals of any kind except assistance dogs are allowed into any Festival venues or events unless by prior permission of the Hotel.

15. The Festival will not tolerate any abuse of our staff or volunteers. Any issues should be addressed to the Festival Director.

16. Please check your email inbox and our website for any last minute changes before you travel.