Barnes is justly regarded as a cultivated area of south west London.  It has a long history of the patronage of the arts with a thriving Literary Society which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

It is also home to the premier children’s literary event The Barnes Children’s Literature Festival which each year welcomes thousands of visitors, not just from London and the south east, but from across the globe.

It was with this tradition in mind that Venetia Vyvyan, owner of the Barnes Bookshop, together with St Mary’s Church and Anne Mullins launched the Barnes BookFest in 2020.

Delayed by the pandemic, the inaugural event took place in September 2021. Speakers included Gyles Brandreth, Sebastian Faulks, Simon Heffer and Andrew Graham-Dixon.