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

Photos from Off the Shelf 2022

Autumn in Sheffield is pretty much synonymous with literary delights, as Off the Shelf Festival of Words 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.

Look out for our top picks from the 2025 Off the Shelf programme in the coming months.

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Sheffield Food Festival

Sat. 24 May 2025 — Mon. 26 May 2025

Peace Gardens, S1 2HH

Three (hopefully) sunny days of food, food and more food.

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.

No Bounds

Fri. 10 October 2025 — Sun. 12 October 2025

A weekend of bleeps, beats and sweaty grins – bringing together music, visual art and technology. Lineup for 2025 to be confirmed.

Désirée Reynolds

The writer – and DJ, journalist and mentor – talks to Annalisa Toccara about being inspired by ordinariness, making space for change, and curating the Black Women Write Now strand at Off the Shelf Festival 2020.