Woodstock Literature Society

The Woodstock Literature Society was founded in 2009 with the aim of presenting high quality talks on literature to local book lovers, offering time to socialise after the talk with refreshment (a glass of wine at evening talks/tea and cake at afternoon talks). Since then, its reputation and membership have grown and we are pleased to welcome members and visitors from Oxfordshire and beyond.

Topics range from classic and contemporary authors, to drama, poetry, and foreign authors in translation. Our speakers include academic specialists, published authors, and literary journalists. Full details can be seen under Programmes. Please note that changes to the programme can also be found on the programme page. 

We welcome visitors to our talks.  Entry is £8.00 (free admission for under-18s)

Please note that if you attended the January talk as a guest, we will be very happy to deduct that visitor fee from your annual subscription (£30.00), so the balance would be £22.00.  Please see Membership for payment details.  We will trust anyone who paid without signing-in, but to make the system work more transparently in future we would appreciate full names on signing in.

Our next talk will be on 

Saturday, 23rd March at 3.00pm

in St Hugh's Centre, Hensington Road


Claire Harman will give a talk entitled

'All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield 

and  the Art of Risking Everything'


Claire Harman’s centenary study, which  interweaves literary commentary with biography, emphasises Katherine Mansfield’s importance as an innovator (‘the only writing I have ever been jealous of’ Virginia Woolf said).  For anyone who does not know Mansfield's work this is an excellent introduction, and well worth reading before, rather than after, the talk.  Claire Harman interweaves perceptive analyses of the stories with stages in Mansfield's extraordinary life (from a New Zealand childhood and love of a Maori aristocrat, Maata Mahupuku, to Bloomsbury and fertile literary friendships with Virginia Woolf, D.H.Lawrence and others). 

Visitors are welcome.  Entry £8.00

The WLS card reader will not be available at this talk

Please bring cash or cheques for any payments.

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, 27th March at 11:30

The Spring Open Book Group will meet in The Town Hall to discuss

‘The Aspern Papers’ by Henry James

No need to pre-book, all are welcome.  Entry £3.00

A selection of images used in publicity posters for previous talks

Whether you are a reader, a writer, or a poet, Woodstock Literature Society welcomes your input and suggestions for future talks. 

We hope you will enjoy the reviews submitted to A Good Read by members and friends as part of our conversations about literature.  Details of how to submit a piece can be found on the page itself.