Volunteer-run café at The Beacon celebrates first birthday!

Published 5 May 2026

Brews and Books Café run by Wantage Literary Festival at The Beacon in Wantage has celebrated its first birthday.

Open Monday to Friday from 9.45am-1.30pm and run by volunteers, it has proved so popular in its first year that Vale of White Horse District Council, who own and manage The Beacon, and Wantage Literary Festival have agreed that Brews and Books Café is here to stay.

News of the café’s continuation comes in time for the inaugural Wantage Children’s Books Festival, also organised by Wantage Literary Festival, which will be held on Saturday 30 May.

Money raised from the café helps the Wantage Literary Festival and the Wantage Children’s Books Festival cover the costs of their annual events and enables them to continue to attract great authors to the town.

The Brews and Books Café is open for everyone to use, not just those who are attending shows and classes at The Beacon.

Cllr Helen Pighills, Cabinet Member for Community Health and Wellbeing at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “Since its opening The Brews and Books Café has brought a buzz to The Beacon, providing a welcoming space for the community to meet up, relax, and maybe read a book.  We are looking forward to continuing this partnership with the Wantage Literary Festival for the much-loved café at The Beacon, and we are grateful to the volunteers giving their time to support it.”

Judith Knight Director of the Wantage Children’s Literature Festival said “Brews and Books Café began during my role as Festival Director of Wantage Literary Festival as a welcoming social space where authors and festival‑goers could meet, talk, and feel at home during the annual festival. The response was so positive that, when the opportunity arose to make it permanent, we jumped at the chance. As the café celebrated its first birthday on 25 April, it has become not only a much‑loved community hub at The Beacon, but also a vital source of funds for the Wantage Literary Festival. This year, those funds enable the Festival to sponsor and deliver a free Children’s Books Festival during May half term, welcoming major children’s authors alongside workshops and storytelling events. From adult audiences at the main festival to young readers at the Children’s Books Festival, our events celebrate a love of reading for all ages. This year also marks the first Children’s Books Festival to align with the Government’s ‘Go All In’ campaign, highlighting the power of books to inspire imagination and deliver lifelong benefits for children.”

You can find out more about the upcoming Children’s Books Festival on the official website.