It wouldn’t be Monty Lit Fest without our annual Big Quiz Night.

It’s so good that, this year, we’re doing it twice!  We’re launching our 2026 programme with an extra helping from our resident quizmaster, Marcus Berkmann.

Keen-eyed readers may have already spotted that Zandra Rhodes will be appearing at the Festival, but if you’d like more news about Paul Burrell, Tom Heap, Sophie Hannah and Cynan Jones then make sure you get your tickets for the launch.

They’re just a few of the top names coming in June, but there’ll be a host of other prize-winning authors, writing about what matters to us in Wales and the borders, just as you’ve come to expect from Monty Lit Fest.  The launch is also the chance to find out more about the children’s writers coming for the second Jill Kibble Monty Minifest.

“Every year, our festival weekend quiz sells out really quickly”, said Monty Lit Fest chairs Sarah Corser and Myfanwy Alexander.  “And every year we have to turn people away.  So we thought we’d give everyone another chance to join in by asking Marcus to come twice and double the fun.”

Marcus is well known to Lit Fest regulars as the deviser of fiendish quizzes. We invite both the initiated and first-timers to join us for the chance to pit your wits against him in the glorious surroundings of Montgomery Town Hall.

Come with team already formed, or join one on the night. But be prepared for much head-scratching and brain taxing. Who knows: this could be your team’s year. 

Tickets are available online or in person at The Montgomery Bookshop or Ivy House Cafe in Montgmery.

To help us use the space we have available at the Town Hall to best effect, please buy a table/team ticket where possible so that we can allocate tables accordingly. Smaller teams might have to share tables or include people who have bought tickets but are not already part of a team. 

 Marcus Berkmann is the author of, among other books, Berkmann’s Pop Miscellany, Berkmann’s Cricketing Miscellany and Still a Bit of Snap in the Celery. He is a regular contributor to Private Eye, Saga Magazine and the Daily Mail, where he reviews books. He has written columns for the Independent magazine and The Spectator, TV reviews for the Daily Mail and sports columns for Punch, the Independent on Sunday and the Daily Express. He also writes and produces fiendish quizzes, and is especially remembered for his time on BBC Radio 4’s Round Britain Quiz.