Online Festival

Gloriously Gothic and unnervingly contemporary, Jeanette Winterson’s Night Side of the River is a blend of chilling short stories and the author’s real-life encounters with the supernatural. Winterson explores grief, revenge and the myriad ways in which technology can disrupt the boundary between life and death. Our lives are digital, exposed and always on. We can find out everything about our world, but we know little about the world of ghosts. They wander the metaverse just as they haunt our homes and our memories, seeking new ways to connect, to live among us, to remind us, to tempt us, to take their revenge. These are the stories of the dead – of those we’ve lost, loved, forgotten…and feared.

Start your day at Hay Festival with our daily news review. Join our leading journalists and special guests as they take us behind the headlines with insider perspectives, insights and an eye on what’s next. Strong coffee recommended! Among today’s guests are judge Lady Hale and comedian Doon Mackichan.

Doon Mackichan is best known for her comedy characters in the hugely popular Brass Eye, Smack the Pony and Toast of London. Lady Hale is former President of the UK Supreme Court. Chaired by The Independent chief books critic Martin Chilton.

Settle in for a joyous morning of family entertainment with national treasure and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. He shares stories and poems from his extensive back catalogue, and introduces his latest playful tale The Incredible Adventures of Gaston le Dog. Inspired by stories Michael used to tell his son on holiday in France, this was the book he dreamed of writing while he was recovering from Covid.

From the historian and co-presenter of The Rest is History podcast comes the story of antiquity’s ultimate superpower at the pinnacle of its greatness. The Roman Empire once stretched from Scotland to Arabia, the wealthiest and most formidable state the world had seen. Holland’s Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age begins in 69 AD, a year that saw four Caesars in succession rule the empire, and ends some seven decades later with the death of Hadrian. Covering the destruction of Jerusalem and Pompeii, the building of the Colosseum and Hadrian’s Wall, and the conquests of Trajan, he vividly sketches the lives of Romans from slaves to emperors. This is the last of his trilogy that began with Rubicon and continued with Dynasty.

The roots of Western civilisation lie in ancient Greek and Rome, and values like freedom, rationality, justice, democracy and tolerance originated in the West. But what if that’s not true? Covering 4,000 years of history, Josephine Quinn calls for a major reassessment of the West, arguing that many of the values we hold close are not only or originally western, and that the West is a product of longstanding links between a large group of cultures, from the Gobi Desert to the Atlantic Ocean, Scandinavia to the Sahara. Quinn, a professor of ancient history at the University of Oxford, puts forward a rich new narrative that has the power to change how we see the world.

What would a sustainable economy look like? How could we live within our environmental means? Sir Dieter Helm explains what it would take to properly maintain different types of capital, why polluters would have to pay, why the current generation would have to fund the necessary maintenance of our natural assets and why we would have to save to invest. Author of Net Zero and The Carbon Crunch, Helm is Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford. From 2012 to 2020 he was Independent Chair of the UK Natural Capital Committee, providing advice to the government on the sustainable use of natural capital. His latest book is Legacy: How to Build the Sustainable Economy and he is in conversation with Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust.

Only 628 people in human history have left Earth. Tim Peake traces the lives of some of these remarkable men and women, from Yuri Gagarin to Neil Armstrong, Valentina Tereshkova to Peggy Whitson. He describes the wondrous view of Earth, the surreal weightlessness, the extraordinary danger, the surprising humdrum, the unexpected humour, the psychological pressures, the physical toll, the thrill of launch and trepidation of re-entry. He also examines the surprising, shocking and often poignant stories of astronauts back on Earth, whose lives are forever changed as they readjust to terra firma. A former Apache helicopter pilot, flight instructor and test pilot, Peake was the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station.

Political sketch writer John Crace returns to Hay Festival with his blisteringly hilarious tour through the whirlwind of post-Brexit Britain, from the ousting of Boris to the dawn of a new era… sort of. Another month, another prime minister – how many have we been through now? Despite all the nonsense that has spewed forth from Westminster over the past two years, Crace’s brilliantly lacerating political sketches have provided some desperately needed relief. In Depraved New World: Please Hold, the Government will be With You Shortly, he takes in everything from Partygate, BoJo’s farewell, Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous reign to the psychodrama of the Tory leadership contest(s), the return of Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman’s hokey pokey and whatever lies ahead.

Journalism is the pursuit of the truth, and that’s what Tom Burgis and Carole Cadwalladr have spent their careers working towards. But what happens when people don’t want the truth to get out? Burgis and Cadwalladr talk to writer Oliver Bullough about the society-changing work they have done, and how strategic lawsuits against public participation (known as SLAPPS) are increasingly being used to tie up journalists’ time and funds to stop their work.

For three years, Burgis followed a lead that produced his new book Cuckooland: Where the Rich Own the Truth. He hunted down oligarchs and traced vast sums of money flowing between multinational corporations, ex-Soviet dictators and the West’s ruling élites. Guardian writer Cadwalladr exposed Cambridge Analytica’s role in mass-harvesting data to influence elections in the UK and US. Bullough is author of Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals.

Troy has fallen. After ten years of war, the Greeks make their way back to their own lands – but what homes now await them? Hay Festival President Stephen Fry is well known for his retellings of Greek myths – Mythos, Heroes and Troy are all bestsellers. Join him as he now directs his gaze to Odysseus, Agamemnon, Helen and Aeneas on their return from the Trojan War. The award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director gives a pre-publication preview of the subjects of his next book.

American novelist James Baldwin is often called one of the best writers of the 20th century, and his writing, from essays to fiction to critiques, is still popular. But why is Baldwin still so well-read? And what makes his work – much of it rooted in his own experiences as a gay Black man who grew up in poverty in New York’s Harlem – so relevant still, to so many people? Our panel of experts take a look at Baldwin’s life and work, and address why his voice still resonates.

Mendez’s debut novel Rainbow Milk was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize and the Polari Prize, among others. Irenosen Okojie’s novel Butterfly Fish and her short story collections, Speak Gigantular and Nudibranch, have won and been nominated for multiple awards. David Olusoga is a historian and the author of Black and British: A Forgotten History. Colm Tóibín’s most recent novel is The Magician, and he is the current Laureate for Irish Fiction. They talk to Creative Producer Heather Marks.

It’s election year in both the UK and the US, which means politicians trying to win our vote, endless scandals and arguments, and a search for the people and parties we think are going to work for us. Join the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr, US historian Sarah Churchwell and television journalist Matt Frei for a round table discussion with journalist Matthew D’Ancona. They look at the contenders on both sides of the Atlantic, the challenges facing the new governments and what the implications of the elections are at home and abroad.

Colm Tóibín reunites us with the heroine of his 2009 novel, Brooklyn, in his sequel Long Island. We find Eilis Lacey 20 years on, in the 1970s, living with her husband, Tony Fiorello, and children on Long Island, rather too close to her Fiorello in-laws. A shocking piece of news propels Eilis back to Ireland, to a world she thought she had long left behind and to ways of living, and loving, she thought she had lost. Tóibín is the current Laureate for Irish Fiction. His previous novels include The Master, The Testament of Mary and House of Names. His work has been shortlisted for the Booker multiple times, and has won both the Costa Novel Award and the Impac Award. He talks to Hay Festival President Stephen Fry.

Lord Sebastian Coe has unrivalled experience of the world of sport, as a double Olympic gold medallist, architect of the London 2012 Olympics, President of World Athletics, politician, businessman and champion of sport as a path to individual fitness, national pride and international collaboration. He talks to journalist Matthew d’Ancona about the ever-expanding role of sport in 21st century society, and the controversies and opportunities that lie ahead.

Our panel of experts talk to Dr Peter Olusoga – senior lecturer in psychology at Sheffield Hallam University and host of the award-winning performance psychology podcast, Eighty Percent Mental. They share long-term strategies and offer unique advice on looking after your physical and mental health.

Dr Federica Amati is a medical scientist, researcher and head nutritionist at ZOE, and combines nutrition, medical science and public health advice in her book Every Body Should Know This. Dr Alex George’s The Mind Manual shows readers how to assess their mental health and understand their own normal. George is a TV doctor, bestselling author and Youth Mental Health Ambassador to the government. Ultra-athlete Josh Llewellyn-Jones was born with cystic fibrosis and given a 10% chance of surviving his first night due to complications. He’s now a World Record-holding endurance athlete and founder of the extremely inclusive and inspirational Lift Club, a community focusing on the mind, body and health.

One of football’s most successful players ever, Gary Lineker’s latest act has seen him launch a podcasting empire. As founder of Goalhanger Productions, Lineker produces hit shows The Rest is History, The Rest is Entertainment, The Rest is Football and The Rest is Politics, adding much-needed nuance and insight into our national discourse. Join the England legend and Match of the Day presenter for a wide-ranging discussion of his career in sport, media and storytelling. He talks to historian and broadcaster David Olusoga.

To fix Britain’s inequality problem, the power needs to be moved out of Westminster, and taken North. That’s the assertion of Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, and Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region. In this timely conversation, the pair – who have together written the book Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain – look at Northern voices and culture, the people, politics and events that have shaped both them and the North, and how we can spread political and economic power throughout the UK. Courageous and thought-provoking, this discussion offers a new vision for a fairer future.

The leading human rights lawyer, campaigner and former Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales argues for the vindication of human rights, attacked by opponents from across the political spectrum and populist and authoritarian movements worldwide. After the devastation of the Second World War, the international community came together to enshrine fundamental rights to refuge, health, education and living standards, for privacy, fair trials and free speech, and outlawing torture, slavery and discrimination. Their goal was greater global justice, equality and peace. That goal is now threatened by wars, inequality, new technologies and climate catastrophe. Outlining the historic struggles for human rights, Chakrabarti is an indispensable guide to the law and logic underpinning human dignity and universal freedoms. For human rights to survive, they must be far better understood by us all.

Discover how to make your garden successful, whatever your abilities, and how to combine colours and pots for instant impact, from gardeners Sue Kent and Sarah Raven. Gardeners’ World presenter Kent is an RHS disability ambassador and RHS award-winning garden designer. Her book Sue Kent Garden Notes provides tips and tricks to successful gardening for all abilities. Gardener, cook and podcaster Sarah Raven’s A Year Full of Pots: Container Flowers for All Seasons demonstrates how accessible and satisfying growing flowers in pots can be. In conversation with Tamsin Westhorpe, editor of the Horticultural Trade Association magazine and curator and gardener of Stockton Bury Gardens, Herefordshire. Tamsin is also an RHS Chelsea Flower Show Judge and author of Grasping the Nettle and Diary of a Modern Country Gardener.

In May 2016, Fort McMurray, Alberta, the hub of Canada’s oil industry, was overrun by wildfire. It was a multi-billion-dollar disaster that drove 88,000 people from their homes. Canadian writer and journalist John Vaillant talks to author Katherine Rundell about how we must prepare for a hotter, more flammable world. In Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2023) Vaillant delves into the intertwined histories of the oil industry and climate science, the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern wildfires and the lives forever changed by these disasters. John Vaillant is a best-selling author and freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and the Guardian, among others. As well as the Baillie Gifford Prize, Fire Weather also won Canada's Shaughnessy Cohen Prize, and was a finalist the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. A #1 bestseller in Canada, Fire Weather was also named one of the ten best books of 2023 by The New York Times, among many other prominent publications in Europe and North America.