Welcome to our programme

William Cohan

Money and Power

The skinny on Goldman Sachs – heavily embargoed until publication. Hmmm.

Duration 45 minutes.

Henry Worsley

In Shackleton’s Footsteps

A homage in travel and spirit to Ernest Shackleton one hundred years after the peerless leader and explorer ventured to the South Pole and returned. Chaired by Paul Blezard.

Duration 45 minutes.

Myrrha Stanford-Smith talks to David Crystal

The Great Lie

The octogenarian novelist’s first novel features a young buck getting tangled in webs of spies, actors, intrigue and adventure in Christopher Marlowe’s London.

Duration 45 minutes.

Jane Shilling talks to Sarah Crompton

The Stranger in the Mirror

‘I looked in the mirror one morning, and saw the face of a stranger. Who was she, this haggard, bun-faced woman with the softening jawline, the downturned mouth, the world-weary air of a woman who hasn’t had what she wanted from life, and knows she isn’t going to get it now? Why, it was no one else but me, myself and I.’

Duration 45 minutes.

Maesllwch Farm

Farm Visit

Join local agronomist Jonathon Harrington and vet Barney Sampson as they explore farms in the local area. Expedition parties meet at 9am at the box office on the day of their excursion, to return at around 1pm. Limited numbers of self-drive tickets are available too, please contact the box office on 01497 822 629 for more information. On the day please wear suitable footwear and waterproof clothing in case of inclement weather.

Sponsored by Hay Veterinary Group

Paul Benham

Primrose Earth Awareness Trust: Site Visit

The permaculture pioneer and PEAT Centre Director guides us around the Centre for Sustainable Food – the most productive acre and a half in the UK, and a blueprint for future food security.

For all outdoors events and walks we recommend walking boots and warm and waterproof clothing.

James Holland

The Battle of Britain

The historian tells the stories of the few who did so much for the many in the five months in 1940 that saved Britain.

Clive Aslet

Villages of Britain: The Five Hundred Villages That Made The Countryside

The history of the countryside, told through some of its most noteworthy settlements.

Sponsored by AJ Jones & Sons

Hector Abad Faciolince talks to Rosie Boycott

Oblivion

A heartrending, exquisitely-written memorial to the author’s father, Hector Abad Gomez, whose criticism of the Colombian regime led to his murder by paramilitaries in 1987.

Supported by Embajada de Colombia and EPM

Brenda Maddox, Peter J Conradi, Tom Bullough

At the Bright Hem of God

The authors discuss how the wild, rural landscape of Radnorshire inspires their work and that of others before them, from Gerald of Wales to Vaughan and Traherne, Francis Kilvert, Eric Gill, David Jones and Bruce Chatwin.

Andy Stanton, Jeremy Strong, Tamsyn Murray

Punny Flannel

Three of the world’s (yes, we said world’s!) funniest children’s writers come together in a wonderfully random mish-mash look at laughs. Chaired by the hilarious James Campbell.

Jonny Duddle

Pirate Cruncher

Ahoy there me hearties! Join this salty sea dog of an illustrator as he tells monsterish tales inspired by his role as an artist for Pirates of the Caribbean. Don’t forget to dress the part, or you may have to walk the plank!

Thomas Docherty

Travelling Tales

Whisk away on a flight of fancy to sand dunes and high seas with this talented writer and illustrator. Packed full of giant props and lots of imagination, this is perfect for daydreamers and their families.

Easy Peasy Cookery School

Workshop

Join us in making mouth-watering Strawberry Shortcake with Cream, delicious! 

Sponsored by Brakes Fresh Ideas

Rob Dingle

From Bluff to Book Town Along the Offa's Dyke Path

Join the National Trail Officer and National Park leaders on this lovely 7-mile walk to the top of Hay Bluff for stunning views of the surrounding countryside before returning to the town along a pretty section of the Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

For all outdoors events and walks we recommend walking boots and warm and waterproof clothing. Please bring packed lunches.

In association with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority

David Edgerton

Britain’s War Machine

The compelling new history shows WWII in a new light, showing Britain as far from the plucky underdog, but as a wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system.

Andrew Davies Masterclass

South Riding

The screenwriter analyses key scenes in his adaptation of Winifred Holtby’s great Virago classic in conversation with Peter Florence.

John Lister-Kaye

At The Water’s Edge: A Personal Quest for Wildness

The nature writer’s close observation of his Scottish home also forges wonderful connections between the most unlikely subjects, from photosynthesis and the energy cycle to Norse mythology, to weasels and perfume and to the over-population of our planet. Chaired by Corisande Albert.

In association with The National Trust

John Carey, Judy Golding and Tobias Hill

William Golding Centenary

Join the Nobel Laureate’s daughter and biographer and the poet and author of The Love of Stones and The Cryptographer to celebrate the novelist whose work included Lord of the Flies, Rites of Passage, To The Ends of the Earth and The Spire.

Simon Thirsk and Tessa Hadley

Fictions: Dragons

Hadley’s The London Train is a remarkable portrayal of a man and woman whose lives collide on the Cardiff to London train. In Thirsk’s Not Quite White, the young Jon Bull is sent by Westminster to Wales’ last remaining Welsh-speaking town to see why all attempts to bring it into the twenty-first century have failed. Chaired by Anita Sethi.