The fabulous collections housed in the world’s most famous museums are trophies from an imperial age. Now the countries from which these treasures came would like them back. The Greek demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles is the tip of an iceberg that includes claims for the Benin Bronzes from Nigeria, sculpture from Turkey, scrolls and porcelain taken from the Chinese Summer Palace, textiles from Peru, the bust of Nefertiti, Native American sacred objects and Aboriginal human remains. Jenkins investigates why repatriation claims have soared in recent decades and shows that sending artefacts back will not achieve the desired social change nor repair the wounds of history. Chaired by Daniel Hahn.

Scoláire, colúnaí le The Irish Times, úrscéalaí, gearrscéalaí, fabhalscéalaí, staraí liteartha, craoltóir agus drámadóir is ea Alan Titley.

The Bardd Plant Cymru (Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate) 2011–2013 and Hay International Fellow for 2012–2013 Eurig Salisbury has published a collection of children’s poetry amd a book of poems, Llyfr Glas Eurig (‘Eurig’s Blue Book’). Alan Titley is a scholar, columnist with The Irish Times, novelist, short story and fable writer, literary historian, broadcaster and playwright. They read from their work and discuss the riches of the Welsh and Irish languages. Chaired by Sharon ni Bheoláin of RTÉ News.

A conversation with the winner of the 2012 Dylan Thomas Prize for her elegant East Coast social satire Seating Arrangements – praised as a perfectly-realised world of exquisite comic savagery.

The ordinary atoms that make up the known universe, from our bodies and the air we breathe to the planets and stars, constitute only five percent of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The rest is known as dark matter and dark energy, because their precise identities are unknown. The Cosmic Cocktail is the inside story of the epic quest to solve one of the most compelling enigmas of modern science: what is the universe made of? Freese is Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan and one of today’s foremost pioneers in the study of dark matter.

The Magnum photographer took one of the most powerful photographs of the twentieth century - the “tank man” in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 1989. From his insightful position as a photographer, Franklin explores why we are driven to visually document our experiences and the world around us. He focuses on photography but traces this universal need through art, literature and science. Looking at photojournalism, war photography and work recording our culture, Franklin identifies some of its driving impulses: curiosity, outrage, reform and ritual; the search for evidence, for beauty, for therapy; and the immortalisation of memory. Chaired by Oliver Bullough.

As support for the extremes of the political spectrum increases across Europe, and Britain threatens to pull out of the EU, what does the future hold for our continent? Abbas is a research associate at the University of Cambridge, Bickerton is a lecturer in politics and Karcher is a research associate in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages. Simms is the author of Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation.

Discover the future of screen technology with computer scientist Matt Jones. His team at Swansea University is exploring displays that mutate to create textures and change shape to reveal controls like dials and switches depending on our needs. See some of the early prototypes that are enhancing our digital interactions with the physical world.

Thrilling and terrifying, The Things We Lost in the Fire takes the reader into Enriquez’s world of Argentine Gothic: of sharp-toothed children, of women racked by desire, of demons who lurk beneath the river, of stolen skulls and secrets half-buried under Argentina’s terrible dictatorship. McInerney follows her Baileys Prize-winning debut The Glorious Heresies with The Blood Miracles. The novel is set again in Cork with her vital, brilliant language and storytelling playing out the life and misdemeanours of Ryan Cusack.

The designer Alex Lifschutz and Foyles Trading Director Siôn Hamilton will tell the inside story of a plan hatched in the book trade’s darkest hour to reimagine the iconic London bookshop on Charing Cross Road. Siôn and Alex opened their doors to the publishing industry, holding a series of workshops that provided the insight to inspire an innovative shop design that has caught the imagination of book lovers across the world. Chaired by the editor of The Bookseller.

The brilliant Ross and Christopher explore the wonder of science as a way to explain some of the mysteries of the world in their books, Time Travelling with a Hamster and The Many Worlds of Albie Bright.

The poetry champion, force behind National Poetry Day and founder of the Forward Prize introduces his prescription poems clinic – connecting festival-goers with poems to heal and sustain them.

Join Dylan Jones, author and award-winning editor of GQ magazine, and Guto Harri, former BBC Chief Political Correspondent, Communications Director for Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and now Communications Director for News UK, in a special Q&A on their career insights, experiences and advice for entering the world of journalism.

For students aged 16–18 years