Hay Festival Colombia Digital

At 22 years old, Nelio Biedermann is able to weave together his aristocratic family past and his middle-class present with astonishing sincerity to tell the truth and veil the most disturbing episodes. A time he has revisited, one in which majestic palaces, the beauty of works of art, and the death and destruction that accompanied the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire—leaving deep scars on his family—are intertwined. Biedermann, a Swiss national, has poured all these experiences into a book that has taken Germany by storm under the title Lázár. Critics have highlighted its mystical tone and a classical prose style unexpected in such a young author, to the point that some are already placing him in the tradition of Thomas Mann. In conversation with philologist and cultural expert Antonia Blau. Moderated by the journalist Irene Hernández Velasco.

Following the event, the author will sign copies of his book

Event in German, with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Europe is undergoing a period of profound redefinition. Amid rapid technological change, geopolitical tensions, and the transformation of liberal democracies, fundamental questions are resurfacing about identity, education, culture, and the very meaning of the European project. What values can sustain Europe today? How is the technological revolution shaping the way we think, learn, and live together? What remains of the European humanist ideal in an era marked by uncertainty and fragmentation? Peter Sloterdijk —undoubtedly one of the great living philosophers whose controversial views fuel essential debates— will engage in a dialogue with Santiago Iñiguez de Onzoño, president of IE University, on the major intellectual and cultural challenges of our time.

The discussion will begin with The Continent Without Qualities, Sloterdijk’s latest essay, a lucid reflection on Europe’s loss of political and spiritual horizon and on the tensions between technology, culture, and democracy in the 21st century. In the second part, three students from IE University’s European Union Club will join the conversation in an exercise in intergenerational dialogue that will highlight the voices of Young people and their role in building a shared future.

At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Award-winning photojournalist Gary Knight joins international correspondent Anna Bosch to discuss The Stringer, the acclaimed Netflix documentary that shines a light on the unsung heroes behind frontline journalism. Taking the film as a starting point, the conversation will explore broader questions about how conflicts are documented, interpreted and communicated to global audiences.

Moderated by Borja Santos Porras, Vice-Dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, this session will examine the intersection between journalism, geopolitics and public understanding. How do images and narratives influence international perceptions of war and crisis? Who decides which stories are told and which voices are heard? What responsibilities do journalists, editors, policymakers and citizens share in an era of disinformation, conflicting narratives and information warfare?

Event in English

Acclaimed novelist Jessica Andrews joins Cristina Ward, Head of Arts at British Council Spain, for an in-depth discussion of her work, exploring the powerful themes that run through her writing. Andrews’ debut Saltwater, winner of the Portico Prize, and her second novel Milk Teeth, shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Award, both examine the intersections of identity, social class, gender and the body with striking sensitivity and precision.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Andrews will reflect on how these cross-cutting concerns shape her fiction, as well as tracing her journey to becoming a writer. From early influences to her emergence as one of the most distinctive voices of her generation, the discussion will offer insight into her creative process and the evolving concerns of her work.

After the event, the author will be signing copies of her books

Event in English

Javier Sierra, writer and journalist; Vicente Alcañiz, Education Inspector at the Regional Ministry of Education of the Community of Madrid; and Mar Domínguez, director of the Colpisa news agency will reflect on the challenges reading face. In conversation with Carme Riera, writer, deputy director of the RAE and president of CEDRO, they will address how reading habits have changed, the impact of social media and new sources of information. In addition, there will be a discussion on the benefits of reading and the importance of education as a key tool for promoting respect for copyright and combating piracy through awareness-raising. And how reading makes us reflect on beauty and pain, emotion, knowledge and worlds that are sometimes inaccessible were it not for books.

At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books

Event in Spanish

What happens when we step away from the life we are expected to live and begin searching for the life we truly want? This is the question at the heart of Hwang Bo-Reum’s internationally acclaimed novel Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, a publishing phenomenon that has captivated readers around the world with its warmth, wisdom and quiet humanity.

In conversation with Catalina Tejero, Dean of IE School of Arts & Humanities, Hwang reflects on the themes that have made her work resonate across cultures: burnout, loneliness, friendship, community, and the healing power of books. Set in a small bookshop in a Seoul neighbourhood, her novel follows people who have lost their way and discover new possibilities through literature, conversation and human connection.

The event will be presented by Javier Gila, president of the AIDA Foundation, an organisation which, amongst other projects, collects and sells second-hand books to raise funds for charitable initiatives.

At the end of the event, the author will be signing copies of her book

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Alba Zamora, C.A. Todorova, Eva Mayro and Alicia Guelvenzu, essential authors followed by tens of thousands of readers, discuss the rise of romantic fantasy, gothic romance and imaginary worlds as new territories of emotional education, where one flees from the superficial and seeks the beauty of the delicate. A discussion on heroines, wounds, desire, reading communities and the contemporary need to invent one’s own myths.

At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books

Event in Spanish

Mahmoud al-Shaer and Muhammad al-Zaqzouq ran a magazine in Gaza called 28 Magazine, a platform for local writers and artists. The war in Gaza forced them to suspend their work for two and a half years; they have now managed to publish a special edition in collaboration with the digital platform Palestine is everywhere. A reflection on what it means to live in a state of suspended war and on the devastating reality of Gaza.

Muhammad al-Zaqzouq, one of the publication’s contributors, will participate from Gaza—via video link—in a conversation with Mahmoud al-Shaer, poet and editor of 28 Magazine, on the power of testimony as a record of historical construction, as a tool for preserving memory, and as a form with its own literary voice.

*All proceeds from the project will be donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN).

At the end of the event, the authors will be signing copies of their books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

The entire body of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s work was an explosion of elegance, excellence, beauty and innovation, and a celebration of exclusive craftsmanship. He epitomises, like few others, modernity rooted in tradition, achieved through meticulous craftsmanship. The result can be none other than an artistic creation. This event will explore this form of craftsmanship capable of standing time still, as seen last year in the exhibition Cristóbal Balenciaga | Shoes from Spain Tribute; its curator, Javier Echeverría Sola, will speak with Nerea Pallares, whose novels and short stories are rooted in a poetic exploration of delicacy, manual dexterity and forms of creation linked to the intimate and the artisanal. Her writing champions an idea of beauty tied to attention, slowness and the careful work of the hands. The event will be moderated by Enrique de Santiago, senior project manager at Loewe.

After the event, the author will be signing copies of her books

Event in Spanish

The trend in our society is increasingly towards a search for the human in everyday life: the beauty of imperfection, of sensitivity and of authentic feelings. Overwhelmed, on the one hand, by consumerism and industrial goods, and on the other, by virtual and dematerialised relationships, people are seeking to reclaim a natural and deeply human dimension in their daily lives. For many young people in the 21st century, a beautiful life also implies a different relationship with nature: a life in which the environment does not constantly suffer the consequences of mass production; where beauty is also synonymous with cleanliness and sustainability. Reusing, restoring, and breathing new life into places and objects. Three leading art experts are well versed in all this: Mercedes de Miguel, director of the prestigious Segre auction house; Corisande Albert, a ceramist; and Belén Llamas Ferrier, president of the Contemporary Arts and Crafts Association, who will engage in a dialogue on the need for tradition and classicism to provide steadfast values in turbulent times.

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish

What happens when a society obsessed with progress loses touch with its roots? Carlos Franganillo, one of the most prestigious journalists on the Spanish television news scene, and Diego del Alcázar, President of IE, will discuss this topic in relation to his latest novel, La idea de volver. Set against the backdrop of the tranquil Cantabrian mountains and the hustle and bustle of life in New York, the novel follows the story of an academic returning to the place of his childhood and an elderly man trying to come to terms with the passage of time. The work reflects on roots, identity and the limits of knowledge in the age of artificial intelligence.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his book

Event in Spanish

Beauty is often considered a universal value, an objective quality that transcends time and space. However, the criteria by which we judge whether something is beautiful are determined by cultural conventions, historical circumstances, and systems of power. What one culture reveres as beautiful, another may overlook. Adam Lowe—internationally recognized for his pioneering work in the field of heritage conservation and the development of rematerialization techniques—explores beauty as a cultural condition that determines how we see, value, preserve, and transmit material culture. He will talk about this theme to Alex Ellis, UK Ambassador in Spain, and to Sol Costales, Projects Director of Factum Arte.

Event in English

What can poetry do for us? Can it change our relationship with words, with pain, with beauty, with nature, with love and with life? Thomas Schlesser, art historian and author of the publishing phenomenon Mona’s Eyes, and of the philosophical novel The Gardener’s Cat, discusses poetry as one of the oldest and most powerful ways of putting the world into words. Schlesser will discuss all of this with Elena Garrigues, a passionate expert in art and culture who works as a professor of Ethics at lE University. The event will be presented by Zélie Perpignaa, an expert in cultural mediation and attaché for Books, the Exchange of Ideas, and Media Libraries at the Institut Français in Spain.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in French with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Palestinian writer Adania Shibli speaks to us about war, violence, and memory against the backdrop of a disoriented Palestine. Shibli does so primarily through her writing, but also through events like this one. Following Minor Detail the story of a young woman’s rape amid the 1949 Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which was shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize and was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature— comes Delusion, a heart-wrenching story in which two young people try to live a normal life when nothing is normal for any Palestinian who has been stripped of their territory, their history, and their identity.

After the event, the author will be signing copies of her books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

Two artists linked by a shared discipline: portraiture. Hernán Cortés, one of the leading figures in Spanish painting, and the photographer and multidisciplinary artist Hubertus von Hohenlohe will discuss their respective approaches to people and their identities. Through painting, Cortés creates a sober, restrained portrait with a strong psychological dimension, rooted in tradition and art history. In contrast, Von Hohenlohe, through photography, presents more vibrant images, constructed from multiple visual references that emerge spontaneously in today’s city. Two distinct languages, two ways of seeking others’ identities and beauty through unhurried contemplation, which, far from being opposed, reveal complementary approaches to contemporary representation.

Event in Spanish

In democratic societies, since ancient Greece, common sense has been based on verifiable knowledge, which gave rise to colloquia, universities, and academies, later followed by institutionalized expert committees and think tanks. Common sense was based on this recognition. And a stable democracy was based on the recognition of these entities. German producer Michael Trabitzsch will discuss with writer Lorenzo de’ Medici how this entire complex structure is being radically challenged by platforms like TikTok and social media. In short: anyone can claim whatever they want on these platforms and share it without first providing evidence, in a sort of idle chatter and denigration of other knowledge. Against the beauty of reflection stands the noise of the ephemeral.

After the event, the author will be signing copies of his books

Event in English with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish

The geopolitical framework developed by the West since the Second World War has fallen apart. The United States has shifted its role as an ally in conflicts that affect Europe’s future and interests, becoming a partial and unreliable partner. The Old Continent is increasingly isolated and lacks a unified vision of the direction in which it should steer its future and its alliances. Arancha González Laya, Spain’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, will address these and other challenges in international politics.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of her books

Event in Spanish

British national David Lindo (known as The Urban Birder) is one of the world’s leading experts in ornithology, as well as a writer, television host, guide, and nature educator followed by tens of thousands of people. His great passion is connecting city dwellers with the birds that inhabit the countryside—a fascinating journey characterized by the beauty of the surroundings and a reconnection with nature. This cathartic experience will be discussed in a conversation with the British Ambassador to Spain, Sir Alex Ellis, an avid music lover who is convinced that experiencing nature is essential to human development. The event will be moderated by journalist Irene Hernández Velasco.

At the end of the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in English

If human relationships are complex in themselves, those within the family can become labyrinths that are difficult to navigate due to the enormous weight of emotions, joys, pain, beauty and confusion they contain. Manuel Jabois, a leading voice in Spanish literature and opinion journalism, explores in La vìspera the first social institution: the family. And just as from the deepest love, red lines are sometimes crossed under a naive pretence: if things happened sometimes, they were sorted out, as in all families. Jabois is able to raise doubts through the harsh reality of things.

After the event, the author will sign copies of his books

Event in Spanish

Geografía del deseo: 42 relatos eróticos began as an act of literary rebellion. Its authors, María José Solano and Jesús García Calero, decided to write 42 erotic stories during the pandemic because, while confined, touch was forbidden. The book explores desire across time and space, from antiquity to the 21st century, mapping a geography not only of bodies, but of gazes, cities, and personal mythologies. Before appearing as a book, arranged chronologically, some of the stories circulated on Zenda under pseudonyms. Thus were defined the two distinct voices: Solano’s, experiential and penetrating, embodying the lovers of his literary myths, and Calero’s, which documents and constructs narrative spaces and historical moments in which eroticism pushes to the limit what we know of the history of its protagonists.