Hay Festival Colombia Digital

Innovation and progress in society cannot be understood without bringing in a profound knowledge of the humanities and of culture. Hay Festival Segovia has invited two innovators in their fields: Pablo Isla, the new Chair of the IE University Advisory Board, was considered as one of the world’s top CEOs by international management magazines during his time at the head of Inditex; and Rodrigo Cortés, a director, actor, producer, screenwriter, aphorist and novelist with an impressive international career. Nothing seems to be beyond this writer, closely linked to Salamanca. Aged just 25 he was already filming videos for Alejandro Amenábar and he has not hesitated to undertake projects with Hollywood stars such as Robert de Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Uma Thurman, or a cast of over ten young international actors for his latest film, Love Gets a Room.

Once the event has finished, the authors will sign books in the booth outside IE University.

Event in Spanish

The European Union Prize for Literature is a European level initiative that recognises the best emerging fiction writers from countries participating in the Creative Europe programme. In the latest edition, the Spanish candidate, who received a special mention from the jury for his epistolary novel, Los días perfectos, was Jacobo Bergareche. He will take part in the Hay Festival, accompanied by three other authors who have attracted the attention of critics and readers with their debuts: Bibiana Candia, author of Azucre; Silvia Hidalgo, who made her debut with Yo, mentira and Aurora Freijo Corbeira, author of La ternera. All of them will share their experiences and opinions of the narrative art. Chaired by Ainhoa Sanchez, manager of literature and publishing at AC/E (Accion Cultural Española).

Event in Spanish

Authors will sign their works after the event at the stand on Calle Real.

We only get one life and certain characters will stop at nothing to achieve their dreams, however unreachable they may be, and even if they come at a staggering cost. The writer determined to explore an unscrupulous character must bear in mind that to avoid cliché, everything has to fit, even when the puzzle has an infinite number of pieces. In his new novel, El mejor del mundo, Juan Tallón tackles the story of a soft-hearted egocentric who essentially understands nothing of the world around him; an outcast despite having it all.

Tallón is a journalist and writer, he has worked as a journalist in media such as El Progreso, Jot Down and El País, among others. He is the author of several books in Galician and in Spanish. He has published non-fiction works such as Libros peligrosos and Mientras haya bares as well as the novels El váter de Onetti, Fin de poema, Salvaje oeste, Rewind, and Obra Maestra. The writer will talk to Nacho Orovio, lead journalist of A Fondo, La Vanguardia newspaper’s investigative journalism team.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in a room located at the entrance of IE University

Event in Spanish

Culture is a powerful instrument for strengthening the Spanish brand in the area of cultural cooperation. This is successfully promoted by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), which reaches two million people in 130 countries.

Actress, journalist and television presenter Cayetana Guillén Cuervo and AECID's Director of Cultural and Scientific Relations, Santiago Herrero, will discuss the image both of our culture and our artists abroad, and the opportunities to promote development through them, seeking to answer questions such as whether we are fully aware of our potential in Spain, and is our culture appreciated outside our own country?

Event in Spanish

The discovery by the Russian-British scientist, Sir Konstantin Novoselov, of graphene, won him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010. His discovery brings us a material that has numerous applications in our daily lives (in thermal and fire-resistant clothing, for example) and it has made him known around the world. He is currently working with the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials at the National University of Singapore, where he carries out research on intelligent materials that are able to mutate to adapt to certain requirements. However, Novoselov is not the kind of scientist who never leaves the laboratory. Quite the opposite, he pays great attention to the geopolitics of technologies and is an advocate against the concentration of all stages of production in a single country, a trend that is growing after the pandemic. He says that all of us become poorer in this way, and his position is that a region is strong not when it leads in a particular technology, but when it is able to educate, attract and retain talents able to design various technologies, since it is not yet clear what will be necessary for our future.

Novoselov will talk to Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, Executive Vice-president of IE University and the man in charge of this university’s technological immersion.

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish and vice versa

Volver a Contar: Latin American Writers in the British Museum Archives is an international collaboration between the British Museum and the Hay Festival, which explores 10,000 years of human history in the Americas. The project has involved inviting a group of writers to explore narratives about the past by means of a collection of Latin American objects never seen by the public in the British Museum. Carlos Fonseca (Costa Rica and Puerto Rico), author of Austral; Lina Meruane (Chile), author of Sistema nervioso and Cristina Rivera Garza (Mexico) author of El invencible verano de Liliana will talk to the journalist Andrea Aguilar (Spain) in order to present this anthology of short stories published by Anagrama, which mingles rigorous research and fiction in order for us to better understand our history and try to resolve the gaps in the historical narrative.

Event in Spanish

After this event, Anagrama will offer a drink to celebrate the launch of the Volver a contar anthology

Concepts such as algorithm, data, and artificial intelligence overlap in an ever-accelerating race toward horizons that are increasingly distant from the common good. The demand for European digital sovereignty or decentralization of digital infrastructures is gaining strength, But the concentration of Big Tech in the market is increasing in the light of the passivity of many governments.

Francesca Bria is an innovation economist, professor, and digital and technology policy advisor to the European Commission. She is also part of the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board to the Spanish government. Along with Miquel Molina, writer and deputy director of La Vanguardia, she will discuss a key question: Are we still in time to reverse this trend?

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish

There are cells that make the journey to malignancy and begin to mutate over and over until they become so self-centred they create a cancer. On top of that, they aspire to be immortal, something which should go against their own nature. Carlos López-Otín will talk to journalist Helena de Bertodano about this journey, science’s study of it, and the treatments to cure these cells.

López-Otín is one Spain’s most internationally renowned researchers. Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oviedo, he combines his teaching work with research on cancer and aging. He is a member of the European Academy and Spain’s Royal Academy of Sciences. His group’s work has led to the discovery of more than 60 new human genes; the deciphering of the genomes of hundreds of patients with cancer or other diseases; the discovery of new genes which cause accelerated aging, sudden death and hereditary cancer. De Bertodano is a journalist specializing in celebrity interviews and profiles, as well as features and travel articles for publications such as The Sunday Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Observer, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire. She has interviewed more than 1.000 people over the past 25 years, including the Dalai Lama, Meryl Streep, George Soros, Ringo Starr, George Best, Yehudi Menuhin, and Jacinda Ardern.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the room next to the entrance.

Event in Spanish

The current international geopolitical situation makes it imperative to highlight, explore and debate the role of European values today. The Hay Festival invites Esteban González Pons, writer and MEP for the Partido Popular, a figure with a long political career, to do so along with Sara Bieger, representing the 14 European Chambers of Commerce in Spain.

A lawyer and writer, González Pons has held numerous posts in national and European politics. He has been an MEP since 2014, which gives him a broad insight to the issues to be addressed. Sara Bieger is managing partner of Alto Partners Executive Search and president of the Franco-Spanish Chamber of Commerce.

They will talk to the journalist Sandrine Morel of the French newspaper Le Monde.

Event in Spanish

On August 21, 1622, two hired assassins brutally murdered the Count of Villamediana in the middle of Madrid’s Calle Mayor in a crime that many attributed to his love for Queen Isabella of Bourbon, while others saw it as an act of revenge for his satirical verses on the ministers of Felipe III and Felipe IV. Don de la insolencia, by Carlos Aganzo, revives the figure of Don Juan de Tassis, one of the most important poets of the Spanish Golden Age. Together with Luis Alberto de Cuenca, a great connoisseur of Tassis' work, and Diego del Alcázar Silvela, Founder and President of the IE University Foundation, he will explore the Count of Villamediana’s eventful life and how his legend lives on to this day.

De Cuenca is a poet, linguist, classicist, translator, essayist, columnist and literary critic. He is Spain’s National Poetry Prize winner and member of the Royal Academy of History as well as being one of the foremost cultural figures of our time. Aganzo is the author of some twenty books of poetry and as many travel books. Former editor of Diario de Ávila and El Norte de Castilla, he is currently director of the Vocento Foundation.

Event in Spanish

The Mexican psychiatrist Orlando Mondragón is the first poet aged under 30 to win the prestigious Loewe Prize. His award-winning poetry book, Cuadernos de patología humana, deals with illness and death, but it is also concerned with writing and resurrection. Mondragón, who works as a hospital psychiatrist, seeks beauty through difficult situations, often ones that seem incommunicable. He is also the author of the book Epicedio al padre, winner of the Alejandro Aura Prize for Young Poets.

Mondragón will talk to Antonio Lucas, author of, among other books, Los desengaños, for which he was awarded the Loewe Prize in 2014.

Event in Spanish

Signing stands in front of the IE University building

The name of Georges Simenon is linked to the astronomical figures racked up by the sales of almost two hundred titles (191 to be exact): 550 million copies sold to many millions of readers around the world. A big part of this stellar success is Inspector Maigret, who features in almost a hundred of his novels. Now the name of this prolific and bestselling writer, born in Belgium and who lived in Paris for much of his life, is becoming literary news again thanks to new editions of some of his novels, published together by Anagrama and Acantilado, as well as with to recent release of the film Maigret by Patrice Leconte, starring Gerard Depardieu. Talking about Simenon and the revived interest in his life and work will be his son John Simenon, who manages his father’s bequest and has been involved in the production of some of the films based on his work.

He will talk to Jesús García Calero, Editor of ABC cultural.

The event will be presented by Florence VanHolsbeeck, economic and commercial counsellor and representative of Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI).

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish and vice versa

John Simenon will visit the stand on Calle Real organized by Wallonia Region, Belgium, which will prepare a quiz based on the work of his father.

Women must keep fighting to achieve the transformation that unlocks the power of the present and prepares for the future. This is true despite the fact that women bring enormous potential to their work environment and an exceptional capacity for motivation. However, that alone is still not enough for them to achieve full inclusion and professional equality.

Sally Helgesen will delve into this topic with Stephen Adamson, academic director of IE Business School and Vera Bercovitz, editor-in-chief of Forbes Women magazine, after working for other publications as S Moda, Yo Dona, Vanitatis, El País Gente, Harper’s Bazaar or Icon. Helgesen has been named by Forbes as the world's foremost expert on women's leadership. She is an internationally best-selling author of books on leadership, and member of the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. Among the books she has written are How Women Rise (where she includes her now famous "12 Habits Holding You Back"), Rising Together, The Female Vision and The Female Advantage.

There will be a book signing at the end of the event in the room next to the entrance of IE University

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish

The Premio Nacional de Poesía Viva #LdeLírica was created by El Corte Inglés’ Ámbito Cultural and Piscifactoría Laboratorio de Creación, with Gonzalo Escarpa as director. It was born in 2019 with the aim of tracking national poetic talent. The call for entries starts on Instagram and crosses social media as an “active presence” through its eliminatory rounds, where the public see the finalists’ work in various Ámbito Cultural spaces (in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Santander and Las Palmas). The award ceremony of the fourth edition, whose winner will be announced on 10 September, will be held at Hay Festival Segovia with the poet Luis Alberto de Cuenca, Ajo Micropoetess and previous winner, the young Cadiz-born Marta Vicente Antolín. Gonzalo Escarpa will present the event.

Event in Spanish

While the debate rages on about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI) making music into something uniform and trivial, there is a sudden proliferation of initiatives that show how technology can, in fact, help expand this form of expression’s creative boundaries.

Barcelona's Sónar + D festival has become a global forum for debate on how music and new technologies intersect. Ricard Robles, founder and co-director of Sónar, will explore the topic along with the future of macro-festivals with Miquel Molina, deputy editor of La Vanguardia and writer.

Event in Spanish

Jon Fosse's theater has not yet been represented in Spain in an open way. With this presentation, Editorial De Conatus wants to show the power of this author who has written more than 30 plays. All the innovation of Fosse's style is felt above all in the dialogues. Fosse has said many times that he writes music and that is how it can be felt in the reading aloud that a great actress like Marta Nieto can interpret. Silence and expressiveness, poignancy and depth. In addition to the 2023 Nobel Prize, Fosse was a finalist for the International Booker Prize 2022, National Book Award 2022, Circle Award, as well as Book of the Year in The New Yorker. Among his books, Trilogy and Septology stand out: The Other Name (I and II); I is another and A new name.

The event will be presented by Silvia Bardelás, editor of Editorial De Conatus

Event in Spanish

The House of Hungarian Music, a landmark centre dedicated to music in Budapest's City Park and one of Sou Fujimoto's latest works, opened its doors to the public in January. Martha Thorne, Dean of IE University's School of Architecture, prominent urban planner and former Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, will welcome one of Japan's most famous award-winning architects to Hay Festival Segovia. Fujimoto has received important awards in his field, and is known for projects as outstanding as the Serpentine Gallery the Pavilion in Kensington Gardens or the Final Wooden House in Kunamoto, Japan. The architect, who perceives his projects as an understanding of the relationship between architecture, nature and the human body, will discuss his work with Martha Thorne. They will also explore their shared passion for design, creativity and the cultural heritage of architecture.

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish.

A brilliant career as a philosopher, writer, academic and professor might be summed up in just one word: wisdom. Emilio Lledó is a wise man, a humanist, and increasingly essential in a world that tends to forget the humanities. He has written dozens of essays on thought, ethics, beauty and freedom, including Filosofía y lenguaje, El silencio de la escritura, Días y libros, Memoria de la ética. He has also received the highest national awards, such as the Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, and the Gold Medal for Fine Arts, and holds the “lowercase L” chair at the Spanish Academy. Identidad y amistad. Palabras para un mundo posible (Identity and Friendship. Words for a Possible World) is his latest book.

Lledó will be in conversation with Elena Martínez, editor at Taurus publishers.

Event in Spanish

Once the event has finished, the author will sign books in the booth outside IE University.

Ai Weiwei, one of China's most internationally renowned artists, both for his creative activity and his political activism, will come to the Hay Festival in a streamed event. His memoirs, entitled 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, explore themes that touch on the very core of the Hay as a Festival of creation and thought: freedom of expression and activism, cultural and political history, as well as his creative life. His is a career that has not been limited to the visual arts, but encompasses other fields such as architecture (he participated in the design of Beijing’s National Stadium), music and film. In the book, the artist recounts his life in the United States from 1983 till 1993, and his rise to the status of superstar in the world of art.

Ai Weiwei will be in conversation with Anne McElvoy, British journalist and executive editor at The Economist, who has previously served as policy editor and head of audio. The Economist Ask, the bi-weekly Thursday programme/podcast conducted by McElvoy, has brought together hundreds of leading newsmakers from around the world.

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish.

Culture is renowned for building bridges. That it transforms borders into meeting points and overcomes language, racial and political barriers is an experience shared and understood by those who make their home in the creative arts. Building cultural bridges between Barcelona and Madrid is the subject of the conversation to be held at the Hay Festival by Sonia Mulero, Director General of the Banco de Sabadell Foundation, and Evelio Acevedo, Managing Director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation and Daniel Fernández, head of publishing labels such as Edhasa and Castalia and, since last December, president of the publishers of Spain.

They will talk with Miquel Molina, writer and journalist, and assistant editor of La Vanguardia.