Hay Festival 2016

The true story of Major Herbert Armstrong, a Hay-on-Wye solicitor who was hanged in May 1922 for poisoning his wife with arsenic, was a celebrated murder case, which inspired works by Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie in the golden age of crime writing. But was he really guilty? Or was it a terrible miscarriage of justice? Stephen Bates uncovers new evidence as he joins Brecon Beacons National Park guides on this walking tour around Hay, visiting some of the sites featured in his book.

Come and hear all about the Burpee Bears, the picture book characters created by global fitness star and PE teacher Joe Wicks. Find what adventures Joe has in store for this modern-day bear family as they tackle the ups and downs of everyday family life. And be ready to join in with their exercise routines while you listen. Perfect for energetic little bears everywhere.

The winner of this year’s Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize is a book in which data can not only be visualised but also heard and touched. Join winning author and data journalist Miriam Quick and children’s author Sharna Jackson, a Young People’s Book Prize judge, as they explore the wonders of our world through this year’s winner, I Am a Book. I Am a Portal to the Universe.

The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize aims to promote literacy in young people and to inspire them to read about science. Each year, the winner is selected by judging panels made up of thousands of young people at schools across the country.

An exciting workshop with plenty of hands-on activities and exciting coding challenges for parents and children who will work together and code Sphero SPRK+ robot to dance to their favourite song. Children will then code their Spheros to race, with amazing prizes for the winning robots.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative: your imagination is the limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 2.5 hour duration. An accompanying adult must attend at all times but does not require a ticket.

Determination, the environment, open-mindedness and wellbeing are explored in this physical theatre performance based on The Promise written by Nicola Davies. Aspiring performers, musicians and textile artists from Hereford College of Arts come together to create an uplifting, joyous outdoor short performance suitable for all ages. In the event of inclement weather, the performance will move to the Main Garden Tent.

Bill Browder is a financier and activist whose new book Freezing Order exposes Vladimir Putin’s campaign to steal and launder hundreds of billions of dollars and kill anyone who stood in his way. He joins Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals, to discuss these themes in relation to Putin’s path to war.

It’s easy to be pessimistic about the fate of democracy in multi-ethnic societies. At the end of the Second World War, fewer than one in twenty-five people living in the UK were born abroad; now it is one in seven. The history of humankind is a story of us versus them, and the project of diverse democracies is a relatively new one – it is, in other words, a great experiment.

How do identity groups with different ideologies and beliefs live together? Is it possible to embark on a democracy with shared values if our values are at odds? Author of The Great Experiment Yascha Mounk argues that group identity is both deeply rooted and malleable. No community is beyond conciliation: groups are moving towards cooperation across the world. He offers a profound understanding of the problem behind all our other problems, and genuine hope for our capacity to solve it.

BBC Radio Wales’ regular book club convenes at the Hay Festival to review Caryl Lewis’ debut English language novel Drift, a love story moving between Wales and Syria.

Allen Fatimaharan, illustrator of We Are the Egyptians by David Long, leads an interactive drawing workshop and reading event designed to bring the ancient world to life. Step back in time to ancient Egypt and meet some of the many people who lived, worked, and played during that time. Discover how to draw ancient Egyptians using visual references from the book and take part in some hieroglyphic drawing.

Setting the scene and atmosphere is key to a twisting thriller story that keeps readers guessing. From sweet summer roses to the foetid stench of decay, scent is a powerful, yet all too often an underused, storytelling tool. Krystal Sutherland, author of House of Hollow, leads an interactive workshop on good and bad smells, and how to use the language of smell to create atmosphere in your writing.

An exciting workshop with plenty of hands-on activities and exciting coding challenges for parents and children who will work together and code Sphero SPRK+ robot to dance to their favourite song. Children will then code their Spheros to race, with amazing prizes for the winning robots.

Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding and author of Everything You Really Need to Know About Politics, lifts the lid on what a career in politics is really like and why it matters – to all of us. She tells the inside story of what’s really going on in government. But, politics is far bigger than Westminster. She makes the compelling case to Guardian writer and columnist Hugh Muir for why now, more than ever, we all need to be a part of it.

The Guardian’s natural history writer draws on 20 years’ worth of reporting on topics ranging from red squirrels to lonely bats from Eigg to Canvey Island. From Norwegian wolves to protests against the HS2 railway, peregrine falcons nesting by the Thames to Britain’s last lion tamer, the acclaimed author of The Butterfly Isles and Badgerlands paints an ever-changing portrait of contemporary wildlife. His new book Wild Green Wonders presents thought-provoking interviews with conservationists, scientists, activists and writers such as Rosamund Young, Ronald Blythe and other eco-luminaries, including Sir David Attenborough and Brian May. He talks to travel and adventure writer Dan Richards.

Cambridge economist Professor Diane Coyle explores the enormous problems – and opportunities – facing economics today if it is to respond effectively to the ongoing disruption of the technology revolution and help policymakers solve the world’s crises, from pandemic recovery and inequality to slow growth and the climate emergency.

Ants, Bees and Insect Burgers... When does a waggle dance become a tremble dance? Adam Hart tells Jim Al-Khalili about his experiments with honey bees and his love of leaf-cutting ants.

In the second of four BBC Radio 3 lunchtime recitals broadcast from Hay during the Festival week, presented by BBC Radio 3 presenter Sarah Walker, the Mithras Piano Trio and Gary Pomeroy (viola) play a programme featuring Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in D, Op 23 and Mahler’s Piano Quartet.

Join author and illustrator James Mayhew for storytelling and live painting as an accompaniment to a fabulous quartet of young musicians as they play much-loved music by wonderful composers including Rossini, Rimsky-Korsakov and Grieg. Enjoy this playful adventure that combines art, storytelling, and music in an event for young listeners.

A sharp, funny adventure with themes of real-life activism, celebrating the inventiveness, spirit and warmth of young people doing their best to help others and make a difference. Author Sharna Jackson is an artistic curator who lives on a ship in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative: your imagination is the limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 2.5 hour duration. An accompanying adult must attend at all times but does not require a ticket.