Hay Festival 2016

Enjoy a twenty-minute open air performance between events. Singing is fun with Hay Community Choir – good for mental health, feeling you’re part of a whole. Come along and have a listen as the Choir share their joy in music.

Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist Mona Chalabi delivers our inaugural John Caldon memorial lecture, remembering the investment banker, TV innovator and inspirational entrepreneur, who died in 2021.

Chalabi argues that journalists need to think differently about language – so that readers don’t feel hopeless in the face of wars, colonialism, the climate crisis and Nazi salutes in 2025. If we want to resist war and injustice, we need to resist the idea that resistance is futile.

From the 2003 Iraq War – when millions marched against going to war – to the invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing occupation of Palestine, we see how narratives of ‘freedom’ and ‘security’ continue to be weaponised to justify war and repression. The same playbook of media manipulation, selective outrage and suppression of dissent is at work. The sense of powerlessness many felt in 2003 persists, deepening into a broader crisis of defeatism. Maybe the issue isn’t just ‘manufacturing consent’ but rather manufacturing despair.

“I feel like there’s a leopard in my house, locked in a room. I’ve contacted the leopard authorities and they assure me they are used to dealing with leopards like this, and they have a plan for removing the leopard. It will take a while, though, and once in a while I can hear it growl. And that’s all very reassuring. Even so, several times a day I think to myself: ‘Hang on, there’s a leopard in my house.’”

One morning, while shaving, comedian Mark Steel noticed that one side of his neck seemed larger than the other. After a whistlestop tour of assorted medical professionals, a consultant delivered the ominous words that would define the next months of his life: “I’m afraid it’s not good news, Mr Steel.” And so began a journey into the heart of the NHS, as he embarked on the long and uncertain road to cancer recovery via a range of mildly tortuous and entirely miraculous treatments. What, if anything, might he learn about himself – and our capacity for coping with life when times get tough – as he becomes part of a club that one in two British people will ultimately join?

Head into the dark with Chris Chibnall and Ragnar Jónasson, as they introduce their new noir novels.

Chibnall, the creator of Broadchurch and showrunner of Doctor Who, makes his crime fiction debut with Death at the White Hart, about a detective who moves back to Dorset. There, she finds a grisly crime scene in the picturesque village of Fleetcombe. Chibnall is a Bafta, Royal Television Society, Broadcasting Press Guild and Peabody award-winning screenwriter, executive producer and playwright.

Jónasson’s The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer sees young detective Helgi investigating the case of Elín S Jónsdóttir, a bestselling crime author who has gone missing, and left no clues about her disappearance. Jónasson is the award-winning Icelandic author of the international bestselling Hulda series and the Dark Iceland series. He is also co-founder and co-chair of the literary festival Iceland Noir, held in Reykjavík.

If you’re a keen detective in the making, join the award-winning comedian and meet Montgomery Bonbon, the world’s finest detective. Learn how to walk, talk and detect like a sleuth in this event for ages 7–11 – anyone over 11 should get the permission of a child before booking!

Alasdair Beckett-King studied at the London Film School, and since then he has performed critically lauded solo shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, written for BBC Radio, appeared on comedy panel shows such as Mock the Week, co-written an award-winning video game and created numerous viral sketches for social media, including an interactive whodunnit.

Where do you get started in comedy, as a writer, creator or performer? And what do you do when the industry wants you to be one thing, but your best work is spread across disciplines? Rachel Parris is a Bafta-nominated comedian and writer (The Mash Report, Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You) with experience of writing stand-up, radio comedy, TV satire and songs, as well as fiction and non-fiction books. She’ll discuss carving out your own unique path in a complicated and changing industry. Bring your own questions!

One of a Hay Festival series of sessions delivered by inspiring producers and practitioners from the creative industries, giving their insights, experience and advice on progression in their field.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

We live in a world where uncertainty is inevitable. How should we deal with what we don’t know? And what role do chance, luck and coincidence play in our lives? Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter dissects data in order to understand risks and assess the chances of what might happen in the future. His The Art of Uncertainty: How to Navigate Chance, Ignorance, Risk and Luck guides us to live calmly with risk and uncertainty.

Join him at the Festival to learn how we can all do this better. He’ll take us through the principles of probability, suggesting that it can help us think more analytically about everything from medical advice to pandemics and climate change forecasts. He’ll explore how we can update our beliefs about the future in the face of constantly changing experience. We’ll also hear why roughly 40% of football results come down to luck rather than talent, and why we can be so confident that two properly shuffled packs of cards have never, ever been in the exact same order.

Family, friendships and love are the centre of new books by Holly Bourne (author of the Spinster Club series) and Lorraine Kelly (ITV’s Lorraine), and the two authors join forces to examine our love for fictional family dramas.

Bourne’s new novel So Thrilled for You is about four friends reunited at a baby shower on a sweltering hot summer day. When someone starts a fire at the house, everyone’s a suspect and the group’s relationship is changed forever.

Kelly’s The Island Swimmer follows Evie, who returns to Orkney after her father falls desperately ill. As she clears out her father’s neglected house to prepare it for sale, she is drawn to a group of cold-water swimmers led by her old friend Freya, who find calmness beneath the waves.

Until now, poet Gwyneth Lewis has kept the story of her painful upbringing at the hands of a coercive and controlling mother to herself. In her memoir Nightshade Mother, the inaugural National Poet of Wales shares her story through revisiting her childhood diaries and looking back on her younger years.

Lewis was brought up Welsh-speaking in Cardiff. She was Wales’s first National Poet and composed the six-foot-high words on the front of the Wales Millennium Centre. Her non-fiction books are Sunbathing in the Rain: A Cheerful Book on Depression and Two in a Boat: A Marital Voyage. Her tenth book of poetry, First Rain in Paradise, is out in March 2025. In 2023, Lewis was made an MBE for services to literature and mental health.

Nussaibah Younis discusses her darkly comic coming-of-age novel about a professor who accepts a job rehabilitating ISIS women in Iraq. In Fundamentally Nadia meets Sara, a precocious and sweary East Londoner who joined ISIS at just 15. When Sara confesses a secret, Nadia is forced to make a difficult choice.

Younis talks to broadcaster, journalist and filmmaker Bidisha about exploring love, family, religion and radicalism through comedy, writing, and what it’s like to be a first-time author.

Dr Nussaibah Younis is a peace-building practitioner and a globally recognised expert on contemporary Iraq. She was a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, where she directed the Future of Iraq Task Force and offered strategic advice to US government agencies on Iraq policy. Bidisha is a critic and columnist for the Guardian and Observer and broadcasts for BBC TV and radio, ITN, CNN and Sky News.

A highly anticipated return to fiction feature filmmaking from Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire), Perfect Days takes the writer-director to Tokyo to tell a story celebrating the hidden joys and minutiae of Japanese culture.

Winner of the Best Actor award at Cannes 2023, Koji Yakusho (Babel, 13 Assassins) stars as Hirayama, a contemplative middle-aged man who lives a life of modesty and serenity, spending his days balancing his job as a dutiful caretaker of Tokyo’s numerous public toilets with his passion for music, literature and photography. As we join him on his structured daily routine, a series of unexpected encounters gradually begin to reveal a hidden past that lies behind his otherwise content and harmonious life.

Combining a refreshingly unstereotypical depiction of the Japanese capital with a soundtrack comprised of iconic hits from the ’60s and ’80s, this is a subtle, shimmering and ultimately life-affirming reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. The film was nominated for the Best International Film award at the 96th Academy Awards.

“A humane, hopeful embrace of everyday blessings” – Variety

The activist and bestselling feminist writer introduces the second instalment in her epic Arthurian fantasy series. Sisters of Fire and Fury is a reimagining of the tales of the Arthurian Round Table through a feminist lens. Discover the Sisterhood of Silk Knights who live in a world of ancient feuds and glorious battles and who are determined to protect their community and right the wrongs of men.

Laura will share her original inspiration, her action-packed research at Knight school and why she hopes this novel will bring joy to feminists young and old. The founder of the Everyday Sexism Project has made waves in YA fiction with her Sisters of Sword and Shadow series, combining mythic elements with contemporary feminist themes.

Political sketch writer John Crace introduces his satirical memoir – written from the viewpoint of his beloved dog Herbie. Herbie is a Westminster veteran, with stories to share about all the prime ministers (and there are many of them) of the last decade.

Crace discusses writing Taking the Lead, and the state of our politics today. He has been the Guardian’s political sketch writer for the last ten years and has written books on everything from cricket, football and TV to literature, politics and himself. He talks to comedian Marcus Brigstocke.

A panel of experts assesses whether our current food system is fit for purpose, both now and in a changing world in which we may have to cope with a series of shocks and challenges.

Campaigner Minette Batters, academic Tim Lang, food grower Claire Ratinon and farmer James Rebanks tell us what we should be worrying about when it comes to food, and what solutions to problems of sustainability, social justice, public health and food security look like.

Batters is former president of the National Farmers’ Union, and was the first woman to hold the post. Lang is Emeritus Professor of Food Policy at City University London's Centre for Food Policy, and author of Atlas of Food. Ratinon is an organic food grower and writer, author of Unearthed: On Race and Roots and How the Soil Taught Me I Belong. Rebanks is a farmer based in the Lake District, author of The Shepherd's Life.

Christine Rosen draws on decades of research to build her philosophical defence of what makes us human, and makes an urgent call to reclaim our humanity in a digital world.

Human experiences are disappearing. Social media, gaming and dating apps have usurped in-person interaction. With headphones in and eyes trained on our phones, even boredom has been obliterated. But when we embrace this mediated life and conform to the demands of the machine, we risk becoming disconnected and machine-like ourselves.

There is another way – we must become more critical, mindful users of technology, and more discerning of how it uses us. We must return to the real world, while we still can. Rosen, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, will show us how.

French novelist Mathias Énard has won many international awards including the Prix Goncourt for his novels Zone, Street of Thieves and Compass. He talks to writer and Guardian literary critic Chris Power about his latest novel The Deserters, which vividly lays bare the devastations of war.

Fleeing a nameless war, an unknown soldier emerges from deep within the Mediterranean scrubland, dirty and exhausted. A chance meeting forces him to rethink his journey, and the price he puts on a life.

Aboard a small cruise ship near Berlin, a conference of scientists pays homage to the late East German mathematician Paul Heudeber, a Buchenwald survivor and steadfast antifascist who remained loyal to his side of the Berlin Wall despite the collapse of the Communist utopia, unaware that a new era of violence is about to descend.

Out of the tension between these narratives, everything that is at stake in times of conflict comes to light: commitment and betrayal, loyalty and lucidity, hope and survival.

How do you get to the heart of the story you’re trying to tell? Experienced author Emma Jane Unsworth shares insights on structure, style and voice, with hands-on writing exercises to help you find your story.

Unsworth is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter, author of Animals, Adults and, most recently, Slags). Animals was adapted into a film, for which Unsworth wrote the screenplay.

Arvon is the UK’s leading creative writing charity. Founded in 1968, it is known for its diverse creative writing courses and events led by leading authors. An online programme, ‘Arvon at Home’ offers virtual writing weeks, writing days, masterclasses and readings. Residential five-day courses are set in historic writing houses in inspiring countryside locations. Courses cover a range of genres including fiction, poetry, theatre, YA, creative non-fiction and more.

Join our celebrated pizzaioli for an entertaining, hands-on workshop that will teach you everything that you knead to know about how to make pizzas. Since nothing complements pizza quite like a perfect glass of wine, let us pair and enjoy Italian wine together with your pizza creations.

This 90-minute session includes snacks, a 12” pizza of your own creation and complementary wine throughout. Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

Helen Castor and Dan Jones, both broadcasters and historians, discuss the Crown of England from Richard II to Henry V.

Castor’s The Eagle and the Hart tells the story of the power struggle between cousins Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke, one a thin-skinned narcissist, the other a chivalric hero and leader. As king, Richard II became consumed by the need for total power. When he banished Henry into exile, the stage was set for a final confrontation.

Jones offers a new perspective on the life of Henry V, who reigned over England for only nine years but who looms large over the late Middle Ages and beyond. As king, Henry saved a shattered country from economic ruin, put down rebellions and secured England’s borders, but he sowed the seeds for three generations of calamity in the form of the Wars of the Roses.

Join author Janice Hadlow (The Other Bennet Sister), screenwriter Sarah Quintrell (The Power) and executive producer and Bad Wolf co-founder Jane Tranter (His Dark Materials) as they discuss the challenges of adapting and reinterpreting Austen for modern audiences, in her 250th birthday year.

Following the announcement that Bad Wolf will adapt Janice Hadlow’s best-selling novel The Other Bennet Sister for the BBC, the trio will discuss their approach to reinterpreting Mary Bennet, the seemingly unremarkable and overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Described as a “fresh spin around the ballroom for one of Jane Austen’s most unassuming characters”, the ten-part drama is written by Sarah Quintrell and gives Mary Bennet the epic love story nobody predicted for her.

The Booker-shortlisted author (Do Not Say We Have Nothing) shares her profound and adventurous new novel. The Book of Records questions how collective political moments can determine an individual’s future, and revels in the infinite joys of intellectual endeavour.

Lina and her ailing father have had to flee their home, and have taken refuge in a mysterious building known as the Sea, that dominates a staging-post for migrating people. With only a few possessions, including three volumes from the Great Voyagers encyclopaedia series, they find some rooms and wait for the rest of their family.

While they wait, Lina befriends her unusual neighbours – who resemble the radical 17th-century Dutch scholar Baruch Spinoza, the philosopher Hannah Arendt and the Chinese poet Du Fu – while her father struggles with the concept of leaving this supposed temporary home. As his health worsens, he finally recounts how he and Lina came to reside in the Sea, and what his betrayals cost their family and others.

Acclaimed filmmaker Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st, Louder Than Bombs)’s The Worst Person in the World is a wistful and subversive romantic drama about the quest for love and meaning. Set in contemporary Oslo, it features a star-making lead performance from Renate Reinsve as a young woman who, on the verge of turning thirty, navigates multiple love affairs, existential uncertainty and career dissatisfaction as she slowly starts deciding what she wants to do, who she wants to be, and ultimately who she wants to become.

As much a formally playful character study as it is a poignant and perceptive observation of quarter-life angst, this life-affirming coming of age story deservedly won Reinsve the Best Actress award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards (Original Screenplay and International Feature Film), and two BAFTA awards (Leading Actress and Film Not in the English Language).

“Sublime… An instant classic” – The Guardian

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be remembered for being the first woman in the role in that country’s history, but even more so for her misogyny speech to parliament, in which she called out politician Tony Abbott for his hypocrisy and sexism.

In this compelling discussion, Gillard, author of Not Now, Not Ever, reflects on the lasting impact of her 2012 speech, drawing connections between global politics and the rise of populism, exemplified by figures like Trump. She examines how this shift has eroded trust in political institutions worldwide, creating fertile ground for division and extremism.

Gillard is joined by Eluned Morgan, the First Minister of Wales and the first woman to be appointed to the role, and Mary Trump, niece of President Trump, psychologist and author of Too Much and Never Enough. They discuss the intersection of misogyny, sexism and global power dynamics, reimagining leadership and suggesting how to confront these challenges, rebuild faith in democratic systems and fight for equality.

What are men for? Most heavy things can be lifted by machines and most problems can be solved by computers and most puddles can be crossed without us gallantly draping our capes over them – so are we fellas of any use at all? Award-winning man Marcus Brigstocke thinks we might still serve some useful function. But what is it?

This new show will resolve the entire issue once and for all (in a non-patriarchal, open minded, progressive sort of way). DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man is the image of the ideal male form. Brigstocke’s Vitruvian Mango is the same, but sweeter, softer, seasonally available and, when ripe, delicately perfumed.

Journalist and novelist Omar El Akkad engages in a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrayed its fundamental values of freedom and justice for all.

El Akkad has reported on stories including the various Wars on Terror and the Black Lives Matter protests. Watching the slaughter in Gaza, he has come to the conclusion that much of what the West promises is a lie, and that some groups of people will always be treated as less than fully human.

He talks to historian and broadcaster David Olusoga about his new book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This – named for a phrase he used in a viral social media post – in which he chronicles his painful realisation and his grappling with what it means to carve out some sense of possibility during these devastating times.

For over a century, the Guardian’s ‘Country Diary’ has published the nation’s most celebrated writers of natural history as they capture the essence of the British countryside. Four nature lovers discuss Under the Changing Skies, which collates the finest contributions from recent years.

Patrick Barkham is natural history writer for the Guardian and author of The Butterfly Isles, Coastlines and Wild Green Wonders. Nicola Chester writes on belonging, protest, access and connection to nature. Her memoir is On Gallows Down: Place, Protest and Belonging. Paul Evans is a nature writer and senior lecturer in the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. Broadcaster Martha Kearney is also a keen apiarist who filmed her beekeeping year for The Wonder of Bees on BBC Four.

Start your day with an hour of movement and breathwork. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but whichever class you attend, you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing. Blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork, the classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, these yoga classes are open and accessible to all. Practitioners will adapt to different levels of experience, providing options for deepening or softening within poses so that each student takes what they need from the practice. Beginners and experienced students are most welcome. Yoga mats are provided.

Please contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with any questions relating to these classes. As capacity is limited, we recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Featured in the BBC’s Digging for Britain, Snodhill Castle is the hidden gem of the Golden Valley. Explore the Norman ruins in their medieval parkland setting, including the high keep, the newly conserved Royal Free Chapel site and wall walk, and the C15th ‘panic room’ with its fortified latrine chutes. Hear the story of its discovery and preservation, from an expert guide.

Start the day at Hay Festival with headline guests chaired by editors from The Independent reviewing the news, discussing the headlines and issues of the day, and revealing what’s breaking and trending online. A fascinating look at what’s tickling the nation’s fancy – and driving it to splenetic fury. Bring your coffee! Among today’s guests is Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire.

Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. You’ll be joined by local experts who will give their insights into this treasured landscape

Hay-on-Wye is located within 520 square miles of beautiful landscape that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

Come and hear the full, funny, feminist and entertaining story of one of our best-loved, and most versatile, actors. Alison Steadman recounts her inspiring and exhilarating journey from Liverpool to London drama school, and looks back over her many stellar roles, from Beverley’s overbearing party hosting and Mrs Bennet’s ailing ‘nerves’ to Pamelaaaa’s instantly-regretted vegetarian declaration.

Growing up in Liverpool as the entertainer of the family, impersonating neighbours to the delight of her friends and playing pranks on her unwitting mother, the young Alison Steadman had no idea of the roles and awards in store for her. But when she snuck off to London to audition for drama school in secret, she started the process of becoming one of today’s greatest character actors.