Hay Festival 2019 Programme

Ding Dong! Auntie, Uncle, Nannie and the whole family are here and they all want to kiss, cuddle and squeeze you. Come and listen to a heart-warming family story by Trish Cooke from the Discover Children’s Story Centre.

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 winners.

The artist, co-creator of the Book of the Year, talks about the extraordinary project to reclaim and celebrate The Lost Words whilst she paints live onstage. She is accompanied by the music and song of Kerry Andrew performing the spells. All over the country, there are words disappearing from children’s lives. These are the words of the natural world – dandelion, otter, bramble, acorn – all gone. The rich landscape of wild imagination and wild play is rapidly fading from our children’s minds. Morris and her poet-spellcaster, Robert Macfarlane, have created a joyful celebration of nature words and the natural world they invoke. They capture the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages.
Sponsored by Richard Booth’s Bookshop, which is hosting an exhibition of Jackie’s work until 31 August 2018

The distinguished science writer explains why the human brain became so clever; how it controls everything from breathing, sleeping and seeing to identity, imagination, pleasure and pain; and what will happen when the brain integrates with computers or the latest genetic discoveries.

Morpurgo dramatises an episode in Francis Drake's circumnavigation during which the Golden Hind was stranded on a rock off Celebes, Indonesia. What altercation occurred between Drake and the ship's chaplain, Francis Fletcher, during those terrifying 20 hours? Morpurgo makes a compelling argument for what was really at the heart of that disagreement, and its present-day repercussions. He argues that the Tudor navigators and their stories may hold the key to how we should approach the current environmental crisis. Chaired by Daisy Leitch.

The author and illustrator introduces the much-loved character of Claude and gives a behind-the-scenes view of the making of the new TV series about him. Come and learn how to draw him and meet the new detective, the star of Mr Penguin.

The YA Book Prize singles out the best new fiction every year. Join the authors of The One Memory of Flora Banks, It Only Happens in the Movies, and Indigo Donut as they discuss the emotional range of adolescence, both now and a century ago. Chaired by Jenny Valentine.

Ding Dong! Auntie, Uncle, Nannie and the whole family are here and they all want to kiss, cuddle and squeeze you. Come and listen to a heart-warming family story by Trish Cooke from the Discover Children’s Story Centre.

Enter the Qubit Zone for a workshop where you will learn about the incredible world of quantum computers, and even build your own. The team from the University of Birmingham and University of Oxford will give an accessible introduction to mysterious quantum phenomena, including qubits, superposition and entanglement, and then let you loose with your own quantum circuitry to try it all out for yourself.

Come on a safari into the wild garden to find what creatures are hiding in and among the leaves, logs and long grass. Along the way you’ll discover the many shades of colours that nature takes, as you collect natural treasures and create a unique colour collage. Materials provided. Meet at RSPB Cymru stand.

(parents must attend but do not require a ticket)

On 17 July 1918, the whole of the Russian Imperial Family was murdered. There were no miraculous escapes. The former Tsar Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their children – Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey – were all gunned down in a blaze of bullets. On the centenary of these brutal murders, historian Helen Rappaport set out to uncover why the Romanovs’ European royal relatives and the Allied governments failed to save them.

Whitney Brown was midway through her Masters thesis and on track for an exciting position at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington when a chance meeting with a Welsh dry-stone waller at a folklife festival changed the course of her life. Within weeks Whitney had left behind her secure world in the States and was living with him in rural Wales, learning the craft of dry-stone walling. She fell irretrievably in love with Wales and for what she found there – for stone, for the act of physical creation and accompanying physical exhaustion, for life in the countryside and days spent working in the sanctuary of a lonely hillside to repair structures older than the country of her birth, for windswept valleys and low hanging clouds and chilly nights by the wood stove and, much to her dismay, for a man 33 years her senior. She had no choice but to trust these things and see where they might lead her. It was, after all, the first time in her life she'd ever truly felt at peace.

It is 70 years since the creation of the NHS, and health sector staff face more challenges than ever. How do our health care staff remain resilient, compassionate and continue to innovate in the face of mounting pressures from over-stretched NHS budgets, pay freezes, and a demanding population?

For centuries, walled gardens have provided a wealth of food, fruit and flowers for our great houses. Beginning as simple medieval enclosures, they evolved into powerful status symbols and centres of world-class horticultural expertise. Yet during the 20th century their fortunes failed, and most were lost or abandoned, as were many of the skills needed to run them. Happily, today many have been revived. Hudson is an archaeologist and historian who presents the BBC hit series Escape to the Country and Countryfile.

A round-up of highlights from Hay Festival on the national radio station for Wales presented by GQ editor, Dylan Jones.

The last of four recitals broadcast from Hay this week. Felix Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonata No.1 in B flat, Op.45; Dora Pejačević’s Sonata in E minor, Op.35.

The Science Squad is made up of the five STEAM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths – and the professor will explain how they work together and why they are so important. From the solar system to evolution and the human body, children will discover how machines work, where lightning comes from and how lungs allow you to breathe. The perfect introduction to science and STEAM subjects.

Imagine a school where perfection and popularity is prized above everything...what could go wrong? When the popular kids start growing extra-long spaghetti arms it's time for super nerds Tyler, Dylan, and Ashley to put their geek powers to the test and save the day. Join the author as he introduces his new series Happyville High in an event with interactive readings and an illustration workshop.

From the Discover Children’s Story Centre comes an imaginative storytelling event based around Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Benji Davies’ book. The audience will be guided through a specially commissioned performance of this picture-book, before being challenged to help create a brand new story all together, all from nothing. This event will take children on an adventure across Space and time.