Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend: Maria Callas. Goodwin’s new novel Diva draws on Callas’ life growing up in Nazi-occupied Greece, her fame as a soprano and her relationship with Aristotle Onassis, who then abandoned her to marry former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Writer and television producer Goodwin is author of My Last Duchess and The Fortune Hunter. She wrote the screenplay for Victoria, the eight-part ITV series about the early life of Queen Victoria.
Two multiple Booker-nominated authors discuss their new novels with the Monocle 24 Books Editor. Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies won huge acclaim and has been adapted as an award-winning BBC drama. His latest, Caledonian Road, is a state-of-the-nation novel – the story of one man’s epic fall from grace. The writer introduces us to art historian and celebrity intellectual Campbell Flynn, whose web of crimes, secrets and scandals risk being revealed, leading to the shattering exposure of all that his privilege really involves.
Sunjeev Sahota’s The Year of the Runaways and China Room received major accolades. His most recent novel, The Spoiled Heart, is a moving family mystery. Nayan, a bereaved father now dedicated to his work and running for leadership of his union, is powerfully drawn to a woman who has returned to the area. As they grow closer, the possibility arises that their pasts may have been connected.
Artificial intelligence may be the most transformative technology of our time. As AI’s power grows, so does the need to figure out what – and who – this technology is really for. Drawing lessons from three 20th-century tech revolutions – the Space race, in vitro fertilisation and the internet – Verity Harding, a leading insider in technology and politics and director of the AI & Geopolitics Institute at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, rejects the dominant narrative that compares AI’s advent to the atomic bomb. She speaks to Dr Jonnie Penn, associate teaching professor of AI Ethics and Society at the University of Cambridge.
Join writers and editors of the Times Literary Supplement along with special guests for a live recording of their weekly podcast on books and culture.
Take a walk to the River Wye with poet, performer and Canal Laureate Roy McFarlane. Learn to use the river and its surrounding area as inspiration and to explore or unravel your own personal stories in this creative writing session. We meet at the Wild Garden on the Festival site and set off on a short walk to the river and back, returning to the Exchange Marquee on site to reflect and write with McFarlane after the walk.
McFarlane has been Birmingham’s Poet Laureate and the Birmingham & Midland Institute’s Poet in Residence. His books include Living by Troubled Waters and The Healing Next Time.
Take flight with 2023 YA Book Prize winner Danielle Jawando in this creative writing and poetry session based on her latest YA novel, If My Words Had Wings. With plenty of interaction and top tips from a pro-writer, you’ll learn how to develop, hone and craft your authentic voice within your writing.
Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.
Design your own character for a protest poster supporting the protection of the River Wye. Work with mixed media and printmaking techniques to create your poster. All materials are provided.
Come to the Family Garden for a pizza masterclass with Kitchen Garden Pizza. In this one-hour session your imagination and creativity will be fed along with your belly! You’ll get your hands messy with freshly grown and foraged ingredients, make and top your own dough and observe the pizzaioli at work at the wood-fired oven. And while you wait for your pizza to cook, you can decorate your own pizza box!
Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.
The lexicographer and the philosopher discuss words and their power to confuse and surprise us. Celebrated linguist and face of Countdown’s Dictionary Corner Susie Dent’s latest book is Interesting Stories About Curious Words. She explores the bizarre human histories behind the stories of sweet Fanny Adams and Jack the Lad, and answers such perplexing questions as: How did circles become vicious? Who was Hobson and what was his choice? And what did Nelson turn a blind eye to? Rebecca Roache, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, delves into the magical power of swear words in her book For F*ck’s Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude and Fun. She helps understand how swearing works – it isn’t always bad. When not used offensively, it can foster social intimacy, help people withstand pain and might even help us curb our violent impulses.
World-leading microbiome scientist and surgeon James Kinross shows us how everything from exercise, sleep and diet through to antibiotics and ageing are directly impacted by the state of our microbiome. He introduces us to the microbiome, a vast genetic universe of ‘dark matter’ – bacteria, yeasts, viruses and parasites – living inside us, which adapts with us as we age and influences how we think and feel, our sex lives and even how fast we run. Kinross is a senior lecturer in colorectal surgery and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London. He talks to neuroscientist Dr Hannah Critchlow.
Ukraine’s most celebrated novelist transports us to early 20th-century Kyiv during the turmoil following the Russian Revolution, with his new book The Silver Bone. This mystery introduces rookie detective Samson Kolechko in Kyiv as he tackles his first case, involving two murders, a long bone made of pure silver and a suit of decidedly unusual proportions tailored from fine English cloth. Inflected with Kurkov’s (Death and the Penguin) signature humour and magical realism, the novel takes inspiration from the archives of crime enforcement agencies in Kyiv, crafting a propulsive narrative with rich historical detail. Kurkov talks to writer and editor Daniel Hahn.
Superfans of Natalies Haynes, if you’ve ever wanted to know everything about her books and writing, this event is the place to be. Haynes discusses all of her books, including A Thousand Ships, Pandora’s Jar and Stone Blind with Salon London’s Helen Bagnall, complete with spoilers. This deep dive includes a discussion of how the ‘rock star classicist’ chose the characters to focus on in her Greek retellings, and gives you a chance to get answers to the questions you want answering about the classical world directly from the award-winning author.
Award-winning poet Andrew McMillan talks to Scottish poet and playwright Jackie Kay about community, masculinity and post-industrialisation. His novel Pity is set in Northern England, in a town that was once a hub of the coal industry. Where fathers and grandfathers worked down the mines, their sons now grapple with the shifting times. Meanwhile a grandson works in a call centre, deriving passion from his side hustle in sex work and his weekly drag gigs. Set across three generations of a Yorkshire mining family, McMillan’s short and magnificent debut is a lament for a lost way of life as well as a celebration of resilience and the possibility for change.
An evening workshop for parents/carers/guardians/teachers/interested grown-ups* with It Happens Education (ithappens.education) and Schools Consent Project (schoolsconsentproject.com) discussing Relationships, Sex & Health Education (RSHE). In a world full of headlines about violence against women and girls, misogynistic influencers, explicit content online and harmful sexual behaviours… How can we support adolescents as they grow up in a world with new, complex conversations about consent, law and intimacy? What do we want for our young people? What do young people say they want? We promise top tips, conversation-starters and lots of engaging discussions and activities.
Come and hear the writers share and discuss some of their recent work. The Hay Writers’ Circle is a dynamic group, active in Hay for more than 40 years. It offers three competitions annually for poetry, fiction and non-fiction, each of which is open to both members and non-members. There is an active work in progress group for those working on longer projects. The Circle has an ongoing, productive relationship with a local primary school.
Legendary Welsh superstar Bonnie Tyler recounts how she carved out an extraordinary career that is still going strong. From her early days growing up in a tiny mining village in South Wales to her career as a club singer, which led to her accidental discovery by a talent scout, she charts her incredible rise to fame. Her memoir Straight from the Heart tells the story of how a shy, music-loving teenager called Gaynor Hopkins came to record some of the most iconic songs of all time, including ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and ‘Holding Out for a Hero’, achieving chart success all over the world. Tyler has always determinedly followed her own path, breaking down barriers and leading the way for other female artists. Her roots remain firmly in her beloved Wales, and she’s bringing her down-to-earth, candid outlook to Hay Festival.
Helen Garner’s first novel, Monkey Grip, was published in 1977 and immediately established her as an original voice on the Australian literary scene – it’s now considered a classic. Garner is widely recognised as one of Australia’s greatest living writers and has received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature, the prestigious Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for Non-fiction and the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.
Up to now her books have rarely been published this side of the Atlantic, but that’s about to change. Join Garner at Hay Festival on a rare trip to the UK to celebrate the launch of her novels Monkey Grip, a seminal novel of Australian counterculture, and The Children’s Bach, a sparkling family novel set against the bohemian underground of 1980s Melbourne, as well as her non-fiction work This House of Grief, an engrossing true-crime story.
Literary Death Match is a groundbreaking take on the written and spoken word — it’s an electrifying, feel-good spectacle that takes place in over 70 cities around the planet. Part literary event, part comedy show, part game show, it brings together four established and emerging writers at Hay Festival to compete in an edge-of-your-seat read-off critiqued by celebrity judges and concluded by a slapstick showdown. Judges Jay Blades (The Repair Shop) and Viv Groskop (How to Own the Room) preside over this hilarious, off-the-wall competition of literary merit. Presented by veteran host Suzanne Azzopardi and newcomer Hattie Williams.
Australia is now facing the truth of its past – the slaughter of Indigenous peoples as the British conquered the continent with unique brutality. Two truth-tellers of today discuss how the country is reckoning with its history. Larissa Behrendt is an award-winning author, a filmmaker and host of Speaking Out on ABC Radio. Journalist David Marr is author of Killing for Country, a personal reckoning with his family’s role in the slaughter.
Nitin Sawhney brings to Hay Festival his most recent album, Identity, packed full of collaborations with his favourite artists. Sawhney says: “I’m working and collaborating with artists who are proud of who they are and whose work is defined by that pride. This album is a sonic collage of music, strong voices and self-validation. The album is a love letter to who we all are.” Expect an eclectic set influenced by Indian and Spanish styles, along with blues, soul, funk, electronica and pop.
The Ivor Novello Lifetime Award-winning writer, composer and producer is one of the most distinctive and versatile musical voices around. He has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney and Sting and scored numerous films and television series. He’s established as a world-class producer, songwriter, touring artist, BBC Radio and club DJ, multi-instrumentalist, composer and cultural/political commentator.
David Baddiel discusses his new book, based on his long-running stand-up show My Family (Not the Sitcom). Like the show, the book covers the death of his mother and his turbulent relationship with his father, who suffered from an aggressive form of Alzheimer’s and died in 2022. Much of the stand-up covered his mother’s affair with a golfing memorabilia salesman – which Baddiel describes as “stuff that people don’t normally talk about with a recently departed parent”, but explained was a substantial part of her identity, “her way of saying she was not just a prim, suburban, Jewish housewife”. And the show portrayed his father as a difficult man who would aggressively criticise his sons, a trait amplified by his Pick’s disease.
Humans are capable of both love and hate, amazement and disgust, fun and misery. So why do we live in a world that constantly urges us to hate ourselves and others, to be repulsed by our own bodies, to be ashamed of pleasure, to be embarrassed by fun? In her new collection, the author and poet asks why we have been taught to hate, and if we might learn to love again. She won the Ted Hughes Award for Nobody Told Me, wrote the three poetry collections Plum, Cherry Pie and Papers, adapted the Greek tragedy Antigone and co-wrote the play Offside with poet Sabrina Mahfouz.
Danish comedian, author and podcaster Sofie Hagen brings her provocative combination of stand-up and book talk to Hay Festival. Will I Ever Have Sex Again? is a candid, hilarious and disarming attempt to explore our sexual landscape, through conversations with experts, therapists, sex workers, porn stars, comedians and public figures. Why are we not having the sex we want to have? Where is the sexual liberation we were promised? With part memoir, part exploration, Sofie attempts to figure out why she hasn’t had sex in over 3,000 days – and why this frustration is so relatable to so many people.
Start your day with an hour of yoga blending movement, mantra, meditation and breathwork. The classes support detoxification and regeneration – physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our daily yoga classes are brought to you by a collective of ten highly skilled practitioners, all local to Hay-on-Wye. Each practitioner has their own style, but with all you can expect a mindful, student-focused practice with clear cueing and functional sequencing.
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 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.
A fantastic opportunity to see behind the scenes of this unique and historic building. Visit at a time of your choice during Castle opening hours.
Hay Castle’s executive director Tom True introduces the key moments and characters from the castle’s past followed by a continental breakfast.
Helen and John Price and the next generation, Rhiannon and Humphrey Wells, open the gates to their farm for a visit led by agronomist Jonathon Harrington and vet Barney Sampson. This traditional family farm is adapting to meet the challenges of a new era to build a sustainable future for food production. Learn about the choices they face relating to soil and the environment, livestock and climate change, and their plans to be carbon negative within the next three to five years. See cattle and sheep and the crops that are grown to feed them, and taste beef from the farm served in bread rolls at the end of the visit.
With thanks to Helen & John Price and Rhiannon & Humphrey Wells for welcoming us to their farm.
Start your day at Hay Festival with our daily news review. Join our leading journalists and special guests as they take us behind the headlines with insider perspectives, insights and an eye on what’s next. Strong coffee recommended!
Among today’s guests are neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow, author of Joined-up Thinking, Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford and author of Shattered Nation and AC Grayling, philosopher and Master of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London.
How can we live the lives we want without despoiling the environment we hold so dear? How do we balance the competing demands of public access, farming and wildlife against the backdrop of the climate and nature crises?
Tayshan Hayden-Smith, former professional footballer turned guerrilla gardener, Kate Humble, farmer and TV presenter, Megan McCubbin, conservationist and wildlife presenter on BBC2’s Springwatch, and Paul Whitehouse, actor, writer and comedian, talk to the Chair of the National Trust, René Olivieri, about how we rediscover the power of connection with nature.
The 18th century is drawing to a close, unrest grips France and Sister Perpetue is guarding the patient known as the Glutton of Lyon. He has supposedly eaten all manner of creatures and objects, including a child. The now-frail man, whose real name is Tarare, was cast out and left for dead, igniting his ferocious appetite. His extraordinary abilities to eat made him a marvel throughout the land. AK Blakemore discusses her new novel The Glutton, which takes us to a world of tumult and depravity, wherein the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France. Blakemore is author of The Manningtree Witches. Her writing has appeared in the London Review of Books and Poetry Review.
Guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park lead a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. Local experts give their insights into this treasured landscape.
Hay-on-Wye is based 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.
Share dreams about possible impossibilities with Joseph Coelho, award-winning poet and author, in his final festival appearance as UK Waterstones Children’s Laureate. Joseph talks about how he has travelled all over the country (and beyond!) as the Children’s Laureate to inspire everyone in becoming poets and storytellers. Joseph’s poetry creates all sorts of other worlds, with wild ideas and unforgettable images. He shares tips for writing your own stories and performs some of his own humorous and inventive poems.
Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.