Screen at Hay 2009

For the little ones, we kick off with an immersion in stories! Featuring a selection of 200 beautiful brand-new books specially selected to help young learners and their teachers learn and discover the joy of reading. With guidance from master storyteller, Orpah Agunda, adventures come alive.

In this workshop, internationally bestselling, 2019 Booker Prize-winning writer, Bernardine Evaristo will explore the novel from originating ideas, essential elements of craft including structure, sustaining commitment to completion, and advice on getting published.

She has received nearly 80 awards and honours including the British Book Award’s Fiction Book of the Year & Author of the Year and she has been on the UK Black Powerlist for the past four years. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London, an Honorary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford, an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, President of the Royal Society of Literature and the current President of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.

Shafinaaz Hassim is an multi award-winning author and sociologist from South Africa. Her more than fifteen titles have received international and local acclaim. In 2014, she was listed by UNESCO as one of the top 39 writers in Africa under the age of 40.

A screening followed by a conversation with director Tevin Kimathi and Kael Wafubwa, the lead child actor in the film. A story about a young boy with the heart of a warrior and an imaginary sensei by his side who dares to defy the repressive rules of his school.

Live and interactive reading session with Taiye Selasi, Amani Muthoni and Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni. These authors will share their original children and young adult works with our young audiences.

This is a special story writing masterclass based on Sihle-isipho’s book, Wanda the Brave to help build children’s creativity and imagination using prompts and group discussion to create unique new stories.

Live music performance to close out the day with some dance and movement!

What are the expectations of authors of African descent working abroad? Join British writer of Scottish and Sierra Leonean ancestry, Aminatta Forna OBE; American writer and photographer of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, Taiye Selasi and Kenyan author and Global Press Journal editor Ndinda Kioko as they dissect their refusal to be pigeonholed and the multi-hyphenated career paths that allows for.

Featured writers: Aminatta Forna, Taiye Selasi, Ndinda Kioko

Moderator: Mercy Juma

Welcome to an exciting brand new addition to this year’s edition of the festival; The Children's Corner! Our vibrant, engaging space is designed to inspire the little ones to explore the joy of reading. We have a variety of diverse activities on offer including storytelling sessions, iInteractive workshops, board games, book nooks and more. The Children's Corner is a place where every child can embark on a literary adventure, discover new worlds and let their creativity soar. Join us for a day full of fun, learning, and unforgettable memories!

In the face of rampant environmental disasters, there is an urgent need to raise humanity’s consciousness regarding combating climate change. There is no time to spare. The Climate Clock countdown estimates that we have less than six years to prevent the worst effects of global warming from happening.

Beyond preservation of natural habitats and moving away from fossil fuels, are there other strategies we can employ to ensure our survival? Hear from award-winning Indian author Amitav Ghosh whose writing centres nature as an important character; and from the Italian rights activist Giorgio Brizio.

Featured writers: Amitav Ghosh, Giorgio Brizio

Moderator: Andrés Schipani

From suffragettes to 5th wave feminists, women have always pushed back against the patriarchy and its intersecting systems of oppression. It has been difficult but necessary work with opponents springing up from both sides of the broader gender divide. African and black feminist movements evolved to speak to the specific realities of brown and black people through corresponding theories and intellectual practices.

What are the marked triumphs within this movement for gender equity? Are there shortcomings or blindspots? Brazilian feminist thinker, writer and activist Djamila Ribeiro will share her insights.

Featured writers: Djamila Ribeiro.

Moderator: Kedolwa Waziri

We are living in UNESCO's International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 - 2032).

Archiving of marginalised languages in creative and accessible ways is necessary in a world where many are threatened by extinction.

However, in order for the intellectual ideas within these languages to find a wider audience, they must exist in translation. Three writers debate the merits and challenges of translation and the ideal first audience for their work; Congolese author, Richard Ali A Mutu, Sudanese journalist, Nesrine Malik FRSL, and Ivorian writer and translator, Edwige-Renee Dro.

Featured writers: Richard Ali A Mutu, Nesrine Malik and Edwige-Renee Dro

Moderator: Wanjeri Gakuru

Kenyan journalist Edith Kimani engages in a one-on-one interview with David Olusoga OBE, a British historian, writer and filmmaker on the impact of his work in rethinking black history.

Featured speakers: David Olusoga OBE and Edith Kimani.

Activists have been arrested for attempting to take African artefacts out of prominent European museums. Protests, demands and negotiations have resulted in items being surrendered at best and loaned to countries at worst. What happens when the restitution of stolen relics, histories and ideologies happens on our own terms?

Kenyan filmmaker & TV Producer Mumo Liku tells the story of an artefact lost in 1903, while Chidi Nwaubani, Nigerian founder of 'LOOTY’, shares his perspective on how AR and VR can bring artefacts closer home, and Dr. Kiprop Lagat, Director of Culture in the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage speaks from over 25 years of experience in the heritage sector.

Featured artists: Chidi Nwaubani, Mumo Liku and Dr. Kiprop Lagat.

Moderator: Abdi Latif Dahir

Award-winning Palestinian author Adania Shibli and British writer of Scottish and Sierra Leonean ancestry Aminatta Forna OBE in conversation with Jon Lee Anderson, an American journalist, investigative reporter, and war correspondent and is presently a staff writer for The New Yorker.

Featured writers: Adania Shibli and Aminatta Forna OBE

Moderator: Jon Lee Anderson

The impulse to forget or obfuscate facts to lessen pain is natural in the face of difficult circumstances. For the artist who decides not to look away, the result is often beautiful, heartrending work.

Writing pair, Ibrahima Balde, an immigrant from Guinea and Amets Arzallus, a Basque poet pieced together a harrowing odyssey across the Sahara desert. South African author and filmmaker, Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni made a documentary about her mother’s life-long dream of publishing a treasured 40-year-old manuscript while Kenyan visual artist, Kamwathi Peterson Waweru’s work captures painful Kenyan existence in charcoal, paint and collage.

Featured artists: Ibrahima Balde & Amets Arzallus, Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni, Kamwathi Peterson Waweru.

Moderator: Mshai Mwangola.

Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo OBE FRSL FRSA discusses crafting spaces for underrepresented voices within her work with Kenyan publisher Muthoni Muiruri.

Featured speakers: Bernardine Evaristo OBE FRSL FRSA and Muthoni Muiruri

Ever wondered what it takes to complete a manuscript? Do you want to master the confidence to develop a story idea through multiple iterations to produce a finished text?

This is an opportunity to gain insights on what it takes to get to the finish line for book one in an author’s career with South African poet, Nombeko Nontshokweni, Kenyan lawyer and author, Deborah Tendo.

Featured writers: Nombeko Nontshokweni, Deborah Tendo and Edwin Omindo.

Moderator: Otieno Owino.