Hay Festival Digital 2020

The past comes back to life in this new book about a secret kept for decades. In 1960s Italy, Edith is to support her sister Lydia through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby is born, she makes a phone call that will change their lives forever. Years later, Edith’s best friend receives an email from a stranger claiming to be her brother and Edith must face the truth of her past to help her friend.

Acclaimed author Sarah Moss is assistant professor of creative writing at University College Dublin. Her previous novels include Ghost Wall and Night Waking. She talks to the Guardian literary critic, Chris Power.

Following last year’s sold out scratch choir session, Juliet Russell returns to create a magical rendition of a classic pop banger with a room full of strangers in under 60 minutes. Uplifting, inclusive and hugely enjoyable, this is a session for singers, secret singers and ‘I’ve never sung in my lifers’.

With her warm and knowledgeable approach, Juliet is adept at bringing the best out of every singer, from the terrified to the confident. As a vocal coach and arranger on Netflix’s breakout hit show Building the Band, Juliet helped shape the voices that captivated millions globally. Come and be part of the magic. All are welcome, with no previous experience needed.

 Enjoy undersea antics with Aoife Dooley as she presents her hilarious, zany and action-packed graphic novel Squid Squad. Spongebob Squarepants meets Bunny Versus Monkey in this cartoon chronicle of ocean mayhem. Join naughty best friends Ollie the vampire squid and Zing the toxin-squirting sea bunny as they cause chaos in the deep sea with the rest of their wacky crew, from the stinky Blob to the crafty Hypno-snail and the mysterious Snakey Unicorn Thing…

Aoife Dooley is an award-winning Irish illustrator and graphic designer who shares how an autism diagnosis helped her to truly understand herself. Squid Squad is a celebration of imagination, friendship and being completely unique.

Join award-winning author-illustrator Ed Vere for a story-time session celebrating Waffles and Julius: No Hugs Please – a new, brilliantly funny picture book about friendship and respecting each other’s differences.

Waffles loves hugs and would very much like to hug his friend Julius. Julius, however, doesn’t want a hug right now. Can Waffles wait? Ed will bring his crayons to show you how to draw Waffles and Julius… Sketch along with Ed and see how easy it is to draw this loveable duo!

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Bear Grylls is one of the most recognised faces of survival and outdoor adventure in the world. His adrenalin-filled life reads like an action thriller – three years with 21 SAS, a life-changing parachute accident, climbing Mount Everest – all by the age of 23. His next chapter saw him become a world-renowned TV presenter, leading the likes of Julia Roberts and President Obama on epic survival adventures. He’s somehow found time to write over 100 books, including two best-sellers, and spends part of the year on a secluded, off-grid island in Wales. In this thoughtful conversation with presenter and podcaster Jamie Laing, Grylls reveals the books that hold a special place in his heart and have helped him through the ups and downs of his incredible life.

Celebrate the best of Scottish writing with two giants from the country’s literary scene. This rare and exciting conversation between Jenni Fagan and Irvine Welsh will see them explore their own writing, discuss creativity and reflect on modern Scottish literature. They talk to writer and presenter Jude Rogers.

Fagan won the Gordon Burn Prize for her memoir Ootlin. Her new novel The Delusions is about Edi, who has spent almost 50 years processing the newly dead and waiting to be reunited with her son when he dies. Irvine Welsh has described the story as “1984 for the afterlife”.

Welsh’s latest novel Men in Love sees him revisit the beloved characters – Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie – from his era-defining novel Trainspotting at the end of the 1980s and the dawn of the 1990s, as they wonder if love is the answer to their dreams.

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon uses previously undiscovered archives to paint a vivid new picture of the life of artist Johannes Vermeer, most famous for his painting ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’. Following new leads, and drawing on a mass of historical evidence, some of it freshly uncovered in the archives of Delft and Rotterdam, Graham-Dixon uncovers the painter’s unknown friendships, and reveals his previously undetected allegiance to a radical movement driven underground by persecution.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA-winning actor and writer Steve Pemberton’s narration of Kazuo Ishiguro’s contemporary classic.

The Remains of the Day is Ishiguro’s beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a great English house. Heartbreak and longing take centre stage as Pemberton embodies the stoic head butler, Stevens.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

Premièred at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, How to Build a Library takes us to Nairobi to witness how two Black women tackle the rebuilding of what was until 1958 a whites-only library. The documentary is a fascinating study of colonisation and the power of individual and collective action.

Following the screening, director Maia Lekow and founder of Book Bunk Angela Wachuka will discuss the film with freelance journalist and editor Kitty Corrigan. Book Bunk is a firm driving the restoration of some of Nairobi’s most iconic public libraries.

The blockbuster Skandar series concluded last year with fifth book Skandar and the Spirit War, and is set to hit the big screen with Sony Pictures. This is an unmissable opportunity to hear about it all straight from the unicorn’s mouth, as author AF Steadman shares the inspirations behind her unlikely heroes, elemental magic, sky battles, ancient secrets and ferocious single-horned beasts.

Come prepared to create your own bloodthirsty unicorn, take part in the Chaos Cup and discover elemental magic!

Jay Hunt, Creative Director for Apple TV+ in Europe and chair of both the BFI and Hay Festival, will draw on her extensive experience to offer invaluable insights and advice for a career in TV production.

Before joining Apple, Hunt was Chief Creative Officer of Channel 4. She has also served as Controller of BBC One and Director of Programmes at Channel 5. In 2023, she was named one of the Top Twenty Most Powerful Women in Global Entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter.

Joanna Quinn is very excited to run this fun animation workshop, where she will introduce her endearing heroine, Beryl, and share the skills and knowledge of behind-the-scenes animation processes from her Oscar-nominated animation career.

Joanna’s creation Beryl is an unconventional heroine, a middle-aged factory worker pursuing her dream as an aspiring artist. Joanna’s film about Beryl and her eccentric family, Affairs of the Art, was nominated for Academy and BAFTA awards. An independent animator and director, Joanna holds over a hundred international awards, including four BAFTAs and two Emmys.

Come on a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, led by guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. 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 countryside 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.

Step inside Hay Castle during Hay Festival 2026 and explore a place shaped by power, survival and reinvention. Led by an expert volunteer guide, this tour traces 800 years of life inside the castle – from medieval plots and royal whispers to its rescue, restoration and reimagining as a place for ideas today. You’ll move through rooms, stairways and towers, hearing stories of the people who lived, schemed, dreamed and partied here. Along the way, take in sweeping views across the Wye Valley – a reminder that this is a border castle, built to watch and be watched.

Guided tours run daily at 11am and 2pm. Tour price includes entry into the Castle for a year including the current exhibition: BorderLands.

The wonderful Dame Mary Berry reveals her second great love: gardening. It’s been a life-long passion, starting when she was a small girl who watched her father growing vegetables. Here she tells us how getting hands-on in her own garden has been a constant source of joy throughout her life. An uplifting conversation filled with personal anecdotes and practical guidance, all illustrated with beautiful photos from Mary’s own garden.

A conversation to lift your spirits, as leading scientist Professor Daisy Fancourt reveals how art and culture can directly improve our health and wellbeing – mending us as well as moving us. Talking to Magdalena Skipper, editor in chief of international science journal Nature, Fancourt explores the extraordinary links between creativity and health from songs that shape children’s brains to paintings and performances that ease pain, stress and depression. Learn how engaging with art and culture can reduce loneliness, build resilience and even help us to live longer. Is there a better reason to book a place at this optimistic and refreshing conversation?

Join acclaimed novelist and poet Ben Okri for an exclusive look at his new novel Waking the Warriors, ahead of its publication.

In Waking the Warriors, Tanas has risen to become the modern dictator of a great western nation, and is now sweeping across the world, subjugating all in his wake. His reign seems unstoppable, until he meets a small band of people that form a resistance.

Okri discusses his inspirations with broadcaster Francine Stock, the legacy of storytelling he writes within, and his long career. Okri is author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Famished Road, which won the Man Booker Prize in 1991.

Anxiety can affect the way you think, feel and behave, but what if there was a way to make it work for you? Broadcaster and psychologist Dr Sian Williams takes a warm and accessible look at anxiety, talking to journalist Kirsty Lang. She shares stories from her counselling career and her book The Power of Anxiety, and urges us to see sensitivity as a strength and anxiety as a tool.

Williams is an award-winning broadcast journalist and chartered counselling psychologist, who has worked in the NHS and privately. She hosted BBC Breakfast for 11 years, and currently presents on BBC Radio 3 and 4.

Celebrate Art Day at Hay Festival with art historian Katy Hessel, as she shows how art can best be represented on film. Watch Hessel’s curated film before hearing her illuminating take in an in-depth discussion connecting the work’s themes to wider questions of art, storytelling and whose voices shape cultural history. Part screening, part live essay, the broadcaster and author of The Story of Art without Men offers a reflective and richly contextual experience for curious, art-loving minds.

Calling all pet fans! Join Pia’s Pet Club with Serena Patel, author of the award-winning Anisha, Accidental Detective. Serena will introduce you to Pia, a girl who loves pets, but isn’t allowed one of her own (maybe like you)! But Pia doesn’t give up easily and forms Pet Club with her friend Hari.

Serena will tell you about her own pets, kittens Arlo and Bean and a brand-new puppy. She’ll test your pet-based knowledge with a PAWesome quiz (do you know what percentage of the time cats spend sleeping?) and help you create your own pet story character.

The latest in the Pia’s Pet Club series is Pia’s Pet Club: Secret Kitten, and there’s an official World Book Day book coming up in 2026 – Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Political pundits across the UK watched the run-up to the Senedd elections with huge interest. Join broadcaster and former Downing Street director of communications Guto Harri and guests for a revealing discussion about the impact of the results in Wales, and find out what the political parties are really saying behind closed doors.

Former A&E doctor and leading mental health advocate, Dr Alex George, joins comedian Sara Pascoe to explore the perennial question: Am I normal? Together, they tackle the uncertainties and anxieties so many of us share about our bodies, minds, and emotions – from self-image and relationships to mental wellbeing in a digital age. Blending humour, honesty and empathy, this very personal conversation offers practical wisdom and reassurance in a world obsessed with comparison. This event is for anyone feeling the pressures of modern life, seeking inspiration and laughter in equal measure.

Podcaster and best-selling author Elizabeth Day delves into politics, power and privilege in this timely discussion of her new novel One of Us with fellow podcaster Jamie Laing. This compelling thriller is the sequel to her 2017 best-seller, The Party (soon to be an ITV drama starring Luke Evans), and we rejoin the characters at a huge moment for the entire nation.

Ben is now a cabinet minister and being touted as the next Prime Minister. But when his excommunicated friend Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of Ben’s family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge. In unfolding the story of Martin, Ben and his family, Day also writes about a country unravelling under the weight of its secrets.

Day is also host of the hugely successful podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, where guests share three personal failures and discuss the lessons learned from them.

A middle-aged woman obsessed with pickling, body painting and taxidermy is an unlikely star, but thanks to a BAFTA-winning animated film, Beryl is just that. Film director, animator and Beryl’s co-creator Joanna Quinn takes us behind the scenes of the 2021 film Affairs of the Art, and explains the creative process behind animation.

Joanna will give an entertaining insight into her creative process including a range of sketches, storyboards and final artwork for Beryl’s creation. She will also illustrate live in this event, bringing her dynamic and vivacious character to life before your eyes.

Internationally-celebrated choreographer and director Sir Wayne McGregor tells us how and why we should master our physical intelligence, in conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East.

In We Are Movement, McGregor draws on research with elite performers, athletes and cognitive neuroscientists to argue that our intelligence lies not only in our brains, but our bodies too. By learning to use it properly, we can become better communicators, more creative thinkers and live fuller lives. Filled with practical advice and inspiration, this event will have you appreciating your body in a new way.

Abandon your Biro and learn all about the world’s oldest writing, invented in Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. Mesopotamia expert Dr Selena Wisnom will demonstrate how simple pictograms evolved into a complex writing system with nearly a thousand signs, and how it was deciphered after two millennia of silence. She’ll show you how to make your own cuneiform tablet out of plasticine and impress the signs into it just like the Mesopotamians did. You can write your name in this ancient script, and take home a piece of history.

A screening of Argentine auteur Lucrecia Martel’s ingenious adaptation of the existentialist novel Zama. Frenzied first-person narration transforms to become a cinematic fugue state in this singular and stupefying period drama, and Martel inserts her own incisive commentary on colonialism and masculinity.

An 18th-century Spanish magistrate is eternally languishing in anticipation for a transfer from the outpost to which he has been relegated. When his last hope of departure comes to naught, he joins an expedition to track down Vicuña Porto, a legendary outlaw who may or may not exist.

Charlie Mackesy’s original story of four unlikely friends became a global phenomenon and the best-selling adult non-fiction book of all time. Now he returns to Hay Festival to introduce the book’s sequel. Talking to broadcaster Francine Stock, he explores why his creations have offered so much comfort and hope to readers.

Mackesy is an artist, illustrator and author who began his career as a cartoonist. The short animated film of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won both an Oscar and a BAFTA.

An exclusive opportunity to see two creative icons in conversation. Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman, Kevin Rowland, speaks to best-selling novelist, Irvine Welsh, about his astonishing memoir. Rowland takes readers from the juvenile courts of his troubled teenage years to the success of Dexy’s Midnight Runners in the 1980s. With searing honesty, he also recounts the lows – including a serious cocaine addiction that left him bankrupt. Rowland and Welsh discuss resilience after adversity, iconic moments in British music, and how it feels to have had a major impact on our culture. For music lovers and pop culture buffs, as well as those who want a ring-side seat to lively and candid conversation.

A candid, funny and relatable look at what it means to be the ‘default parent’. Lou Beckett, wife of comedian Rob Beckett, enjoys a no-holds-barred chat with comedian and mother Sara Pascoe about the emotional and logistical burdens of being the parent who plans, pre-empts, organises and remembers, and offers community to others in the same position.

Beckett’s book Lessons From a Default Parent contains advice and reflections on parenting, and provides comfort to the people depended on the most and appreciated the least. Beckett is a mother of two and ex-secondary school teacher, as well as a mostly silent participant on her husband’s podcast Parenting Hell.

Poet Stephanie Sy-Quia discusses her debut novel, a look at the space between public identity and private self, with author Sarah Moss. A Private Man moves between the 1960s, where Margaret finds unexpected love with Catholic priest David, and the 2010s, where Adrian cares for his ageing grandmother Margaret.

Sy-Quia’s debut poetry collection Amnion won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and received a Somerset Maugham Award. Moss is assistant professor of creative writing at University College Dublin. Her most recent book is Ripeness.

Kenyan social entrepreneur Linda Kamau and BBC technology and social science writer and presenter Aleks Krotoski discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women carving careers in technology across Africa.

Kamau is a pioneer in the inclusion of women in technology. Co-founder of AkiraChix, she has trained hundreds of young women in programming, providing them with the tools to transform their lives and communities. She has been recognised by initiatives such as the Obama Foundation’s Leaders Africa programme, and is a member of the Segal Family Foundation, a trust supporting social justice in East Africa. Krotoski has written and presented landmark technology and social science series for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World.

They speak to Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.

Do you have real-life experiences that you’d like to turn into a book? This workshop with Dr Lily Dunn will give you both direction and inspiration. Where do you start and how do you discover a story’s momentum? Dunn will help you identify key moments, how to characterise yourself, capture place and run dual timelines, as well as navigate the ethics of writing about real people. You’ll come away from the session with new tools and techniques to bring your true stories to life on the page.

Dunn is author of Into Being: The Radical Craft of Memoir and Its Power to Transform. She teaches narrative non-fiction and memoir at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab.

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. Its online programme offers writing weeks, writing days, masterclasses and a Saturday Writing Club. Residential courses are set in historic writing houses in inspiring countryside locations. Courses cover a range of genres including fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, theatre, screenwriting and more.

We’re thrilled to welcome back the brilliant screenwriter, actor, novelist and unforgettable star of Gavin and Stacey, Ruth Jones. She captured the heart and soul of the nation with her portrayal of Nessa and won countless awards for the family of characters she created with her co-writer, James Corden. Here she chats to author and broadcaster Hannah Beckerman about her incredible career, and her most recent novel By Your Side. Join the conversation to find out what’s next for one of the best writers of our times.

Poet, performer and recording artist Kae Tempest is one of the most electrifying voices in British culture. With his albums, poetry and plays, he’s captured the pulse of a generation. Here, Kae introduces his long-awaited new novel, Having Spent Life Seeking, a moving story about family, forgiveness and belonging. This event offers an unmissable opportunity to hear one of our most vital creative voices as he reflects on a life spent seeking meaning through art. He talks to Guardian literary critic Chris Power.

Welsh writer Jan Morris was once the most famous journalist in the world: she joined the 1953 Everest expedition and was first to get news of Hilary and Tensing’s successful climb back to London. Morris’ glittering career included interviewing Che Guevara and scooping the story of the Suez collusion. When she transitioned in the early 1970s, she documented the experience in her book Conundrum. Writer and broadcaster Sara Wheeler discusses her biography of Morris with author Oliver Bullough.

Take a joyful and illuminating look at why we’re so deeply wired to respond to the human voice, especially when performing and listening live. Neuroscientist Professor Catherine Loveday reveals how singing actually works in the brain (did you know you’re more likely to remember vocal over instrumental music?); vocal coach Juliet Russell shares her insights on how singing aligns the body and mind; and psychologist Dr Sian Williams examines the relationship between voice, breath and emotional regulation.

Known to calm anxiety, sharpen memory and bring people together, the science behind singing is as intriguing as it is powerful. Combining psychology, performance and lived experience, this event explores how singing creates connection, improves memory and fosters wellbeing.

A celebration of the life and work of the quietly radical Welsh painter Gwen John on the 150th anniversary of her birth. John’s art has been an inspiration for the work and creative lives of many others, from Dior’s creative director to the Manic Street Preachers.

Leading Welsh poet and author Gwyneth Lewis, conservator Fiona McLees and curator Lucy Wood discuss the lasting impact of John’s work, which is currently on display in an exhibition at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

This landmark retrospective brings together John’s most celebrated pieces alongside rarely seen paintings, drawings and letters. Two accompanying books, Gwen John: Unseen and Gwen John: Strange Beauties, reveal extraordinary discoveries from her studio and offer fresh insight into her quiet and strikingly modern vision.

In Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, the character Kaufman is a confused LA screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt the latest book by Susan Orlean, Kaufman’s life spins from pathetic to bizarre.

As a screenwriter, Kaufman’s style of reality-bending comedy made him a superstar. With Adaptation, he turned a case of writer’s block into a brilliantly weird and weirdly touching comic tribute to living life as a movie – and earned an Oscar nod for both himself and his imaginary twin!

In her fantastic new show, Sara Pascoe explores the joys and absurdities of being human – from the chaos of motherhood to the contradictions of fame and the unanswerable question: why won't my kitchen clean itself?

With her trademark mix of sharp observation and surreal humour, Pascoe turns everyday anxieties into pure comic gold. You've seen her on Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo and The Great British Sewing Bee. Now enjoy her company in person at a special show for Hay Festival. Clever, curious and joyfully offbeat – this is Sara Pascoe at her brilliant best.

Three brilliant speakers, all with something completely different to say about how we see ourselves – past, present and future. Historian Peter Jones reveals how self-help worked in the Middle Ages. Podcaster and entrepreneur Jamie Laing shares how he’s trying to work out how to be the kind of man he’s proud of instead of the kind society expects him to be. And journalist Aleks Krotoski talks about her investigation into the moguls and tech bros who are trying to defy death so they can live forever. Hosted by Decca Aitkenhead, chief interviewer for the Sunday Times.

Join renowned cellist-singer and environmental activist Sarah Smout for a unique evening of visceral storytelling, making the Gothic arches and austere stonework of St Mary’s Church shimmer with atmosphere. Smout sailed among frozen sea, icebergs and glaciers during a 2025 expeditionary residency around Svalbard in Norway, collecting their sounds and performing improvisations amid the rapidly melting Arctic.

This experience inspires her entrancing and transportive solo show, which invites us to listen more deeply to the fragile beauty of polar regions, inspiring hope, awe and wonder, and highlighting the profound impacts of climate change. Smout creates atmosphere with live-looped cello, haunting melodies and poetry that is never too far from the sea. This is a truly special evening of performance in a unique setting.

A blissful night of songs that make you sing and tunes that make you dance, as cosmic shape-shifters The Poozies take to the stage. The pioneering Scottish trad band formed in 1990, originally with an all-female line-up, and were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scots and Gaelic music.

They’re known for their eclectic choice of material and a seductive energy – expect unusual and exciting arrangements, notable vocal harmonies and a dose of sass and irreverence as the group performs new music and old hits.

The band are anchored by founding member Mary Macmaster on electro-harp, with the irrepressible riotousness of Eilidh Shaw and Sarah McFadyen on twin fiddles and the shimmering joyfulness of Mike Bryan on guitar.

An hour of movement and breathwork, led by a highly-skilled Hay-on-Wye practitioner, to start your day at Hay Festival with open heart and mind. 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, this yoga class is open and accessible to all. The class leader will adapt to different levels of experience, so that each student takes what they need from the practice.

Begin the day with a guided tour of Hay Castle led by its director, art historian Tom True. Explore the castle’s layered history, meet some of the characters who once shaped it and hear how it is being reimagined today as a place for ideas, art and thoughtful encounters. The tour includes time to experience the castle’s new interactive interpretation on the second floor, followed by coffee and pastries.

Coffee and pastry included in the ticket price. Meet in the Great Hall.

Amol Rajan kicks off a bold campaign to get young people talking. Improving a child’s speaking skills is proven to directly improve their life chances, and the biggest transformations can be seen in children from the poorest backgrounds. Rajan reveals his own oracy experiment and is joined by some surprise guests in his mission to help those from the toughest beginnings find a better life through the power of speaking.