We are delighted to announce the full programme of events for Hay Festival 2022.
Please note: tickets on sale are for live events, to attend in person. You can buy a pass to watch the festival online here.
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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 botanist draws on her expertise and experience as an indigenous woman to show how other living beings offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices. Her subjects range from the Native American legend of the Skywoman to the language of wild strawberries and squash, asters and goldenrod, algae and sweetgrass. Her collection of essays weaves together traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge to examine the relationship people have, and can have, with the living environment. Kimmerer lives in New York where she is founder and director of the Centre for Native Peoples and the Environment. She talks about her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants with farmer and author James Rebanks.
Join Professor Susanna Lipscomb, chair of judges for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, in conversation with two of the writers shortlisted for the 2024 prize. They discuss their selected books, their broader themes and the importance of this new prize as a platform to elevate women’s voices in non-fiction that have previously been overlooked.
The winner of the 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction will be announced on Thursday 13 June. Brought to you by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity which enriches society by creating equitable opportunities for women in the world of books and beyond.
Three authors who share a personal history of displacement and violence discuss writing about their birth countries with lawyer and writer Philippe Sands. Pulitzer Prize winner Hisham Matar is an American-Libyan writer whose novel, My Friends, is about three friends in political exile and the emotional homeland that deep friendships can provide. Elif Shafak is a Turkish-British novelist, author of The Island of Missing Trees, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022, which follows a romantic relationship between a Greek and a Turkish Cypriot. Palestinian writer Adania Shibli is the author of PEN Translates Award-winning and International Booker Prize-longlisted Minor Detail, a meditation on war, violence and memory that dissects the Palestinian experience of dispossession and life under occupation.
Journey back in time 700 years with Honey & Co chefs Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, as they explore connections between the food of medieval Moorish Spain and the recipes they have championed and popularised as two of the UK’s best-loved chefs. They draw on medieval recipes as revealed in the 13th century Andalusian manuscript Best of Delectable Foods and Dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib: A Cookbook by Thirteenth-Century Andalusi Scholar Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī (1227–1293). Watch the couple demonstrate a recipe from the book, and try some delicious tastings.
Honey & Co’s cookbooks include Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire around the Levant and Food from the Middle East. Packer and Srulovich talk to Polly Russell, a food historian and curator at the British Library.
Travel between the Rocky Mountains and Trinidad with authors Kevin Barry and Ingrid Persaud, who discuss their new novels with critic Alex Clark. Barry’s The Heart in Winter is about Tom Rourke, a young poet and a degenerate in Montana in the late 1800s. When Polly Gillespie arrives as the new bride of the devout mine captain, Tom falls in love with her and they ride into the sunset, but a posse of deranged Cornish gunsmen is soon in hot pursuit. Persaud's The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh is the tale of four women, connected and controlled by one man: the notorious, charismatic gangster Boysie Singh.
The world’s human population acquires two thirds of its calories from just three crops, each with one harvest in each hemisphere. With a burgeoning population, cities spreading onto productive agricultural land and climate change, the area we have for producing food is steadily declining. So where will we grow our food and what will it look like? Will we go vegan or produce all our food organically?
Agronomist Jonathon Harrington (Cardiff University) leads a discussion with two world authorities, Professor Tina Barsby (University of Cambridge) and Professor Denis Murphy (University of South Wales), on this essential subject. Join the experts to hear the scale of the issues and then come together to workshop some solutions.
Ivor Novello Award nominated songwriter and international reggae artist shares his insights into writing global hits including Boom Shak-A-Lak and Arranged Marriage.
Author Annabelle Hirsch delves into her collection of 101 objects that make up the neglected history of women, in conversation with Countryfile presenter Anita Rani. This quiet, intimate and particular history takes in everything from humble household items to objects of female pleasure and of female subjugation. Readings from Julia Gillard, Helena Kennedy, Miriam Margolyes and Aditi Mittal bring to life these fascinating, too-often-overlooked, manifold histories of women.
Hirsch is a writer and translator; Gillard is former prime minister of Australia; Kennedy is a barrister and a Labour member of the House of Lords; Margolyes is an actor of stage and screen; and Mittal is a comedian and actor.
What can the history of slave revolts teach us about the power of rebellion to tackle the climate crisis? How might understanding the origins of capitalism spark ideas for bringing AI under control? What could we learn from the coffee houses of Georgian London to tame social media? Social philosopher Roman Krznaric looks at 1,000 years of history to help us confront the challenges of the 21st century, from bridging the inequality gap and reducing the risks of genetic engineering, to reviving our faith in democracy and avoiding ecological collapse.
Comedians and writers Dom Joly and Danny Wallace take a look at conspiracy theories, fake news and more in this funny, frank and sometimes frightening discussion. Joly’s new book The Conspiracy Tourist: Travels Through a Strange World sees him meeting followers of QAnon in Cornwall, New Age-ers in Glastonbury and UFO hunters in Roswell, and taking a flat-earther to the edge of the world. In Wallace’s book Somebody Told Me he encounters families torn apart by accusations and fake news, journalists putting themselves on the frontline of the disinformation war, reformed conspiracy theorists and more.
Building on years of creative collaborations with survivors of terror attacks, Yordanka Dimcheva and Dr Katharina Karcher tell the stories of six inspiring people through three objects. From the narwhal tusk used by MoJ employee Darryn Frost and prisoner Steven Gallant in 2019 to tackle an armed attacker on London Bridge, to the camera of David Fritz Goeppinger, who survived the hostage-taking in the 2015 Bataclan attack, and the knitted teddy bear made by Figen Murray after losing her son in the Manchester Arena bombing, Karcher illustrates how creative practice can be used to remember violent loss, (re)claim agency and work towards less violent futures. Dimcheva is a PhD candidate in French Studies, focusing on terrorism in France, and Karcher is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, both at the University of Birmingham.
Looking for a new approach to life, a way to make your dreams reality and a stronger connection to yourself and those around you? Then author Candice Brathwaite (Manifest(o): Unlock the Life you Deserve) and consultant and coach Africa Brooke (The Third Perspective: Brave Expression in the Age of Intolerance) are here to help, in conversation with journalist Nichi Hodgson. Brooke shares her method for expressing yourself and embracing bravery, with the aim of placing you back in the driver’s seat of your own life. Brathwaite explores what manifesting looks like if you're not white, thin, traditionally pretty or able bodied. Prepare for a conversation that will leave you feeling inspired and ready to tackle any problem or achieve any dream.
“And how late it is…” So ended Franz Kafka’s final diary entry, dated 12 June 1923, less than a year before he died on 3 June 1924. The last weekend of this year’s Hay Festival coincides with the 100th anniversary of the last two days of Kafka’s life, a tragic moment in literary history but one also charged with hope, because of his irrepressible spirit and immortal work, which survived despite its author’s wishes.
To mark the centenary, the London Review of Books has mined its remarkable archive to publish a chorus of the different ways its writers have thought about Kafka over the years. This one-off performance is interspersed with readings from Kafka’s own later diary entries, with the voices of special guests accompanied by music from Max Richter’s The Blue Notebooks, itself inspired by Kafka’s journals, played by the celebrated organist James McVinnie.
'Rockstar mythologist' Natalie Haynes is the best-selling author of 'Divine Might', 'Stone Blind', and 'A Thousand Ships', as well as a reformed comedian who is a little bit obsessive about Ancient Greek and Rome. Today she stands up in the name of two great figures from the ancient world. Expect life-enhancing knowledge and entertaining stories from a millennium or so ago.
Gain a rare insight into the life of the legendary, late comedian Barry Cryer, whose work included BBC Radio 4’s long-running I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. His son Bob Cryer speaks to actor Miriam Margolyes about the man behind the jokes. Filled with candour and warmth, this discussion is an ode to Barry Cryer’s incredible life and to the lessons he imparted on the art of comedy during his 60-year career.
Bob Cryer is an actor and writer best known for Coronation Street and Hollyoaks. With his father, he created the book series Mrs Hudson’s Diaries, which was adapted into a play for Wilton’s Music Hall. Mrs Hudson’s Radio Show soon followed for Radio 4 in 2018. Their joint podcast, Now Where Were We?, launched just before Barry Cryer’s death in 2022. His book Same Time Tomorrow? is about Barry Cryer's life and career.
Simon Armitage’s reinvention of a fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel: A Nightmare in Eight Scenes, was published in 2023. It’s the third book by the Poet Laureate to be illustrated by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, following Sir Gawain & the Green Knight in 2018 and The Owl and the Nightingale in 2021.
The Poet Laureate and the artist/illustrator hold a conversation with pictures, talking about their experiences of working together and reading favourite passages from the three books. Hicks-Jenkins directed and designed the music theatre production with actors and puppets of Armitage’s Hansel & Gretel when it premiered in 2018, and two members of the original cast make a special appearance.
Do you want to introduce your children to the magic and wonders of a festival, but can’t face the muddy fields? Then DJ Rob da Bank, co-founder of Camp Bestival, is here to help. He shares tips, activities and ideas to keep the whole family inspired all year round and recreate the magical ethos of the festival at home, with campfire singalongs, family raves, kitchen discos and more.
Join the literary director of Shakespeare and Company Adam Biles (author of Feeding Time and Beasts of England), with journalist and novelist Hari Kunzru (The Impressionist, Blue Ruin) Isabella Hammad (author of The Parisian and Enter Ghost) and other guests for a far-ranging conversation on the role writers play in our cultural discourse, the art of the author interview and the importance of independent bookshops.
Shakespeare and Company, Paris, is one of the world’s most iconic and beautiful bookshops. Long favoured as a meeting place for writers and readers, it has hosted events with some of the greatest authors of our age. Highlights from these conversations are captured in the new Shakespeare and Company Book of Interviews, bringing their insights together with warmth, sensitivity and humour.
The nation’s twelfth-favourite doctor brings his brand new show to Hay Festival, fresh from a record-breaking run at the Edinburgh Fringe and a sell-out season in the West End. His book This is Going to Hurt was a literary sensation, selling three million copies and becoming a multi-BAFTA-winning BBC series. Undoctored follows on from This is Going to Hurt, and will leave you laughing and crying with Kay’s unique tales of life on and off the wards. It also contains the ‘degloving’ story because people ask for refunds if they don’t hear it. “Darkly hilarious – this show will have you in stitches” – The Standard.
Join Angela Barnes (Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) as she tries out some new ideas she’s had. There will be thoughts, there will be stories, there will be successes, there will be failures, and there will be jokes – so come along to find out which is which… “She’s just a gloriously down-to-earth, straight talking and extremely funny comic” – The Guardian.
Angela Barnes swapped a career in health and social care for stand-up in 2010 and hasn’t looked back. Within just a couple of years she had won the 2011 BBC New Comedy Award and toured around the country with her stand-up shows. She is a firm favourite on BBC Radio 4, having featured on The Now Show and The News Quiz.
Join legendary DJ Rob da Bank for a set at Hay Festival. Grab some drinks at the Festival Bar and settle in for his eclectic mix of audio loveliness from techno to chillwave, covering a spectrum of leftfield music, new and old.
Da Bank is co-founder of music festivals Bestival and Camp Bestival, and after a hugely successful career at BBC Radio 1, he joined the 6 Mix Resident roster. Aside from radio and festivals, da Bank is creator of the Sunday Best label which has released music by David Lynch, Dan le Sac & Scroobius Pip, Valerie June, Dub Pistols and Beardyman.
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.
Start your day at Hay Festival with our daily news review. Join 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 Reverend Richard Coles, co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live and author of the Canon Clement Mystery series, and Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, host of Not Just the Tudors podcast from History Hit and Chair of Judges for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.
American-Libyan writer Hisham Matar’s new novel is about three Libyan men in political exile in London, and the emotional homeland that deep friendships can provide. It begins in 1984, the year that officials inside the Libyan embassy in London’s St James’s Square fired a machine gun into a crowd of unarmed protesters. Matar’s earlier novel, The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, about his father’s abduction by Gaddafi’s forces and the decades-long quest to discover his fate, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017. He discusses his new book with Charlotte Higgins, the Guardian’s chief culture writer.
Fiona Williams’ The House of Broken Bricks focuses on Tess and Richard; the former yearns for the comforting chaos of life as it once was while the latter fights to get his winter crops planted rather than deal with the discussion he cannot face. Williams discusses her story of a broken family, who might be able to heal as the seasons change, with novelist Ingrid Persaud.
A warden from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park leads a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye. A local expert gives 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.
Join us for a recording of The Verb, BBC Radio 4’s poetry celebration and ‘language lock-in’, hosted by its kindly pub-landlord Ian McMillan. In our special festival editions Ian has invited a host of award-winning poets, writers and performers to join him on stage for a spoken word party. His guests include the novelist Kevin Barry, and the actor and writer Miriam Margolyes.
Illustrator Rob Biddulph sketches out a fun-packed and interactive session for all the family. Rob’s brilliant #DrawWithRob videos have inspired many to take up a pencil, and now you can join in live with a draw-along fresh from his latest book. The final book in his Peanut Jones trilogy, Peanut Jones and the End of the Rainbow, dazzles with magic, danger, friendship and art. Find out all about Rob’s journey from budding artist to award-winning picture book creator and Guinness World Record holder in this event fizzing with fun and creativity.
Meet Steve Antony’s mischievous new character, Cat. In his new book Cat Nap, this little cat needs a nap, but it’s hard to find time for sleep when you’re busy playing! Will he ever close his eyes? Curl up for the bestselling author and illustrator’s high-energy story time event.