Hay Festival Segovia 2022

Thirteen editions of this event have combined poetry with the beauty of the Romeral de San Marcos, the splendid garden that the landscape architect Leandro Silva left as a legacy to the city of Segovia and which every year opens for the Hay Festival to take in the best poetry of all time. On this occasion, participants will read their own poems or those of their favourite authors. This time, with a special focus on Portugal, with readings of the Portuguese ambassador Joâo Mira- Gomes, Tourism Director of Portugal María de Lurdes Vale, the cultural advisor of the Portuguese Embassy Ana Patricia Severino, Director of Arco España-Portugal Maribel Lopez, the president of Banco Millennium Foundation Antonio Monteiro, the director of Calouste Gulbekian Museum, the president of Medici Foundation, Prince Lorenzo de´Medici and the poet Enrique Juncosa.

The writer José Félix Valdivieso returns to be the master of ceremonies.

The rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics mean that the debates about their advantages and ethical implications are constantly being updated. Digital culture is another area whether our attitudes need to be continuously revised. Nerea Luis Mingueza is a Doctor of Computing Science and an enthusiastic educator in matters related to artificial intelligence and robotics. Mónica Rikic is an electronic artist and a creative programmer. Her work explores the unknown land that lies at the interface between human and machine.

Nerea Luis Mingueza and Mónica Rikic will talk to the writer and journalist Miquel Molina, Assistant Editor of La Vanguardia.

Joana Marcús, an early reader and writer, discovered Whattpad, a digital platform where users can read online or share their own stories, at the age of eleven. By the age of 15, she had published six stories, including Irresistible Propuesta, which garnered 300,000 views. Now she has made the leap to Crossbooks, which has published her trilogy Fuego. This same platform put Iria G. Parente, writer and publicist, in contact with Selene M. Pascual, with whom she creates her novels for young readers. After several titles, Secretos de luna llena gave rise to one of her most successful sagas, Marabilia, which was published by Nocturna and is currently in production for television.

Joana Marcús and Iria G. Parente will talk with her editor, Rosa Samper.

At a time of overexposure, hypercommunication and a continuous exchange of messages, videos, audios, web content… Are we really better informed than ever? Are things really the way they tell us? Are we genuinely the free society, without prejudice, that we think we are? Two outstanding figures from the world of literature and communication will talk about these vital matters. Featuring the writer Espido Freire, who had a spectacular entry onto the Spanish literary scene, becoming the youngest ever winner of the Planeta Prize aged just 25. Since then she has had an impressive literary career with novels, poetry and non-fiction, including books such as Soria Moria and De la Melancolía. Also appearing will be Alberto Rey, who offers astute and acerbic analysis of television series in his Asesino en serie blog for El Mundo. He is the author of the books La rebelión de los bigotes and Ni rubia ni pelirroja.

Once the event finishes, the authors will sign books in the venue.

Event in Spanish

The journalist Inés Martín Rodrigo made her name with her second novel, >Las formas del querer, winning the prestigious Nadal Prize. Since then, she been talking about dancing a great deal. She says that writing the book was therapeutic, and let her understand herself better. Her first work of fiction was Azules son las horas, about Sofía Casanova, the first Spanish war correspondent; she has also published a compilation of interviews called Una habitación compartida.

Martín Rodrigo will talk to Jesús Vigorra, director and presenter of Canal Sur Radio’s La mañana de Andalucía.

Book signing at the stand on Calle Real

Santiago Iñiguez, Executive President of IE University and an international expert in education, brings together a group of experts to debate the meaning of meritocracy and its implications in education and other spheres of social life. The historian, journalist and member of parliament, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo; the researcher into subjects related to international terrorism and member of the Assembly of Madrid, Hana Jalloul; the author of >The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made it to the Modern World and international journalist, Adrian Wooldridge; and the Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper, author of Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK reflect with Iñiguez on the impact of this phenomenon in history and in the future of our societies.

With simultaneous translation from English into Spanish and vice versa

This event will deal with two matters: firstly, the defence of tradition without entering into either reactionary postures or attitudes that are contrary to innovation; secondly, the contemporary relevance of non-fiction compared with fiction. José Luis Pardo and Mercedes Cebrián will look at musical and literary works in order to consider some of the reasons for this tendency. José Luis Pardo is a philosopher, essayist and Professor of Philosophy at the Complutense University of Madrid. He has published numerous works of non-fiction, one of which, La regla del juego, received the National Essay Prize in 2005. Other works of his include La banalidad, Esto no es música and Nunca fue tan hermosa la basura. Mercedes Cebrián is a translator and writer who has published poetry, short stories, novels and essays. Her works include El genuino sabor, Malgastar and Verano azul: unas vacaciones en el corazón de la transición.

What do a refugee, a high-level politician and a carbon atom on the other side of the world have in common? All of them share the same pattern of existence. The prominent conceptual and multimedia artist Kate Daudy, who has worked on major international projects; and the scientist and artist Sir Konstantin Novoselov, winner of the 2010 Novel Prize for Physics, have been working since 2017 on a humanitarian art and science project whose goal is to explore the ways in which Everything Is Connected and to invite the public to reflect on these connections. Daudy and Novoselov, who will undertake an artistic intervention as part of the Hay Festival, believe that it is worth considering interconnection when assessing our behaviour: our lives are what our thoughts make them. They will talk at this event about their project, which has involved collaboration with different NGOs and institutions linked to humanitarian work in the context of aid and development cooperation.

They will talk to Javier Gila, chair of the Aida: Ayuda, Intercambio y Desarrollo association, who has been working with them on the project.

With simultaneous translation from English to Spanish and vice versa

Mark Muller Stuart QC is a leading barrister specialising in international law, terrorism and human rights litigation. He has been a member of the Queen's Counsel since 2006 and advises numerous international law organisations.

He is co-founder of the Delfina Arts Foundation, as well as founder and executive director of Beyond Borders, an international platform based in Scotland that works to break down borders between peoples and help facilitate wider international cultural exchange, dialogue and reconciliation.

He will be in conversation with journalist Irene Hernández Velasco.

Event in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish

Two writers with established careers who write their works on opposite sides of the Atlantic come together to talk about the worlds they reflect in their writings. In 2013, the Andalusian Lara Moreno published her first novel, Por si se va la luz. Critics welcomed it as an example of the neo-ruralist current in 21st-century Spanish literature. Piel de lobo is her second novel. She has also published short stories (Cuatro veces fuego), essay (Deshabitar) and poetry (Tuve una jaula). Renato Cisneros is a writer, journalist and television presenter. He has had a long career in the media in Peru, his native country. In 2010 he published his first novel, Nunca confíes en mí, which was followed by Raro, The Distance Between Us and Dejarás la tierra. He had previously published works of poetry, such as Ritual de los prójimos, and short stories (Cosas que no hay que contar).

The British Council School Ensemble is made up of teachers from the Music21 programme, students from the School and alumni who come together to enjoy musical expression. They interpret a varied repertoire, from baroque and classical works, to popular and contemporary songs. The School is committed to musical development, not only because of the artistic results that are obtained with learning, but also because of the values ​​that are acquired by overcoming the challenges of teamwork, including loyalty, challenge, flexibility, resilience and caring for others. The British Council School is a bicultural school that contributes to the British Council's global mission to spread British culture and language and to foster links between cultures around the world.

Marta Williams, journalist and expert in leadership and coaching, is considered 'the mother of coaching in Spain'. A much sought-after participant in conferences on the subject, she works as a teacher in advanced training programmes for executives who want to be better leaders. Beatriz Celaya directs the publishing house Alt autores. She became involved in the publishing world on the wave of the digital revolution. In her publishing work, she tries to adapt to all formats and new forms of cultural consumption. She organises the Jornadas del Autor for the Basque Writers' Association, of which she is vice-president. Sara Ayats is Cloud provider manager of VN Ware in Spain and Portugal, and president of Aseabel, the association of Former Students of Belgium Universities and Friends of Belgium.

They will be in conversation with Luis Besa, journalist and philosophy professor.

Tiago Pitta e Cunha is one of the most significant international personalities on issues related to the oceans and the changes that need to happen in our attitude towards them. He has worked for over two decades to put maritime issues on political and institutional agendas. He has coordinated the European Union’s Integrated Maritime Policy at the office of the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and has represented Portugal and the EU at the UN in various international bodies dedicated to all matters related to the sea. Also director of the Oceano Azul Foundation, in 2021 he received the Pessoa Prize, awarded annually to Portuguese nationals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding figures in scientific, artistic or literary life. He will talk with Jesus Calero, director of ABC Cultural, who researches oceans and their shipwrecks,

They will discuss the need to care for the oceans with journalist and poet Carlos Aganzo.

With simultaneous translation from Portuguese to Spanish and vice versa.

Culture is undoubtedly one of the main engines of change in a society. The directors of two of the country's most important cultural centres will return to the Festival they both know so well to debate this idea. Valerio Rocco has been director of the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid since 2019 and was previously vice-dean of Research, Knowledge Transfer and the Library at the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he teaches History of Modern Philosophy. Isabel Fuentes, PhD Museology of Natural and Human Sciences, has spent twenty years working in scientific communication and cultural management in institutions such as the Residencia de Estudiantes, the National Museum of Natural Sciences and La Caixa Foundation. She is currently the director of CaixaForum.

Seven wines, seven poets and seven engravings will be the focus of a literary and artistic journey of the senses to Portugal. The expert hand of Maria de Lurdes Vale, Director of Tourism in Portugal, will use Portuguese wines, the words of Portugal's renowned poets, and the engravings and illustrations of Lisbon artist Manuela Crespo. She will guide us on a journey through the landscapes, villages, people and cities of each of the seven regions of the country with which Spaniards share so much. The regions represented by the wines and poets will be: Porto e Norte, José Régio; Lisbon, Fernando Pessoa; Alentejo, Florbela Espanca; Algarve, Antonio Aleixo; Açores, Natália Correia; Madeira, José Tolentino Mendonça.

Novels like The Man Who Loved Dogs and Como el polvo en el viento have made Leonardo Padura one of the major voices in Spanish-language fiction. The creator of the detective Mario Conde has set the latest title in this series, Personas decentes, in his native city, Havana; the action takes place in 2016 while the city is preparing to receive the president of the United States, Barack Obama, as part of what was to become known as the Cuban Thaw. The book deals with the events surrounding the appearance of a murdered former member of the Cuban government, found dead in his apartment. The story also takes us back to the city a century previously, at a time when the arrival of Halley’s comet was expected. Padura, who is a fiction writer, journalist and screenwriter, is a Princess of Asturias Literature prize-winner.

The Cuban writer will talk to the novelist and journalist Jesús Ruiz Mantilla, the author of Papel and other works.

The writers will sign copies of their works at the stand located opposite the IE University

Mental illness has a history of invisibility and prejudice and, for this reason, books such as Por si las voces vuelven are important in order to progress towards dismantling the myths about disorders that affect so many people. Ángel Martín, presenter, monologue performer, actor and streamer will talk about her recovery process after two weeks in a psychiatric ward. Apart from her book, she has also created a podcast, on which well-known artists directly tackle their mental health problems. She will talk about all this at the Hay Festival Segovia closing event with Ángeles Aguilera, Non-fiction Editor at Planeta.