Hay Festival 2025 Full Programme

Building homes – one and a half million of them – is at the top of the government’s agenda, and no NIMBYs, newts or bats will be allowed to get in the way. Nor will any planning rules, with the government set to rewrite them so that homes can be built on the Green Belt, which was instituted to stop urban sprawl.

But how can we solve the very real housing crisis without destroying the countryside?

Join architect, author and Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud, wildlife TV presenter, conservationist, author and campaigner Chris Packham, and the founder of the Community Planning Alliance, Rosie Pearson, for a look at a common sense approach to tackling the country’s housing needs.

They talk to Sarah Lamptey, presenter, writer, DJ and founder of Showerbox, which brings free showers to enhance the lives of those facing homelessness in London.

How do we hold on to hard-won reproductive rights, in the UK and internationally? How can we secure the same rights for future generations? At a time when reproductive rights are in retrograde in the US, our panel, chaired by broadcaster Stacey Dooley, celebrates the UK’s proud history and continued fight for a world where everyone is empowered to make decisions about their own health and body.

Kate Gilmore is Chair of the Board for International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and co-chair of the WHO Gender and Human Rights Advisory Panel on Human Reproduction. Family law barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman researches and teaches gender inequality under law at the University of Cambridge. She founded Right to Equality, campaigning to put gender justice at the top of the legal agenda.

They are joined by Nikki, a young activist representing the 16–19 Participation Advisory Group from Brook, the only national charity to offer both clinical sexual health services and education and well-being services. Nikki will talk about the impact the US rights changes are having, and why it is crucial to educate young people about their reproductive rights.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author talks about her new novel, a genre-defying story about a character with her name. In conversation with the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, she discusses flipping the traditional crime narrative of gendered violence on its head, playing with language, and poetry and art.

Death Takes Me sees a Professor Cristina Rivera Garza stumble upon the corpse of a mutilated man in a dark alley and report it to the police. She becomes the first informant on the case, which is led by a detective newly obsessed with poetry and trailed by a long list of failures. As the bodies of more castrated men are found alongside lines of verse, the detective tries to decipher the meaning of the poems to put a stop to the violence spreading throughout the city.

Rivera Garza is the award-winning author of The Taiga Syndrome and The Iliac Crest, among many others. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her memoir Liliana’s Invincible Summer.

Lucy Mangan grew up as a bookworm. As an adult, she uses her relationship with literature to seize upon the most important question: (how) do books prepare us for life?

Wend your way through the bookshelves with Mangan as she recounts her metamorphosis from young bookworm to bookish adult. She looks at the books and stories which accompanied her in important life stages, including falling in love, finding a job, becoming a mother and navigating grief.

Mangan’s Bookish is a sequel to her bestselling book Bookworm. She is TV critic for the Guardian, and also writes for Stylist magazine, the Telegraph and others.

Two powerhouses of children’s literature captivate in this creative event bringing William Shakespeare’s work to life with the help of some special guests. Poet Michael Rosen and illustrator Chris Riddell, both former children’s laureates, have collaborated on Pocket Shakespeare: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Bits of the Bard, a celebration of the words of Shakespeare.

In this event, Rosen will guide the audience through the Bard’s exploration of love, heartbreak, magic, superstition and more, including insults and one-liners, accompanied by Riddell, who’ll draw live on stage.

Does your little one collect something? Join author/illustrator Bethan Woollvin for a craft workshop based on These Are My Rocks, a story about collecting. Children will enjoy a hilarious reading of this interactive book, explore fun collections and oddities from around the world and then craft their own unique collection.

Online: 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.

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.

Dairy-free and gluten-free options available.

Enjoy this twenty-minute open air performance between events. Got 2 Sing Choir perform uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Truth is a much-debated concept in our modern world, but according to Mike Berners-Lee (There is No Planet B) there’s nothing more important. The climate and sustainability expert delves into his new book A Climate of Truth, to spell out why, if humanity is to thrive in the decades ahead, the most critical step is to raise standards of honesty in our politics, our media and our businesses. By turning our attention to the principle of truth, he argues, we can all have much more impact on the issues we care about. The professor in the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University talks to journalist Rosie Boycott.

Chef and refugee Imad Alarnab celebrates the flavours of Syria in his new cookbook, Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. In this vibrant event he takes some of his sensational recipes and prepares them before your eyes, using fresh ingredients, sharing his techniques and, finally, giving us a taste!

In Damascus, Imad ran successful restaurants and cafés, but was forced to flee after these were destroyed. He made his way to Europe, cooking for refugees, up to 400 at a time, and arrived in London ten years ago, where eventually his family joined him. In 2021 he burst onto the restaurant scene with a series of charity events and supper clubs, and now has his own restaurant in London at Soho’s Kingly Court. He talks to investigative journalist and documentary presenter, Catrin Nye.

Zahaan Bharmal argues that, far from being abstract, physics can help us answer some of the most urgent questions about life. Why are some relationships unstable, while others last a lifetime? Why do the rich keep getting richer? And why do we all make so many irrational decisions?

You don’t need to be a scientist to have a stake in these answers. Join Bharmal for an abstract-free, accessible look at the hidden and surprising ways in which physics can help us to make sense of our unpredictable world.

Bharmal works for Google as a senior director of strategy. He writes about science for the Guardian and won NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal for services to science communication. He talks to Dr Glyn Morgan, Curator of Exhibitions at the Science Museum. He talks to Dr Glyn Morgan, Curator of Exhibitions at the Science Museum.

Leah Hazard, Sunday Times bestselling author of Hard Pushed and Womb, introduces her debut novel The Anatomy of Us. Published exclusively in audio as an Audible Original and brought to life with stunning narration from Wicked Little Letters star Jessie Buckley, Leah’s fiction debut was inspired by her first-hand experiences on the NHS front line and written in-between long, hectic shifts. The story unfolds amidst the chaos of New Year’s Eve in an Edinburgh hospital, where two perfectly imperfect, dysfunctional healthcare heroes struggle to love each other – and themselves – in a system full of the highest highs and the lowest lows. Join Leah as she discusses her influences and inspirations for The Anatomy of Us, why mental health has to be a feature of any NHS love story and what it’s like to launch a debut exclusively on audio.

Philippa Gregory’s bestselling Normal Women has been adapted for teens! Join the international blockbuster author of The Other Boleyn Girl as she redefines the story of ordinary English women and asks why they are missing from 900 years of history. Hear some fascinating stories of highwaywomen, pirates, soldiers, inventors and rioters in this lively and interactive event.

The nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo, discusses his new book Cobweb with Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Cobweb is a powerful, moving adventure inspired by the extraordinary true story of the French Drummer Boy of Waterloo; a stunning tale of courage and kindness – a book about the bond between a girl and her beloved dog, about humanity, animals and the heartbreak of war.

Does your little one collect something? Join author/illustrator Bethan Woollvin for a craft workshop based on These Are My Rocks, a story about collecting. Children will enjoy a hilarious reading of this interactive book, explore fun collections and oddities from around the world and then craft their own unique collection.

Join us for an exclusive guided tour led by one of our passionate volunteer guides during Hay Festival 2025. Our knowledgeable guides will take you on a captivating journey through the castle, revealing tales of medieval knights, royal intrigue and the castle’s remarkable restoration. As you explore the castle you’ll gain unique insights into the lives of those who once called this place home. The tour also offers breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, providing the perfect backdrop for your visit.

Guided tours run daily at 11am and 2pm. Tour price includes entry into the Castle for a year including the current exhibition: 20th Century Welsh Artists.

Enjoy this twenty-minute open air performance between events. Got 2 Sing Choir perform uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Award-winning broadcasters Emma Barnett (BBC Radio 4’s Today programme) and Stacey Dooley (Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over) take a personal, political and cultural look at motherhood and the impact it has on women. The pair’s honest and open conversation will look at the experience of becoming a mother and the physical and mental work required in motherhood, celebrating mothers of all kinds.

Barnett’s Maternity Service was written in snatched moments after the birth of her second child, and is a heartfelt and reassuring look at what it really feels like to be on maternity leave. In Dear Minnie, written after she had her first child, Dooley brings her trademark empathy and investigative skill to an entirely new ‘frontline’, exploring the varied perspectives of mothers today.