Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2025

Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk

Pop-up performance

Saturday 29 November 2025, 8pm – 8.30pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Folklore and dark history are brought to life under the vaulted ceiling of Hay Castle’s Great Hall by the performance group Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk.

As the darkness settles over Hay-on-Wye, this is an unrivalled chance to see the innovative Herefordshire group tell stories through dance, song, music, customs and ceremonies in the most magical of settings.

Ahead of Hollie Starling’s event on working-class folk horror stories, let Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk get you in the mood for the mythical and mystical.

Mark Watson talks to Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris

How Was It For You?

Saturday 29 November 2025, 8.30pm – Castle Marquee

Comedy power couple Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke are joined by top comedian Mark Watson for an evening of conversation, chaos and plenty of laughs.

Spend Saturday night in the company of three of the UK’s sharpest and most acclaimed voices in comedy as they discuss life’s highs and lows and share their honest ratings on everything (yes, everything) from tinned fish to trips to the tip.

Parris and Brigstocke are the hosts of the podcast How Was It For You? and for this live recording they are joined by Watson who has won numerous accolades for his comedy, including Chortle awards and Time Out Comedian of the Year, and has been one of the biggest-selling acts at the Edinburgh Fringe over the past 20 years. He is also a novelist, and his latest book is One Minute Away, about a delivery driver who forms an instant connection with a customer.

Oyinkan Braithwaite, Natalie Haynes, Mick Herron and Adam Rutherford

Hay Festival Book of the Year 2025

Saturday 29 November 2025, 8.30pm – St Mary’s Church

A panel of literary stars take us on a lively tour of the year in books, as we get ready to crown the 2025 Hay Festival Book of the Year.

Oyinkan Braithwaite, Mick Herron, Natalie Haynes together with chair Adam Rutherford celebrate the books on the shortlist for the award. They'll discuss the books they have read, their favourite books of the year, those they raced through, the ones that languished unread, the ones they wished they had read and the ones as authors they wish they had written.

You can nominate your favourite titles now for the Book of the Year award; visit https://www.hayfestival.com/book-of-the-year/ and submit your titles by Wednesday 5 November.

Previous winners have included Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Inventing Ourselves by Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and The Five by Hallie Rubenhold – but who will triumph in 2025?

Prepare for a high-octane celebratory evening of all things books.

Hollie Starling talks to Nikita Gill

Bog People: A Working-Class Anthology of Folk Horror

Saturday 29 November 2025, 8.30pm – Hay Castle – The Gallery

Author Hollie Starling speaks to poet Nikita Gill about the uncanny and unsettling, as she introduces a rousing and riotous anthology of folk horror tales by some of Britain’s best-loved working-class writers.

Hear tales of the wyrd and wonderful from Bog People, as Starling and Gill celebrate working-class culture and history. Our land might be green and pleasant, but the monsters that lurk beneath will send shivers down your spine.

Bog People’s contributors include A.K. Blakemore, Mark Stafford, Natasha Carthew and Salena Godden. Starling runs the page Folk Horror Magpie on social media. For more dark tales from folklore, drop in to see Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk, performing in the Great Hall of Hay Castle before and after this event.

Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk

Pop-up performance

Saturday 29 November 2025, 9.30pm – 10pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Folklore and dark history are brought to life under the vaulted ceiling of Hay Castle’s Great Hall by the performance group Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk.

As the darkness settles over Hay-on-Wye, this is an unrivalled chance to see the innovative Herefordshire group tell stories through dance, song, music, customs and ceremonies in the most magical of settings.

Following Hollie Starling’s event on working-class folk horror stories, let Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk help you sink further into the world of the mythical and mystical.

David Olusoga, Rob Osborne, Jennifer Nadel and Sune Engel Rasmussen

News Review of the Year

Sunday 30 November 2025, 10am – Castle Marquee

Chew over the biggest news stories of 2025 in our review of the year, led by historian David Olusoga. David will be joined by ITV Wales Correspondent Rob Osborne, award winning journalist Jennifer Nadel Wall Street Journal correspondent Sune Engel Rasmussen, and together they will revisit the good, the bad and the I-forgot-that-happened moments of the year, and bring personal perspectives and first-hand experiences of the stories that defined 2025.

They'll dissect Trump's unique approach to foreign policy, spawning unforgettable moments including President Zelensky being thrown out of the White House for not wearing a suit, assess the prospects of a ceasefire in Ukraine and the Middle East, and pick out the moments that defined the 2025, from protests over immigration to the bin strikes in Birmingham.

But it’s not all bad news, you’ll also have the chance to relive the year's good news stories, including triumphant sporting successes from the Lionesses and Luke Littler.

Our News Review of the Year is the perfect way to begin your Sunday at the Hay Festival Winter Weekend.

Michael Poll

Pop-up Music

Sunday 30 November 2025, 11.05am – 11.25am – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Hear a sneak peek of virtuoso guitarist Michael Poll’s music ahead of his concert at St Mary’s Church in the afternoon.

Poll is both a conductor and virtuoso guitarist whose music has over 1 million streams on Spotify and Apple Music, and was featured on the BBC and Classic FM.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the incredible Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Jung Chang talks to Erica Wagner

Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China

Sunday 30 November 2025, 11.30am – Castle Marquee

A rare chance to hear from the author whose generation-defining book offered readers an essential understanding of China’s recent history, and whose follow-up promises to do the same again.

Jung Chang’s epic personal history Wild Swans was a publishing sensation. The story of herself, her mother and her grandmother spanned the final days of the rule of China’s last emperor through the Cultural Revolution and into the late 1970s, as Jung herself emigrated to Britain, as one of the first Chinese people to leave Communist China for the West.

Chang’s follow-up, Fly, Wild Swans, has been almost 35 years in the making, and will once again change how we think about China, bringing in the story of the past few decades of Chang’s life. A love letter to Chang’s mother, and a call to the family’s losses, Fly, Wild Swans is about how the past has shaped and moulded not only Chang, but also China.

Chang will be interviewed by journalist, author and critic Erica Wagner.

South to North conversations: with the support of Open Society Foundations

Vikki Heywood talks to Nicola Cutcher

Miss Veal and Miss Ham

Sunday 30 November 2025, 11.30am – Hay Castle – The Gallery

Meet the characters of Vikki Heywood’s novel about the hidden lives of women, inspired by the real life of her former head teacher, who came out aged 70.

The titular characters in Heywood’s novel live in a leafy Buckinghamshire village, where they maintain their careful facade as respected local spinsters. But their public façade masks a story of passion; they met as suffragist activists in the 1900s, danced in London’s secret gay clubs between the wars, and comforted one another during the Blitz. Now they face heartbreaking decisions as changes begin to take place following the end of the war.

Heywood introduces her warm and witty debut, speaks about her real-life inspiration, and discusses how her life in the theatre influenced her writing. Heywood was executive director of the RSC from 2003 until 2012 and before that joint chief executive of the Royal Court Theatre.

Cantorion Y Gelli

Pop-up Music

Sunday 30 November 2025, 12.35pm – 12.55pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Hay’s own Welsh-language choir lifts the spirits in this short performance between events.

Performing a variety of folk songs, rousing hymns and choral classics, this is a joyful celebration of Welsh music and culture.

The majority of the choir’s members are either learning Welsh or passionate about the language, with three first-language Welsh-speakers keeping a strict ear on pronunciation.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the incredible Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Julia Shaw talks to Adam Rutherford

Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them

Sunday 30 November 2025, 1pm – Castle Marquee

Criminal psychologist Julia Shaw investigates gangs who terrorise communities, committing horrendous environmental crimes against people and the planet.

In her book Green Crime, she looks at cases – including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Dieselgate emissions scandal, and the Shuidong wildlife crime syndicate – and reveals how, following their every move, are secret agents, vigilantes and scientists fighting to foil their criminal acts.

She talks to scientist, writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford about who commits these crimes against the planet, and how we can better protect our natural resources.

Oyinkan Braithwaite talks to Ella Berthoud

Cursed Daughters

Sunday 30 November 2025, 1pm – Hay Castle – The Gallery

Oyinkan Braithwaite caught the literary world’s attention with her first novel, the award-winning literary sensation My Sister, the Serial Killer which was a Sunday Times bestseller, longlisted for The Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. Oyinkan is now at Hay Festival’s Winter Weekend to take us into the world of her glittering follow-up, Cursed Daughters.

Cursed Daughters is a brilliant cocktail of modernity and superstition, vibrant humor and hard-won wisdom, romantic love and familial obligation, in which Eniiyi falls in love and tries to break free of a family curse which has doomed the love lives of generations of women in her family. Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of the brightest new contemporary authors at work today as she talks to author and bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud.

Decis

Pop-up Music

Sunday 30 November 2025, 2.05pm – 2.25pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Get in the festive mood with a performance of seasonal classics, sung by women’s a capella group Decis.

The group, made up of members from Hay-on-Wye and the surrounding villages, perform from the gallery of Hay Castle’s Great Hall.

James Hanning

The Bookseller of Hay: The Life and Times of Richard Booth

Sunday 30 November 2025, 2.30pm – Castle Marquee

Ever wondered how Hay-on-Wye became known as a book town, and who was behind it?

In this session, hear the story of bookseller and entrepreneur Richard Booth, the 'King of Hay', who created the world’s largest second-hand bookshop, attracting thousands of visitors from across the globe to the town.

Author of The Bookseller of Hay, James Hanning, tells the tale of the deeply divisive Booth’s eccentric and chaotic life, including how he created the bookish backdrop which – to his frustration – allowed a rival attraction, the now world-famous Hay Festival, to flourish.

Hanning, a frequent visitor to Hay since the 1960s, interviewed dozens of local people and booksellers in the writing of The Bookseller of Hay.

A former deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday, his other books include a look at the phone hacking scandal, and Love & Deception, about Soviet mole Kim Philby's time in Beirut.

Hanning talks to Hay Festival Director of Programmes, Helen Bagnall.

Michael Poll

Hay Music: Guitar Concert

Sunday 30 November 2025, 2.30pm – St Mary’s Church

Virtuoso guitarist and conductor Michael Poll performs classical music in the atmospheric surroundings of St Mary’s Church.

Poll will perform two Bach suites, as well as Suite Castellana by Federico Moreno Torroba.

The musician’s debut guitar recording, 7-String Bach, has been streamed over 1 million times on Spotify and Apple Music, and was featured on the BBC and Classic FM.

In association with Hay Music

Got 2 Sing

Pop-up Music

Sunday 30 November 2025, 3.35pm – 3.55pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Got 2 Sing Choir performs uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies and festive classics, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the incredible Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Alison Weir

Queens at War: England’s Medieval Queens

Sunday 30 November 2025, 4pm – Castle Marquee

Author Alison Weir uncovers the lives of five queens from the turbulent 15th century.

In the surroundings of Hay Castle – which local legend has it was built in one day by the Lady of Hay, Matilda de Braose, who carried the stones to build its walls in her apron – hear Weir talk her latest book Queens at War, about the women who stood by England's sovereigns, caught up in wars that changed the course of their lives, and the course of history.

Joan of Navarre, Katherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Elizabeth Wydeville and Anne Neville were formidable women who defied the limitations of their times, often living out the brutal consequences of their determination.

Weir is one of Britain’s top-selling historians and the author of numerous works of history and historical fiction. She specialises in the medieval and Tudor periods.

Glenn Storhaug and Rick Goldsmith

Screening: Printing Poetry Aloud

Sunday 30 November 2025, 4pm – 5.15pm – Hay Castle – The Gallery

Calling all poetry lovers, book enthusiasts, and local heritage fans! Discover the inspiring story behind Five Seasons Press, which has published poets including Seamus Heaney and Allen Ginsberg, in the film Printing Poetry Aloud.

Made by the team behind local favourites Chewing the Cud and Stories from the Hop Yards, Printing Poetry Aloud celebrates 50 years of exquisite book-making by Glenn Storhaug, his collaborations with acclaimed poets, and the lasting legacy of his work in Herefordshire.

This is a must-see documentary for anyone who treasures the art of words and print, and is followed by a live Q&A with Storhaug and director Rick Goldsmith.

Got 2 Sing

Pop-up Music

Sunday 30 November 2025, 5.05pm – 5.25pm – Hay Castle – Great Hall

Got 2 Sing Choir performs uplifting songs from top of the charts to golden oldies and festive classics, with plenty of fun and laughter.

Our pop-up music sessions offer magical interludes between events in the incredible Great Hall at Hay Castle.

Vince Cable

Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World

Sunday 30 November 2025, 5.30pm – Castle Marquee

Politician and academic Vince Cable examines what the rise of Asian superstates means for the future of the world.

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats is the author of Eclipsing the West, an incisive look at what the new international order will be. As the Western-dominated world we have known for the past 300 years comes to an end, and as America withdraws from its role as enforcer of the international order, Cable looks at the other countries moving to fill the void, including superstates China and India.

Cable, who has insight into both countries as a professional economist and later as a senior government minister, draws on his lifetime of experience to offer a compelling account of what comes next when it comes to global power.

Thrill Collins

In Concert

Sunday 30 November 2025, 8pm – 9.15pm – Castle Marquee

A decade after they last performed at Hay-on-Wye, Thrill Collins are back to light up Hay Castle.

Get ready to hit the dance floor as the skiffle-pop trio, renowned for transforming the greatest pop anthems of all time into jaw-dropping, high-energy medley marathons, provide the ultimate finale to the Festival.

Sponsored by Festive Forestry Christmas Tree Farm