Hay Festival 2026

Maya Jordan talks to Richard Benson and Claire Malcolm  

The Working Class Library: Live Podcast

Saturday 30 May 2026, 4pm –  Spring Stage

Experience a live recording of The Working Class Library, a podcast that explores and reclaims working class people’s contribution to literature. Join hosts Richard Benson, author of The Valley and editor of The Bee, and Claire Malcolm, CEO of New Writing North, in their quest to establish a new catalogue of working-class books that tell a different story to the established British literary traditions.

For this live edition of the podcast they will be joined by special guest, Mid Wales-based Maya Jordan, author of Chopsy: Resistance Tales of a Working Class Woman. Together they’ll discuss the Welsh classic Queen of the Rushes by writer Allen Raine, which celebrates its hundredth birthday this year.

The Working Class Library podcast is a venture of The Bee, a new magazine of writing by working class writers, published by New Writing North.

In partnership with The Bee

Brin Pirathapan talks to Kitty Corrigan  

Matters of Taste: Elevate – Live Demonstration

Saturday 30 May 2026, 4pm –  Creative Hub

MasterChef 2024 winner Brin Pirathapan blends British seasonal produce with tastes and techniques inspired by his Sri Lankan heritage, building flavour from the ground up in a live demo turning ordinary ingredients into something spectacular.

As the winner of “the best final in 20 years” according to judge John Torode, expect a more-than-entertaining afternoon where staple ingredients become meals packing some serious punch.

Pirathapan’s new cookbook, Elevate: Everyday Ingredients, Incredible Flavours is all about enriching the day to day. Think sticky pork rice bowls, warming curries, zingy salads and bold takes on classic desserts, with practical tips and pro techniques, so you can learn not just how to best cook a fish, but how to fillet it too. He talks to writer and editor Kitty Corrigan.

Oslo, August 31st  

Book to Screen: Film Screening

Saturday 30 May 2026, 4pm – 5.40pm –  MUBI Cinema

A screening of Joachim Trier’s Cannes hit, a reworking of Louis Malle’s New Wave classic The Fire Within. This story of a young man’s fade-out is a triumph of sensitive insight and observation, a smart, sharp portrait that even finds within its heavy subject matter the chance for warmth.

Recovering drug addict Anders is given a day’s leave from his rehab center to apply for a job in the city. Over the course of one day and night, he tries to reconnect with his old friends and family in Oslo, where the ghosts of his past mistakes wrestle with the hope to see some future by morning.

Directed by Joachim Trier (2011). Film duration: 1 hour 35 minutes. Certificate 15.

In partnership with MUBI

Caryl Lewis  

The Danger of Small Things

Saturday 30 May 2026, 4pm –  Writers at Work Hub | Hwb Awduron Wrth Eu Gwaith

How can you use art to protest injustice and galvanise others to resist? Caryl Lewis has imagined some answers, in her suspenseful new YA novel about teens finding their voices in the darkest of times. Join Caryl as she discusses dystopia, destruction and defiance, and shares advice for young writers embarking on their own creative journey.

Caryl takes us into the near-future of The Danger of Small Things, a world where all the bees have died and young girls are taken to camps and made to pollinate by hand. Against this frighteningly real scenario, she explores how art and literature might yet save us.

The Beefy Boys Pop-up Supper  

A Masterclass and a BBQ Platter

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5pm – 6.30pm –  Garden Kitchen

Sign up here for a masterclass in the art of burgers, BBQ and backyard culture with Anthony Murphy, Burger Chef of the Year 2023 and co-founder of the ultimate meat boutique, The Beefy Boys. While ‘Murf’ shares his barbecue skill and inducts you into the knack of the grill, you’ll devour a two-course tasting menu starting with an exclusive version of The Beefy Boys’ famous BBQ sharing platter.

This meaty medley will include the chef’s beef cheek, burnt ends, 12-hour smoked pork belly, 12-hour smoked brisket, hot link sausage and a slider version of the Butty Bach Burger, topped up with portions of BBQ beans, mac & cheese and creamy coleslaw. To round off the feast, sample a decadent, homemade brownie. A must for all griddled food fans and cookout converts!

A Beefy Boys event

Love To Sing Choir  

Pop-up Music

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.05pm – 5.25pm –  Bookshop Garden Marquee

Enjoy this 20-minute open-air performance between events. Love To Sing, returning to Hay Festival following their upbeat performance in 2025, is a double gold award-winning, inclusive popular music choir based in Pembridge, Herefordshire. The choir promotes togetherness, fun, belonging and a shared passion for singing.

Miriam Margolyes talks to Carys Eleri  

Barrel of Laughs: The Little Book of Miriam

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Global Stage

Join outspoken national treasure Miriam Margolyes for an unfiltered look at everything from arseholes and apostrophes to the Vagina Monologues and Zoom. She talks to Welsh actor, singer and writer Carys Eleri about The Little Book of Miriam, an A to Z guide to her irrepressible and unstoppable world. Expect nothing less than an afternoon of unbridled hilarity, extraordinary stories and profound wisdom from a life well lived.

Sathnam Sanghera talks to Aasmah Mir  

Tonight the Music Seems so Loud: The Life and Times of George Michael

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Discovery Stage

Spend an hour with British pop icon George Michael through the eyes of award-winning journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera, and be guided through the life, music and enduring legacy of one of Britain’s most loved recording artists. This is far more than a musical celebration – it’s a sharp, thoughtful exploration of fame, identity, sexuality, immigration, and belonging in Britain’s recent history.

Through personal reflections and cultural insight, Sanghera reveals why George Michael’s story continues to resonate a decade after his death, and with humour, heart, and fresh perspective, he illuminates the man behind the legend, and the society that shaped him. Sanghera talks to journalist and writer Aasmah Mir.

A must-attend Hay Festival conversation for fans, music lovers and anyone captivated by culture, identity and the art of storytelling.

Masud Husain talks to Lucy Dallas  

Our Brains, Our Selves: What a Neurologist’s Patients Taught Him About the Brain

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Meadow Stage

What makes us who we are? Is it our background that creates our identities? Or our families, where we lived, how we were brought up and educated? The answer is all of the above, but more fundamental than any of these is our brain. Neurologist Masud Husain uses real-life examples of patients to show us how our brains create our identity and how that identity can be changed by brain dysfunction. Among his patients is a man who ran out of words, and a woman who stopped caring what others thought of her. Husain is professor of neurology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford and a practising clinician with over 30 years’ experience. He talks to TLS arts editor Lucy Dallas.

In partnership with The TLS and in association with The Royal Society

Gab Torr talks to Joelle Taylor  

Debut Discoveries: Hard Place

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Writers at Work Hub | Hwb Awduron Wrth Eu Gwaith

Meet Gab Torr, who discusses their debut novel with acclaimed poet Joelle Taylor. Hard Place is the story of Billy, whose new flatmates Sid and Rhoda are the kind of people who talk very seriously about taking accountability, adhering to the flat’s community guidelines and holding space for one another. Slowly Billy becomes enmeshed in their radical, vulnerable world, but as her past catches up with her, all must reckon with what they truly stand for.

Torr discusses writing about activism and queer experiences, and their writing journey so far. They are a 2021 London Writers Awardee, and their writing was longlisted for the 2023 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize.

Supported by the Hawthornden Foundation

Sophie Calon talks to Tiffany Murray  

Long Going: A Daughter’s Memoir of a Dad Who Drank

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Spring Stage

The story of one man’s alcoholism and his daughter’s struggle to make sense of it. Journalist Sophie Calon watched as her father went from high-flying lawyer to homelessness in just four years. After pinballing between tents, homeless shelters and prison cells, he was found dead in Cardiff city centre aged just 55.

In her moving memoir Long Going, Calon tries to come to terms with her and her family’s grief, combining her narrative with letters and messages from her father, mother and siblings. Calon, who lives near Hay-on-Wye, speaks with searing honesty.

A Taste of Hay with Wild by Nature & Lucky Seven Brewery  

Matters of Taste: Charcuterie & Beer Tasting

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Creative Hub

Begin your evening at Hay Festival with some tasty artisan nibbles and drinks in this session showcasing two fantastic businesses local to Hay-on-Wye. Wild by Nature will guide you through a choice charcuterie board, while Lucky Seven Brewery samples some of their different styles of beer, explaining how these delicious products are made with sustainable farming techniques.

Wild by Nature practises regenerative farming in the Black Mountains. The idea for the business was born when Jake Townley and his brother-in-law Ed Dickson moved back to where they had grown up in the Welsh borders, with a shared desire to be closer to nature and to grow, cook and share the food from their farm.

Lucky Seven Brewery is an independent family brewery based in Hay-on-Wye, started in 2014 by Luke and Kelly Manifold. Brewing the beers that they love to drink, and exploring the flavours of different styles, they produce beers that highlight the quality of the ingredients.

Ali Smith talks to Sarah Wood  

Glyph: The Anti-War Novel from the Author of Gliff

Saturday 30 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Exchange Marquee

Ali Smith discusses her latest novel, Glyph – a playful and inventive story which questions the boundary between imagination and reality, skilfully blending the fiction of childhood ghosts with the facts of real-life wars.

It tells the story of sisters Petra and Patch, who make up a ghost as children. In adult life, the estranged siblings are brought back together when Petra finds a phantom horse kicking the furniture to pieces in her bedroom.

Smith talks to artist and filmmaker Sarah Wood, who in her own work interrogates the relationship between history and personal memory. Smith is author of several novels and short story collections, and is a winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.

Don’t Harm the Animals  

A Performance by Joanna Pickering

Saturday 30 May 2026, 6pm – 6.20pm –  Bookshop Garden (Blue and white tent next to Shepherds Ice Cream)

Experience a powerful 20-minute one-woman play in the open air. Don’t Harm the Animals tells the story of a woman isolated at the top of a mountain, and deals with issues of PTSD in the aftermath of sexual assault. It shines a light on the lack of understanding given to victims and addresses the impact of secondary revictimisation. The play premiered at the Chain Theatre, New York, and has been described as “Scorching writing” and “A powerhouse of a performance”.

Joanna Pickering is a multi-award-winning British actress and playwright whose work focuses on strong female narrative and advocacy for women’s rights. Her play Lara’s Journey recently live-streamed from New York City to over one million viewers to raise awareness for Ukrainian refugees. Pickering recently secured a three-play deal for 2026, to be produced by a Broadway award-winning team. These initmate shows at Hay Festival will be directed by the award-winning Welsh writer and director, Philip John.

Maggie Aderin, Simon Jenkins and Elif Shafak talk to Jeremy Bowen  

Heard at Hay Festival: three brilliant speakers all on one ticket

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Global Stage

The perfect session if you love new ideas, original thinking and passionate speakers.

Here we present Trump’s America, moving memoir and the power of fiction all on one ticket! Space scientist Maggie Aderin says her destiny was always written in the stars, journalist Simon Jenkins asks whether America can survive Trump, and best-selling author Elif Shafak talks about the power of fiction to connect us all. Chaired by the BBC’s international editor, Jeremy Bowen. We guarantee you’ll leave having learnt something new – something you Heard at Hay Festival.

Sponsored by Passion Pictures

Maggie O'Farrell and Liza Marshall talk to Simon Savidge  

Book to Screen: Hamnet – The Making of the Film

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Discovery Stage

How did a globally-celebrated novel become a multi-award-winning film? An extraordinary opportunity to go behind the scenes of Hamnet with author/screenwriter Maggie O’Farrell and producer and founder of Hera Pictures Liza Marshall to hear the secrets of creating one of the most acclaimed literary adaptations of recent times. O’Farrell takes you inside the process of translating her story to the screen, sharing the choices, challenges and discoveries that shaped the film. Marshall uncovers the collaborative magic that turned vision into reality. They’ll also talk tantalisingly about their next project together – based on O’Farrell’s new novel Land.

In partnership with TikTok

Emma-Lee Moss (aka Emmy the Great) talks to Tiffany Murray  

My Cantopop Nights: A Memoir

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Meadow Stage

Discover Cantopop in this story of pop music, identity crisis and Hong Kong with singer-songwriter Emma-Lee Moss, aka Emmy the Great. She talks to the author of My Family and Other Rock Stars, Tiffany Murray, about how, as an 11-year-old in Hong Kong in the summer of 1995, she discovered Cantopop (Cantonese pop music) and fell in love with it. But when her family moved to England and she suppressed her Hong Kong heritage, she suppressed her love for Cantopop too. Moss shares how rediscovering the music helped her rediscover her Hong Kong identity, and sings some of her favourite songs. Moss is a British-Chinese writer and musician who sings in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Mark Agnew and Mollie Hughes  

Pushed to the Brink: Adventures in Resilience

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Spring Stage

Two daring, record-holding adventurers celebrate the human spirit and discuss staying resilient in the face of physical and mental crises.

Mark Agnew was part of the first team to ever kayak the north-west passage, spending 103 days in the Arctic, after two previous failed expeditions. Strained to the limit, he experienced a mental health crisis and almost abandoned the water forever. In his book There Will Be Headwinds, Agnew charts an inspirational journey from failure to world record breaker.

Mollie Hughes has explored some of the wildest environments on earth. Aged 29, she skied more than 700 miles across Antarctica, through storm-force winds and temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius. Drawing from her book Breathe, she uses her extreme experiences and psychological research to share lessons that can be applied to more everyday challenges.

Fred Mills talks to Toby Lichtig  

Mega Builds: Ten Colossal Construction Projects That Will Change Our World

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Exchange Marquee

YouTube sensation Fred Mills takes us on a journey through the most important industry in the world: construction. From the homes we wake up in to the transport infrastructure we use and the hospitals we rely on, construction has an impact on us all.

Mills, who founded the largest and most subscribed-to construction channel in the world with over 3.9 million subscribers on YouTube, charts the story of 10 mega projects reshaping our modern world in his book Mega Builds. This is an entertaining and fascinating front row seat to amazing feats of engineering, showing what will inform the future of the man-made world.

A Taste of Hay with Wild by Nature & Lucky Seven Brewery  

Matters of Taste: Charcuterie & Beer Tasting

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm –  Creative Hub

Begin your evening at Hay Festival with some tasty artisan nibbles and drinks in this session showcasing two fantastic businesses local to Hay-on-Wye. Wild by Nature will guide you through a choice charcuterie board, while Lucky Seven Brewery samples some of their different styles of beer, explaining how these delicious products are made with sustainable farming techniques.

Wild by Nature practises regenerative farming in the Black Mountains. The idea for the business was born when Jake Townley and his brother-in-law Ed Dickson moved back to where they had grown up in the Welsh borders, with a shared desire to be closer to nature and to grow, cook and share the food from their farm.

Lucky Seven Brewery is an independent family brewery based in Hay-on-Wye, started in 2014 by Luke and Kelly Manifold. Brewing the beers that they love to drink, and exploring the flavours of different styles, they produce beers that highlight the quality of the ingredients.

Orlando  

Book to Screen: Film Screening

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7pm – 8.35pm –  MUBI Cinema

A screening of Sally Potter’s fearless adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s supposedly unfilmable book – Orlando was nine years in the making. This restlessly rule-bending, gender fluid, time-travelling epic – starring a dazzling Tilda Swinton on typically shape-shifting form – remains an unmatched feat of queer filmmaking.

Young aristocrat Orlando begins a quest for love and freedom in the court of Elizabeth I as a man. He is granted favours and property by the queen who commands the nobleman to never change. Orlando completes the search 400 years later as a woman, shaking off their biological and cultural destiny.

Directed by Sally Potter (1992). Film duration: 1 hour 33 minutes. Certificate PG.

In partnership with MUBI

The Beefy Boys Pop-up Supper  

A Masterclass and a BBQ Platter

Saturday 30 May 2026, 7.30pm – 9pm –  Garden Kitchen

Sign up here for a masterclass in the art of burgers, BBQ and backyard culture with Anthony Murphy, Burger Chef of the Year 2023 and co-founder of the ultimate meat boutique, The Beefy Boys. While ‘Murf’ shares his barbecue skill and inducts you into the knack of the grill, you’ll devour a two-course tasting menu starting with an exclusive version of The Beefy Boys’ famous BBQ sharing platter.

This meaty medley will include the chef’s beef cheek, burnt ends, 12-hour smoked pork belly, 12-hour smoked brisket, hot link sausage and a slider version of the Butty Bach Burger, topped up with portions of BBQ beans, mac & cheese and creamy coleslaw. To round off the feast, sample a decadent, homemade brownie. A must for all griddled food fans and cookout converts!

A Beefy Boys event

Michael McIntyre  

Stand-up Comedy

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Global Stage

Fresh from his tour, Macnificent, where he sold over 800,000 tickets worldwide, Michael McIntyre plays Hay Festival, performing some greatest hits and new bits. An exceptional opportunity to see McIntyre in an intimate venue in one of only a few shows he’ll perform in 2026.

Michael McIntyre: SOLD OUT ON STAGE – NOW LIVE ON SCREEN  

Stand-up Comedy

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Discovery Stage

Due to overwhelming demand, tickets for Michael McIntyre’s live show have completely sold out. But we’ve created one more way to be part of the moment. Join us for a live screening of the event, streamed directly from the main stage to an additional Festival venue. You’ll enjoy the show in real time, surrounded by fellow Festival-goers, sharing the laughter as it unfolds.

Fresh from his tour, Macnificent, where he sold over 800,000 tickets worldwide, Michael McIntyre plays Hay Festival, performing some greatest hits and new bits.

Jason Burke talks to Oliver Bullough  

The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Spring Stage

An immersive and jaw-dropping look at a network of radical extremists who terrorised the West in the 1970s with intricately-planned plane hijackings and hostage-takings. Jason Burke, the Guardian’s international security correspondent, talks to investigative journalist Oliver Bullough about figures including Leila Khaled, with her jewellery made from grenade rings, the hard-drinking Carlos the Jackal, in shades and designer suits, and the radical leftists of the Baader-Meinhof Gang.

Burke has been a foreign correspondent for almost 30 years. His book The Revolutionists draws on decades of research and previously classified documents, as well as original interviews with hijackers, spies and more. He takes us into the world of the book, and the people he met while writing it, and assesses a seismic decade that transformed the modern world.

Nigel Planer talks to Toby Lichtig  

Barrel of Laughs: Young Once – A Life Less Heavy

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Exchange Marquee

Comedian and actor Nigel Planer offers a wildly entertaining and gloriously sideways glimpse into a remarkable life and work. Planer’s varied career includes creating characters such as Neil the Hippy from the iconic 1980s programme The Young Ones, appearing in shows including Blackadder, voicing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, and writing over 100 episodes of The Magic Roundabout.

Drawing on his memoir Young Once, Planer shares stories from his life in conversation with Toby Lichtig, fiction and politics editor at The TLS. From receiving éclair related injuries to being bullied into BandAid by Bob Geldof, and gatecrashing a rave with Robin Williams, he explains why you should never give up on looking for your Happy Ever After.

In partnership with The TLS

Tom Gilbey talks to Tiffany Murray  

Matters of Taste: Thirsty – 100 Great Wines and Stories

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Creative Hub

Sip a glass of wine as you listen while Tom Gilbey lays out the joy, hilarity and humanity of the drink. Gilbey’s family were the first Brits to buy a Bordeaux Chateau in 1875, while Gilbey himself ran the London marathon while blind tasting 25 wines.

He talks to author Tiffany Murray about the wine minefield – the rules, the swirling, sniffing, old-world-new-world debate. Let the internet’s most charismatic wine expert show you how to choose and talk about wine, without sounding pretentious.

Sponsored by Tanners Wine Merchants

Karen McCarthy Woolf, Scott McKendry, clare e potter and Roseanne Watt with Kathryn Williams  

The Clearing

Saturday 30 May 2026, 8.30pm – 9.45pm –  St Mary’s Church

Join this year’s four Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Poets for a première of new collaborations co-conceived with musician Kathryn Williams. The four poets – Karen McCarthy Woolf (England), Scott McKendry (Ireland), clare e potter (Wales) and Roseanne Watt (Scotland) – have produced works which recover myths from each corner of the British Isles.

McCarthy Woolf’s verse novel Top Doll was a Guardian Book of the Year and shortlisted for the TS Eliot and Jhalak Prizes. McKendry’s poems have appeared in the Poetry Review, Stinging Fly and more. In 2024 he was chosen by Paul Muldoon as Ireland Chair of Poetry’s Poet of Promise. Potter is a poetry therapy practice trainee, has translated for the National Poet of Wales, and was a Hay Festival Writer at Work. Watt is a writer and filmmaker from Shetland. Kathryn Williams is a singer-songwriter with 17 albums under her belt, and has been nominated for the Mercury music prize, among others.

Supported by the Jerwood Foundation and Creative Scotland

Llareggub Brass Band  

In Concert

Saturday 30 May 2026, 9.45pm –  Meadow Stage

Round off your evening with a fresh and lively dollop of funky brass music, invoking eclectic styles from New Orleans marching bands through to Bronx-inspired Hip Hop and closer-to-home Welsh language pop music.

Paying their debt to the age-old tradition of brass bands from the slate mining villages of North Wales, Llareggub Brass Band rise from the ashes of the past to deliver an energetic performance and enough hwyl to get you dancing!

Formed by band leader Owain Roberts in 2015, the band has released several studio albums and EPs. They have toured internationally, and won a BAFTA Cymru award for their documentary Cyrn ar y Mississippi (‘Horns on the Mississippi’).

Director’s Breakfast Tour of Hay Castle  

Battles, Borders, Books – and Breakfast

Sunday 31 May 2026, 9am –  Hay Castle

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.

Gabriel Boric, Carole Cadwalladr and Simon Jenkins talk to Bronwen Maddox  

America 250

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Global Stage

Armed ICE agents on America’s streets, an apparent contempt for the rule of law – just how far has President Trump strayed from the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence? 250 years ago, it promised equality and freedom for all and put these rights under the government’s protection. Broadcaster and author of A Short History of America argues many of Trump's policies are deeply rooted in American History. The ex- President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, US reporter and bestselling author Carole Cadwalladr and Simon Jenkins talk to Bronwen Maddox, director of think tank Chatham House, about how the US got here and what we do about it.

In partnership with The Week

Elif Shafak and Rabih Alameddine talk to Daniel Hahn  

Voices That Will Not Be Silenced

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Discovery Stage

How writers can give a voice to those who need it. Two authors talk about why they weave themes of gender, violence, identity, social justice and human rights into their work. Lebanese author Rabih Alameddine and British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak talk to writer and translator Daniel Hahn about the importance of creating stories that give a platform to silenced voices.

Alameddine’s 2025 National Book Award-winning The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is a darkly comic family saga celebrating love across six decades, through the unbreakable attachment of a son and his mother. Shafak’s latest novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky, connects the lives of three strangers across time and space through the everlasting influence of two rivers, the Tigris and the Thames.

Supported by Open Society Foundations

Diarmaid MacCulloch talks to Misha Glenny  

Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Meadow Stage

In a single lifetime, Christianity has witnessed one of the most extraordinary about-turns in attitudes to sex and gender in human history, bringing liberation for some and fury and fear for others. Oxford University professor Diarmaid MacCulloch places recent changes into the 2,000-year-long tale of Christians trying to make sense of sexual desire. MacCulloch is author of the award-winning A History of Christianity, adapted into a six-part BBC television series. MacCulloch talks to the host of the BBC’s In Our Time, Misha Glenny.

The TLS Podcast Live  

With Alex Clark and Toby Lichtig

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Exchange Marquee

Join writers and editors of the Times Literary Supplement along with special guests for a live recording of their weekly podcast on books and culture.

In partnership with The TLS

Character and Story Writing Workshop  

With Alexandra Pringle, Alex von Tunzelmann and Faiza S Khan of Silk Road Slippers

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am – 12.30pm –  Creative Hub

Come and join three editing and publishing experts for an unmatched opportunity to refine your creative writing ideas. Silk Road Slippers writing courses are for writers of all levels, and have been described by the Financial Times as “a revelation”.

You’ll complete a short writing exercise, then share your work for immediate constructive feedback. The Silk Road Slippers team – publishing legend and former Bloomsbury editor-in-chief Alexandra Pringle, best-selling author and historian Alex von Tunzelmann and editorial consultant Faiza Khan – will address style, substance and storytelling. This intensive yet welcoming environment will help you take your creative skills to the next level.

Short Film Screenings  

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am – 12pm –  MUBI Cinema

Watch a selection of short films, curated by MUBI, throughout the morning. The day’s schedule will be listed each morning at the venue – pop along and take a look.

In partnership with MUBI

Magical World of Tea: Sip, Savour & Blend  

Hay Festival 2026 x Bird & Blend Tea Co.

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Garden Kitchen

Step into the magical world of Bird & Blend Tea Co., discover the secrets of tea mixology and create your own perfect blend in an immersive and interactive Tea Mixology Experience led by an expert mixologist. This hands-on workshop invites you to taste up to six unique blends and test your tea knowledge with an engaging and fun tea matching game.

With expert guidance, you’ll get to craft two custom tea blends to take home and pair with your next fave book! You’ll also learn about different tea types and brewing tips to enhance your tea-making ritual at home. There’ll be an opportunity to ask questions, plus you’ll get a goody bag with free samples. Visit the Bird & Blend Tea Co. stand afterwards for a free gift with purchase (find a special token in your goody bag). Book now – it’s going to be TEArrific!

Wayfaring Walk 19: The Local Landscape  

With Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Guides

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am - 12.30pm –  Meeting Point on Festival Site

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.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

About Face Theatre Company  

Just Visiting

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am –  Spring Stage

Just Visiting is a heartening and humorous piece of theatre, woven from real memories and explored through storytelling and puppetry. A gentle dance through grief to discover joy and meaning.

About Face is a professional learning disability theatre company based in Herefordshire, which has developed a reputation for highly creative, unusual, and thought-provoking work. Created from the actors’ own stories, this show captures grief from many angles; personal yet universal, poignant and funny. Audiences are invited to laugh, cry and connect with the most human experience which unites all of us.

Make & Take Crafting  

Sunday Morning Session

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am – 11.30am –  Make & Take Hub

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.

BorderLands Exhibition & Hay Castle Entry  

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am – 5pm –  Hay Castle

Step inside Hay Castle – a border stronghold shaped by myth, power and reinvention. Visit the current BorderLands exhibition delivered in partnership with Meadow Arts, and enjoy full access to the castle, from cellar to rooftop. Explore rooms layered with stories, including Matilda’s room, the Richard Booth space, historic costumes and the castle cellar.

Visit the dungeon and climb to the viewing platform for wide views across the Wye Valley. Your ticket also includes unlimited return visits for a full year, so you can come back as the seasons – and the castle – change.

This ticket allows you to visit the castle at a time of your choice on the day selected, and also gives you entry into the Meadow Arts BorderLands exhibition.

Guided Wellbeing Walk for Creative Women  

With Sarah Price and Elizabeth Simpson

Sunday 31 May 2026, 10.30am – 12.30pm –  Meeting Point on Festival Site

Join professional walking guide Sarah Price and Elizabeth Simpson of Elizabeth Simpson Coaching for a guided circular walk through the stunning surroundings of Hay-on-Wye. Designed for creatives and anyone seeking fresh thinking, this walk will help you step out of the ordinary and into inspiration.

Along the route, Elizabeth will introduce nature-based coaching exercises to enhance creativity and problem-solving. You’ll set an intention for the walk, engage in sensory awareness practices and use simple breathwork techniques to unlock clarity. Through mindful observation and interactive exercises, you’ll explore new perspectives on a creative challenge or personal goal. By the end of the walk, you’ll have shifted your mindset, released limiting thoughts and gained fresh insights – whether you’re working on a book, facing a decision or simply seeking renewed energy.

In partnership with Sarah Price Hiking

Guided Tour of Hay Castle & Hay Castle Entry  

Explore Hay Castle with a Tour Guide

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11am –  Hay Castle

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.

Maggie O'Farrell talks to Sophie Raworth  

Land: A New Novel Inspired by Her Own Family History

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11.30am –  Global Stage

Maggie O’Farrell, the award-winning author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait, gives an exclusive preview of her highly-anticipated new novel, Land, ahead of its publication. Inspired by O’Farrell’s own family history and by the Irish landscape to which she has a deep personal attachment, Land is a multi-generational epic exploring love, loss and the ties that bind us to place and time. In this special event, O’Farrell discusses her craft as one of today’s most captivating storytellers, and reflects on the huge success of the film adaptation of Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. This session is unmissable for lovers of literary fiction, fans of historical, character-driven novels and anyone intrigued by the art of beautiful, immersive writing.

In partnership with The Week

Oliver Bullough  

Everybody Loves Our Dollars: An Investigation into Money Laundering

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11.30am –  Discovery Stage

Step inside the shadowy world of money-laundering – one of Britain’s top investigative journalists reveals the secrets, the scandals and how it might finally be stopped. Oliver Bullough, best-selling author of Butler to the World and former Reuters’ reporter, introduces his new book Everybody Loves Our Dollars, in which he reveals how organised criminals move dirty money around the world, and how they turn their incomes into legitimately recognised wealth.

Hear about Bullough’s conversations with convicted money launderers and the people who prosecuted them, and learn more about the shadowy financial system that turns dirty money into clean, in this fascinating event that will change the way you look at money.

Thant Myint-U talks to Lyse Doucet  

Peacemaker: U Thant, the United Nations and the Untold Story of the 1960s

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11.30am –  Meadow Stage

Rediscover the incredible life and career of the man who saved the world from nuclear war in 1962 when he negotiated an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. U Thant was the longest-serving Secretary-General of the United Nations (1961–71) and held almost celebrity status during a golden age of diplomacy. Now his grandson Thant Myint-U, an award-winning writer and historian who himself served with the UN, takes a fascinating and hugely entertaining look at U Thant’s life. Talking to the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet about his biography Peacemaker, he traces his grandfather’s rise from schoolteacher in a small Burmese backwater in 1947 to the centre of global politics just two decades later.

Francesca Rhydderch and Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch talk to Daniel Hahn  

How Can We Hold on to Memory?

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11.30am –  Spring Stage

Two Welsh writers discuss the erosion of memory and the art of the memoir with writer and translator Daniel Hahn in this luminous conversation about what is being lost and what we can hold on to.

Novelist Francesca Rhydderch recounts her struggle for a neurological diagnosis in It Might Not Be True: A Memoir of Life and Love. In danger of fighting a losing battle – with time, memory, herself – she learns there are ways to live in the present by making peace with the past.

Poet Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch’s fourth collection Milk Wood Memoir explores how the paths of her home town of New Quay – walked by Dylan Thomas and likely an inspiration for Under Milk Wood – are slowly collapsing into the sea due to coastal erosion.

Dr Ranj  

Dr Ranj’s Human Body Encyclopedia

Sunday 31 May 2026, 11.30am –  Exchange Marquee

Get ready to be inspired, amazed and totally fascinated by the incredible human body with the nation’s most-loved doctor! Dr Ranj will guide young curiosity seekers on an exciting adventure exploring every nook and cranny of the wondrous world within us: from the powerhouse of the heart to the bustling networks of the brain.

The BAFTA-award-winning TV presenter, musical theatre star and best-selling author will share fun facts about what makes us tick from his new book Dr Ranj’s Human Body Encyclopedia, top tips on wellbeing and keeping your body healthy and happy, as well as reminders of everything that makes every single one of us special.