Hay Festival 2026

Wayfaring Walk 6: Historic Buildings  

With Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Guides

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2pm – 4.30pm –  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. Learn about the historic buildings of the town and its surroundings.

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 and its treasured landscape.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

Guided Tour of Hay Castle & Hay Castle Entry  

Explore Hay Castle with a Tour Guide

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2pm –  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.

Hay Shantymen  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.05pm – 2.25pm –  Bookshop Garden Marquee

Enjoy a 20-minute open-air performance between events and listen to some traditional and modern songs from the sea, full of wit, warmth and gusto. Hay-on-Wye’s very own sea shanty crew, Hay Shantymen, have been performing since 2018 at international shanty festivals such as Falmouth and Port Isaac, and have raised over £20,000 for their chosen charity, the RNLI. Their arrangements and harmonies are stronger than ever – always sung with a sense of lively, engaging friendship.

Antony Beevor  

Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  Global Stage

Acclaimed historian Antony Beevor weaves a tale as seductive as Rasputin himself as he presents his unmissable new book. Beevor combines forensic research with gripping storytelling to unpick how Rasputin – a barely literate Siberian peasant – wove an intricate web of seduction and superstition through the Imperial household, resulting in the downfall of a dynasty.

Beevor challenges us to question whether Rasputin was an impressive visionary, an accomplished fraudster or in fact a victim of history. His previous masterful best-sellers Stalingrad and D-Day: The Battle for Normandy position Beevor as one of the great military historians of our times. This is a must for anyone fascinated by Russian history, the forces that shape great empires, and lovers of compelling true stories.

Thangam Debbonaire and Julia Gillard  

The Women’s Prizes 2026

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  Discovery Stage

Join the chairs of the 2026 Women’s Prizes for Fiction and Non-Fiction as they discuss the remarkable books recognised by this year’s prizes. Thangam Debbonaire is a politician, cultural strategist and CEO of UK Opera Association. Julia Gillard is the former Prime Minister of Australia, and a women’s rights campaigner. Claire Shanahan, executive director of the Women’s Prize Trust, will introduce the discussion.

The Women’s Prize Trust is the charity behind the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the largest celebration of female creativity in the world, and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, which recognises brilliant writing by female thought-leaders, changemakers and experts.

In partnership with the Women’s Prize Trust

Michail Antonio and James Bloodworth talk to Afua Hirsch  

Men Behaving Sadly

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  Meadow Stage

An open, honest and urgent conversation about modern masculinity, and the value of building community and connection among boys and men. Challenging ideas emerging in the so-called ‘manosphere’, former Premier League footballer Michail Antonio and investigative journalist James Bloodworth explore how the drive for power and status isn’t helping anyone – including men themselves. They talk to writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch.

Antonio’s book Humans, Not Robots: When Elite Sport and Real Life Collide raises awareness about the mental health of players on and off the pitch. Bloodworth is author of Lost Boys: A Personal Journey Through the Manosphere, an astonishing undercover investigation into an array of paranoid and misogynistic subcultures.

Frankenstein with Alex Kingston  

Book to Screen: The Read

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  MUBI Cinema

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of award-winning actress Alex Kingston’s narration of Mary Shelley’s timeless Gothic horror story.

Kingston breathes life into the story of young, gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein, who unwittingly creates a monster. Written more than 200 years ago, the classic masterpiece still resonates today as a tragic romance that examines the battle between ambition and morality.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

A Rural Studios production for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer

Selma Dabbagh and Elisa Díaz Castelo talk to Gaby Wood  

Literary Pairs: The Past Inside the Present

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  St Mary’s Church

Can the past live inside us, even if we have no knowledge of it? British-Palestinian author Selma Dabbagh and Mexican poet, author and translator Elisa Díaz Castelo discuss violence, collective trauma and literary inspiration, led by the chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood.

Dabbagh’s writing explores the themes of idealism (however futile), placelessness and political engagement (or lack thereof). Castelo writes on intergenerational history and considers how the pasts that live inside us – including those we have no knowledge of – affect the present.

Part of the Literary Pairs series produced by Hay Festival and supported by the British Council

BBC Radio 4: Moral Maze  

Michael Buerk with Matthew Taylor, Anne McElvoy, Ella Whelan and Mona Siddiqui

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  Exchange Marquee

Are networks the glue of society or the architecture of privilege? Come and join a lively, provocative and engaging debate, examining a core ethical issue of the day, chaired by the veteran BBC journalist Michael Buerk. For more than three decades, t Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 has brought together different worldviews and challenged conventional thinking in the spirit of philosophical enquiry. With panellists Matthew Taylor (former advisor to Tony Blair), Anne McElvoy (journalist and executive editor at POLITICO), Ella Whelan (author and commentator) and Mona Siddiqui (Professor of Religion and Society, King’s College London).

Susie Dent talks to MG Leonard  

The Roots We Share

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm –  Spring Stage

This word-perfect event will enchant anyone and everyone who loves words. Broadcaster and word expert Susie Dent is on a mission to spread uplifting and unifying words to bring people together. She has searched far and wide to unearth words and phrases – old, new and long-forgotten – that celebrate harmony, unity and the universal languages that connect people across the world. So come on a coddiwomple (a journey with no destination) to learn more about the language that unites us rather than divides us. Susie recently celebrated 25 years as the resident word expert on C4’s Countdown. She talks to MG Leonard, author of the Time Keys series.

Make & Take Crafting  

Sunday Afternoon Session

Sunday 24 May 2026, 2.30pm – 4pm –  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.

Hay Shantymen  

Pop-up Music

Sunday 24 May 2026, 3.35pm – 3.55pm –  Bookshop Garden Marquee

Enjoy a 20-minute open-air performance between events and listen to some traditional and modern songs from the sea, full of wit, warmth and gusto. Hay-on-Wye’s very own sea shanty crew, Hay Shantymen, have been performing since 2018 at international shanty festivals such as Falmouth and Port Isaac, and have raised over £20,000 for their chosen charity, the RNLI. Their arrangements and harmonies are stronger than ever – always sung with a sense of lively, engaging friendship.

Louise Casey talks to Helena Kennedy  

Behind the Scenes of High-Profile Public Inquiries

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Global Stage

Baroness Casey has worked for six different prime ministers. She’s led high-profile public inquiries and independent reviews, most recently into grooming gangs in Rotherham, and into the Metropolitan Police, where she identified severe institutional failings across the organisation.

In this exclusive conversation with fellow peer Baroness Kennedy, Casey gives an incredible insight into her work as the go-to woman for successive governments to tackle some of society’s most intractable problems – including homelessness, anti-social behaviour, troubled families, child sexual exploitation and social integration. A rare chance to hear the fascinating insights from a woman who’s helped to shape our society and its culture.

Ruth Ozeki talks to Samira Ahmed  

The Typing Lady: The Award-winning Author on Stories about Change

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Discovery Stage

A huge treat for Ruth Ozeki fans as she visits the Hay Festival for the first time. Ahead of publication, Ozeki exclusively unveils her first ever collection of short stories. In conversation with the broadcaster, Samira Ahmed, Ozeki introduces the 11 stories which make up The Typing Lady – each with characters standing at thresholds in their lives: childhood ambition, youthful desire, mid‑life reinvention, and the clarity of old age. For readers of Ozeki’s prize-winning The Book of Form and Emptiness, this is a wonderful opportunity to hear from the author herself about her latest brilliant creation.

Carlos Fraenkel and Susan Neiman talk to Misha Glenny  

On Public Philosophy: Bringing Critical Thinking to Daily Life

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Meadow Stage

Comment sections sear with outrage, social media is overrun with trolls, and polarising protests have almost doubled in the last decade – in today’s divided world, considering the opposing point of view is a rarity. This conversation considers why listening to the people you disagree with is crucial for a healthy society.

Philosophers and authors Carlos Fraenkel and Susan Neiman look at how both the right and the left could benefit from concentrating on what unites us instead of what divides us, and asks whether we can reach a more just and equal society if we all adopted more critical thinking in our daily lives. Chaired by the host of the BBC’s In Our Time, Misha Glenny.

Co-organised with Einstein Forum

A Taste of Wales  

Matters of Taste: Slow Food Cymru Wales – Tasting

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Creative Hub

Join us as we delve into the Ark of Taste – small-scale producers making ‘forgotten foods’ that are in danger of being lost as a result of our intensive food production methods – and learn about Welsh foods that are protected by their geographic origin. Enjoy small tastes of products from Welsh independent producers, see how Slow Food Cymru Wales are saving our food heritage for future generations, and toast all that is wonderful about produce in Wales.

If you’re struggling against the tide of ultra-processed foods, this talk and tasting session will give you a turbo boost. Slow Food Cymru Wales celebrates all that is good, clean and fair about food and drink in Wales, and works to make it accessible to everyone.

Bright Young Things  

Book to Screen: Film Screening

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm – 5.45pm –  MUBI Cinema

Stephen Fry’s directorial debut is a dapper look at the swish society circles of pre-war London. Fizzing with wit and insight, this frolicking adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies brims with well-polished pleasures.

In 1930s England, a group of reckless socialites dominate national gossip. Among them, aspiring novelist Adam is trying to raise enough money to marry Nina. While his attempts are constantly thwarted, his friends are slowly on the road to destruction in their search for newer and faster sensations.

Directed by Stephen Fry (2003). Film duration: 1 hour 42 minutes. Certificate 15.

In partnership with MUBI

BBC Radio 4: Life Changing  

Dr. Sian Williams talks to Rachel Stone

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Exchange Marquee

Life Changing returns to Hay Festival with another story of an extraordinary moment that changed someone’s life for ever. Presenter Dr Sian Williams talks to Rachel Stone. The next door neighbours were a family with two daughters of about the same age. They got on well and even went on a Double Caravan Holiday to Wales. But when they got back everything, in Rachel’s words, was ‘all messed up’. She had to move house with her mother, joining the husband from next door and one of his daughters. In Rachel’s old house was the other daughter from next door, her father and the other mother. It was a permanent partner swap. The impact then, and in the years that followed was traumatic."

Juno Dawson in conversation with MG Leonard  

Survival Show

Sunday 24 May 2026, 4pm –  Spring Stage

Sing for your life! Join best-selling novelist and Stonewall role model Juno Dawson as she introduces Survival Show, her gripping new YA thriller set in the dark and exploitative world of the music industry and reality TV, where contestants have to literally sing for their lives.

Juno talks to author MG Leonard. They’ll discuss everything from Juno’s pop super-fandom and the real K-Pop band who helped inspire her new story, to why she’s thrilled to be back in dystopia and the full-circle moment that brings her back to writing about music.

Susie Dent in conversation with Alex Jones  

Words For Life: Fascinating Facts about Words and Expressions

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Global Stage

What’s wabbit mean? Why does help arrive if you shout Mayday? And what’s the strange history behind the word arse? Susie Dent tells Alex Jones a different word for every day of the year and reveals the mad stories behind them, including some forgotten gems in the Welsh language too.

Sponsored by the Society of Indexers

Karen Hao in conversation with Carissa Véliz  

Empire of AI: How AI is Reshaping our World

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Discovery Stage

If you’re worried about AI, this is an unmissable event. Award-winning journalist and author Karen Hao exposes the impact of AI on our democracies, our planet and our private lives. With unparalled access to the company behind ChatGPT, she argues the industry is having a sinister impact on society and warns that the vast growth of the tech companies behind AI has created a new kind of empire. She talks to Carissa Véliz, an Oxford professor and expert on AI ethics, privacy and surveillance. This is a unique chance to hear two of the most influential voices on AI discuss the promises, perils and ethical dilemmas shaping the world ahead.

Supported by Open Society Foundations

Taiwan Travelogue, winner of the International Booker Prize 2026  

With Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, Lin King, Sophie Hughes, and Gaby Wood

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Meadow Stage

Come and join us to celebrate the 2026 International Booker Prize! Yáng Shuāng-zǐ's Taiwan Travelogue, translated by Lin King, takes the form of a fictional translation of a Japanese travel memoir that transports us to Japan-occupied Taiwan in the 1930s. Written through the lens of two women's culinary journey, the novel explores history, power, class, and colonialism, while remaining, at its heart, a gripping love story. This is the first novel translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the award.
Join us as we present the winning author and translator in conversation with one of the judges, Sophie Hughes, the most-nominated International Booker Prize translator, and Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation.

Milton Hatoum talks to Ángel Gurría-Quintana  

Memory and Democracy in Brazilian Literature

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Spring Stage

Since the 1980s, Brazilian writer Milton Hatoum has depicted a hauntingly accurate pattern: the rise-and-fall cycle of Northern empires, endlessly repeating itself every few decades. In this event, Hatoum explores themes that have helped him find his own creative voice, including memory, democracy and the role that time and literature play in reshaping our common knowledge of history.

Hatoum is a three-time winner of the Jabuti Award, Brazil’s oldest and most prestigious literary prize. He speaks to literary journalist and translator Ángel Gurría-Quintana.

Co-curated with FLIP festival. Part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025–26

Cocktails at Home: A Mixology Workshop  

Matters of Taste: Black Mountains Botanicals – Live Demonstration and Tasting

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Creative Hub

Start your evening at Hay Festival with this workshop specially designed to help you master the art of the Espresso Martini. Do you love drinking cocktails but falter at the thought of making them yourself? No coffee machine? No cocktail shaker? No problem! Glyn Bufton of Black Mountains Botanicals is joining us from his distillery in the Welsh hills to teach you exactly how to achieve the perfect punch.

Not only an artisan spirits producer, Bufton is Head of Coffee Roasting at Black Mountain Roast, so he’s ideally placed to advise on crafting all elements of your cocktail. Learn his tips of the trade for making cold brew coffee, and ways to shake a cocktail without any fancy equipment. Having perfected your Espresso Martini, you’ll taste two other classic cocktails using Black Mountains Botanicals’ award-winning range of spirits.

Hay Shantymen and Almost Synchro  

Synchronised Swimming Demonstration

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  The Warren

Stroll down to the pebbly ‘beach’ at the Warren to watch something you don’t see in the river every day – a demonstration of synchronised swimming. Bristol-based swimming group Almost Synchro are united by a passion for outdoor swimming and performing together. They present a short open-water routine in the River Wye, accompanied by Hay-on-Wye’s own Hay Shantymen performing a track from their forthcoming album.

This event is organised by Hay Shantymen and Almost Synchro

BBC Radio Wales: Aberystwyth Book Club  

Hannah Loy and guests

Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm –  Exchange Marquee

BBC Radio Wales’ much‑loved literary programme returns to Hay Festival for another special edition recorded in front of a live audience. Join presenter Hannah Loy and regular reviewers as they celebrate great writing and the joy of reading together. Expect lively conversation, thoughtful insight and plenty of the warmth and curiosity listeners love, as The Aberystwyth Book Club settles into its home‑from‑home at Hay Festival.

Evensong at St Mary’s Church, Hay-on-Wye  

Sunday 24 May 2026, 6pm –  St Mary’s Church

Experience the divine acoustic in the late Georgian Gothic ambience of St Mary’s Church in Hay-on-Wye. This service of Choral Evensong for the Feast of Pentecost is an opportunity to enjoy beautiful music in an historic and much-loved community setting. The combined choir comprises singers from the nearby churches of St Mary’s in Ross-on-Wye and Holy Trinity in Hereford, and children from Clyro Church in Wales primary school.

The service is led by Father David Wyatt, Vicar for Hay, Llanigon, Clyro & Capel-y-Ffin in the Black Mountains Ministry Area. Political sketch writer and journalist Quentin Letts, who lives in rural Herefordshire, and whose latest novel is appropriately named Nunc!, will provide a short homily.

Michael Buerk talks to Julie Etchingham  

My Life in Books: Hay Festival Exclusive

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Global Stage

Legendary journalist Michael Buerk reveals the books he kept at his side while travelling the world as a foreign correspondent – and in the years since. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a master storyteller about the writers who both inspired him and brought him comfort during his life and distinguished BBC career. Buerk talks to ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham.

Hay Festival is proud to support the National Year of Reading

Natalie Haynes  

No Friend to This House: One-Woman Show

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Discovery Stage

Jason and the Argonauts’ search for the Golden Fleece is one of the most enduring myths in history, told and retold for thousands of years. Here Haynes performs a gripping feminist reclamation of the classic tragedy – this time focusing on Medea, the sorceress who holds the key to Jason’s survival. A brilliant new telling of an ancient story from broadcaster, classics author and comedian Haynes – known for her BBC Radio 4 series, Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics.

George Egg talks to Kiri Pritchard-McLean  

Barrel of Laughs: The Snack Hacker

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Meadow Stage

Comedian-who-cooks George Egg wants you to play with your food – to make a Big Mac out of mackerel, dahl out of baked beans and brownies out of Twiglets. Talking to comedian, satirist and writer Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Egg will share some of the stories and snob-snubbing mash-ups featured in The Snack Hacker, his new cookbook that breaks all the rules.

Beloved by everyone from fellow funnyman James Acaster to chef Nigella Lawson (really), the book is a joyful celebration of food and a reminder that cooking shouldn’t be serious. Whether you’re more crabstick than caviar, or prefer a Beaufort to a Babybel, this event is where the culinary high and low brow collide.

Renato Cisneros and Philippe Sands talk to Sophie Hughes  

Family, Memory and History

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Spring Stage

A captivating conversation between writers Renato Cisneros and Philippe Sands on family, memory and history, asking the question – how much are our private lives shaped by political and historical forces?

Peruvian author Cisneros (The Distance Between Us, You Shall Leave Your Land and The World We Saw Burning) reflects on inheritance, silence and identity within a family marked by power and conflict. Lawyer and historian Sands’ 38 Londres Street examines legacies of violence, justice and belonging that resonate across generations and borders. They talk to Sophie Hughes, who is the most nominated translator in the International Booker Prize’s 10-year history.

This event features consecutive interpretation from Spanish into English.

Sponsored by the Peruvian Embassy and the British Council

Cocktails at Home: A Mixology Workshop  

Matters of Taste: Black Mountains Botanicals – Live Demonstration and Tasting

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Creative Hub

Start your evening at Hay Festival with this workshop specially designed to help you master the art of the Espresso Martini. Do you love drinking cocktails but falter at the thought of making them yourself? No coffee machine? No cocktail shaker? No problem! Glyn Bufton of Black Mountains Botanicals is joining us from his distillery in the Welsh hills to teach you exactly how to achieve the perfect punch.

Not only an artisan spirits producer, Bufton is Head of Coffee Roasting at Black Mountain Roast, so he’s ideally placed to advise on crafting all elements of your cocktail. Learn his tips of the trade for making cold brew coffee, and ways to shake a cocktail without any fancy equipment. Having perfected your Espresso Martini, you’ll taste two other classic cocktails using Black Mountains Botanicals’ award-winning range of spirits.

The Secret Agent  

Film Screening introduced by the Brazilian Ambassador to the UK

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm – 10pm –  MUBI Cinema

The Brazilian Ambassador to the UK, Antonio Patriota, introduces this screening of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s neo-noir political thriller about a man attempting to flee persecution and resist an authoritarian regime – the film won Mendonça Filho Best Director at Cannes.

A university professor travels from São Paulo to the seaside city of Recife during Carnival week, hoping to reunite with his son. He soon finds out he’s been tailed and spied on by neighbours in his new refuge, leaving him no possible escape from the tentacles of corruption.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho (2025). Film duration 2 hours 41 minutes. Certificate 15.

In partnership with MUBI. Part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025–26

BBC Radio Wales: Lucy Owen's Books That Made Me  

Lucy Owen and guests

Sunday 24 May 2026, 7pm –  Exchange Marquee

Join presenter Lucy Owen for a special Hay Festival edition of Books That Made Me, the BBC Radio Wales series that invites well‑known voices to revisit the childhood favourites that first sparked their imaginations and shaped their love of stories. Recorded live at Hay, this uplifting and intimate conversation celebrates the power of early reading, the characters who stayed with us, and the books that opened up whole new worlds. Expect warmth, insight, and plenty of nostalgic inspiration.

Carol Kirkwood talks to Sian Williams  

The Next Chapter

Sunday 24 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Spring Stage

How do you become a writer? And how do you find the courage to give up a job you love to do it? In an exclusive conversation for Hay Festival, the nation’s favourite weather presenter and best-selling author Carol Kirkwood talks to her former BBC Breakfast co-host, the broadcaster and chartered psychologist Dr Sian Williams, about making life-changing decisions and writing her way around the world, one book at a time.

Eden McKenzie-Goddard talks to Kamila Shamsie  

Debut Discoveries: Smallie

Sunday 24 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Writers at Work Hub | Hwb Awduron Wrth Eu Gwaith

The debut novelist discusses his book, a poignant story exploring the extraordinary impact of the Windrush scandal on ordinary lives. McKenzie-Goddard is a UK-based writer and podcaster with Barbadian-Jamaican roots, and he talks to author Kamila Shamsie about his impulse to write about forgotten lives and unheard stories.

Smallie follows a family from Barbados to Britain, exploring themes of connection, community and country. Emotive, striking and important, the novel is expected to top many of the year’s must-read lists.

Supported by the Hawthornden Foundation

Jilly Cooper's Rivals  

Behind the scenes of the hit TV drama

Sunday 24 May 2026, 8.30pm –  Global Stage

Calling all Jilly Cooper fans - Rivals is back! Join cast and crew to celebrate the hugely-anticipated launch of Season 2 of the hit Disney+ drama. Hear how the team brought the world of The Rutshire Chronicles from book to screen - from the big hair and tight trousers to the boardroom battles and raunchy romances. Expect lashings of glamour in this entertaining tribute to the literary legend and festival favourite, Dame Jilly Cooper. Featuring Victoria Smurfit (Maud O'Hara), Rufus Jones (Paul Stratton), writer and executive producer, Laura Wade, production designer Dominic Hyman and costume designer, Ray Holman. Hosted by the journalist, Jude Rogers.

Danny Robins  

Haunted Hay: Hay Festival Exclusive

Sunday 24 May 2026, 9.45pm – 11pm –  Discovery Stage

 A spine-chilling evening of paranormal investigation, created especially for Hay Festival by Danny Robins from the BBC’s Uncanny.

As night falls over Hay-on-Wye, we invite you to gather for an electric hour of supernatural stories, all set right here in the heart of Hay. Fresh from his own ghost hunt into Hay’s most haunted corners, Robins delivers his findings on the restless spirits said to linger in this ancient town. The strange sightings, the local myths, the unexplained activity…

This is immersive storytelling at its finest, combining unsettling testimony and a deep exploration of fear. And in this town of books, prepare for a scare as Robins uses live readings to prove the power of literature and writing to haunt us too.

Leo Gandelman Quartet  

In Concert

Sunday 24 May 2026, 9.45pm –  Meadow Stage

Chosen by the public for 15 consecutive years as their ‘Best Brazilian Musician’, Leo Gandelman is one of the country’s most influential musicians for his genre-surpassing versatility that appeals to fans of jazz, pop, classical and hip-hop.

Accompanied by a trio of outstanding musicians who have played together for over a decade, he brings us an evening of emotive, expressive music that will transport you to the tropics of Brazil. With Eduardo Farias on keyboards, André Vasconcellos on bass and Cassius Thepersson on drums.

Part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025–26

Start Your Day with Yoga  

A Movement and Breathwork Class

Monday 25 May 2026, 7.30am –  Creative Hub

An hour of movement and breathwork, led by a highly-skilled Hay-on-Wye practitioner, to start your day at Hay Festival with open heart and mind. 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, this yoga class is open and accessible to all. The class leader will adapt to different levels of experience, so that each student takes what they need from the practice.

Director’s Breakfast Tour of Hay Castle  

Battles, Borders, Books – and Breakfast

Monday 25 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.

Jess Phillips, Ellie Chowns and Patrick Maguire talk to Julie Etchingham  

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To: Political Analysis

Monday 25 May 2026, 10am –  Global Stage

The May election results caused chaos at the heart of the Labour party. The Prime Minister almost certainly faces a leadership challenge. Jess Phillips resigned as a minister in exasperation at Sir Keir Starmer's way of governing. She joins the leader of the Green Party in Westminster, Ellie Chowns and the chief political commentator for The Times, Patrick Maguire - three people right at the heart of politics in Britain. Chaired by Julie Etchingham from ITV News.

Sarah Hall and Samantha Harvey talk to Kirsty Lang  

The Dance of Nature and Humanity

Monday 25 May 2026, 10am –  Meadow Stage

Two award-winning novelists discuss their work and their common theme of the relationship between people and planet, with BBC broadcaster Kirsty Lang.

Twice nominated for the Man Booker Prize, Sarah Hall is the award-winning author of several novels and short-story collections. Her most recent book Helm explores the interplay of nature and humanity through the character of a ferocious, mischievous wind who has blasted the landscape of the Eden Valley since the dawn of time, but now seems diminished.

Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize in 2024 for her space-set novel, Orbital, in which a team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct experiments and test the limits of the human body, all while asking what life is without Earth, and what Earth is without humanity.

Short Film Screenings  

Monday 25 May 2026, 10am – 2pm –  MUBI Cinema

Watch a selection of short films, curated by MUBI, throughout the morning and early afternoon. 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.

Monday 25 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 7: Local Ecology  

With Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Guides

Monday 25 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. The Park’s expert ecologists will introduce you to some of the captivating local flora and fauna.

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 and its treasured landscape.

In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park

BBC Radio 4: Take Four Books  

James Crawford talks to Tahmima Anam

Monday 25 May 2026, 10am –  Exchange Marquee

BBC Radio 4’s flagship literary programme, Take Four Books, speaks to an author about their latest novel and explores its connections to three other works. It’s a show about influences, inspiration and more broadly the joy of reading. Presented by the writer James Crawford, the programme has featured some of the world’s biggest authors, as well as interesting debuts. Please join for what promises to be a fascinating conversation with the British-Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam about her new novel, Uprising.

Rob Biddulph  

The Moonhaven Chronicles: The Last Wolf

Monday 25 May 2026, 10am –  Discovery Stage

Superstar author and illustrator Rob Biddulph introduces The Moonhaven Chronicles: The Last Wolf – the first in a thrilling new fiction duology. Fast-paced and fully illustrated throughout by Rob, this gripping series will dazzle all fans of Peanut Jones.

Rob will share his inspirations for this spine-tingling new story, brimming with mystery, full moons and werewolves. He’ll also talk about his other books and his own creative origin story. And have your pencils ready for a live version of Rob’s famous ‘Draw with Rob’ episodes. This will be a fun-filled howlfest that the whole pack can sink their claws into.

Hay Festival is proud to support the National Year of Reading