Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA-winning actor and writer Steve Pemberton’s narration of Kazuo Ishiguro’s contemporary classic.
The Remains of the Day is Ishiguro’s beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a great English house. Heartbreak and longing take centre stage as Pemberton embodies the stoic head butler, Stevens.
The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.
Free but ticketed - please note this is a film screening, the actor will not be present
A Rural Studios production for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer
How to Build a Library: Maia Lekow and Angela Wachuka talk to Kitty Corrigan
Documentary Screening Followed by Q&A
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St Mary’s Church
Premièred at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, How to Build a Library takes us to Nairobi to witness how two Black women tackle the rebuilding of what was until 1958 a whites-only library. The documentary is a fascinating study of colonisation and the power of individual and collective action.
Following the screening, director Maia Lekow and founder of Book Bunk Angela Wachuka will discuss the film with freelance journalist and editor Kitty Corrigan. Book Bunk is a firm driving the restoration of some of Nairobi’s most iconic public libraries.
Screening duration: 1 hour 43 minutes.
Supported by Open Society Foundations and the British Council
The blockbuster Skandar series concluded last year with fifth book Skandar and the Spirit War, and is set to hit the big screen with Sony Pictures. This is an unmissable opportunity to hear about it all straight from the unicorn’s mouth, as author AF Steadman shares the inspirations behind her unlikely heroes, elemental magic, sky battles, ancient secrets and ferocious single-horned beasts.
Come prepared to create your own bloodthirsty unicorn, take part in the Chaos Cup and discover elemental magic!
8+ years
Hay Festival is proud to support the National Year of Reading
Creative Industry Insights with Jay Hunt in conversation with Jacqueline Hewer
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Spring Stage
Jay Hunt, Creative Director for Apple TV+ in Europe and chair of both the BFI and Hay Festival, will draw on her extensive experience to offer invaluable insights and advice for a career in TV production.
Before joining Apple, Hunt was Chief Creative Officer of Channel 4. She has also served as Controller of BBC One and Director of Programmes at Channel 5. In 2023, she was named one of the Top Twenty Most Powerful Women in Global Entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter. Jay will be in conversation with TV Producer and Director, Jacqueline Hewer. This event is one of a Hay Festival series of sessions delivered by inspiring producers and practitioners from the creative industries, giving their insights, experience and advice on progression in their field.
14+ years
Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.
With financial assistance from The Elmley Foundation
Joanna Quinn is very excited to run this fun animation workshop, where she will introduce her endearing heroine, Beryl, and share the skills and knowledge of behind-the-scenes animation processes from her Oscar-nominated animation career.
Joanna’s creation Beryl is an unconventional heroine, a middle-aged factory worker pursuing her dream as an aspiring artist. Joanna’s film about Beryl and her eccentric family, Affairs of the Art, was nominated for Academy and BAFTA awards. An independent animator and director, Joanna holds over a hundred international awards, including four BAFTAs and two Emmys.
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.
Please wear appropriate footwear and outdoor gear. Walk level: moderate.
In partnership with Bannau Brycheiniog National Park
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.
The wonderful Dame Mary Berry reveals her second great love: gardening. It’s been a life-long passion, starting when she was a small girl who watched her father growing vegetables. Here she tells us how getting hands-on in her own garden has been a constant source of joy throughout her life. An uplifting conversation filled with personal anecdotes and practical guidance, all illustrated with beautiful photos from Mary’s own garden. She talks to comedian and former host of The Great British Bake Off Mel Giedroyc.
No book signing after this event. There will be Pre signed Mary Berry books available in the Book shop on site
The John Maddox Conversation: The Art Cure – The Science of How the Arts Transforms Our Health
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Discovery Stage
A conversation to lift your spirits, as leading scientist Professor Daisy Fancourt reveals how art and culture can directly improve our health and wellbeing – mending us as well as moving us. Talking to Tamsine O'Riordan, Vice President for Science Books at Springer Nature, one of the world's leading research publishers, Fancourt explores the extraordinary links between creativity and health from songs that shape children’s brains to paintings and performances that ease pain, stress and depression. Learn how engaging with art and culture can reduce loneliness, build resilience and even help us to live longer. Is there a better reason to book a place at this optimistic and refreshing conversation?
Join acclaimed novelist and poet Ben Okri for an exclusive look at his new novel Waking the Warriors, ahead of its publication.
In Waking the Warriors, Tanas has risen to become the modern dictator of a great western nation, and is now sweeping across the world, subjugating all in his wake. His reign seems unstoppable, until he meets a small band of people that form a resistance.
Okri discusses his inspirations with broadcaster Francine Stock, the legacy of storytelling he writes within, and his long career. Okri is author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Famished Road, which won the Man Booker Prize in 1991.
Anxiety can affect the way you think, feel and behave, but what if there was a way to make it work for you? Broadcaster and psychologist Dr Sian Williams takes a warm and accessible look at anxiety, talking to journalist Kirsty Lang. She shares stories from her counselling career and her book The Power of Anxiety, and urges us to see sensitivity as a strength and anxiety as a tool.
Williams is an award-winning broadcast journalist and chartered counselling psychologist, who has worked in the NHS and privately. She hosted BBC Breakfast for 11 years, and currently presents on BBC Radio 3 and 4.
Celebrate Art Day at Hay Festival with art historian Katy Hessel, as she shows how art can best be represented on film. Watch Hessel’s curated film before hearing her illuminating take in an in-depth discussion connecting the work’s themes to wider questions of art, storytelling and whose voices shape cultural history. Part screening, part live essay, the broadcaster and author of The Story of Art without Men offers a reflective and richly contextual experience for curious, art-loving minds.
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Writers at Work Hub | Hwb Awduron Wrth Eu Gwaith
Writers at Work celebrate the launch of (un)common magazine in conversation with Ben Huxley, Writers at Work alumni Rosy Adams, and Welsh novelist Jon Doyle.
Calling all pet fans! Join Pia’s Pet Club with Serena Patel, author of the award-winning Anisha, Accidental Detective. Serena will introduce you to Pia, a girl who loves pets, but isn’t allowed one of her own (maybe like you)! But Pia doesn’t give up easily and forms Pet Club with her friend Hari.
Serena will tell you about her own pets, kittens Arlo and Bean and a brand-new puppy. She’ll test your pet-based knowledge with a PAWesome quiz (do you know what percentage of the time cats spend sleeping?) and help you create your own pet story character.
The latest in the Pia’s Pet Club series is Pia’s Pet Club: Secret Kitten, and there’s an official World Book Day book coming up in 2026 – Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape.
7+ years
Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils
Hay Festival is proud to support the National Year of Reading
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.
Guto Harri talks to Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, James Evans, Sera Evans, Bethan Rhys Roberts and Will Hayward.
A Political Earthquake in Wales?
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Discovery Stage
Plaid Cymru are now in charge in Wales, ending Labour's 100 years of being in power. Hear reaction from Labour and Reform, as well as some sharp insight into the impact of the election results. Broadcaster and former Downing Street director of communications Guto Harri talks to Plaid Cymru MS, Sera Evans, Labour cabinet minister and Welsh MP, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Reform MS, James Evans, BBC Cymru Wales journalist and presenter, Bethan Rhys Roberts, and the political journalist and author, Will Hayward (Who Cares About Wales?).
Former A&E doctor and leading mental health advocate, Dr Alex George, joins comedian Sara Pascoe to explore the perennial question: Am I normal? Together, they tackle the uncertainties and anxieties so many of us share about our bodies, minds, and emotions – from self-image and relationships to mental wellbeing in a digital age. Blending humour, honesty and empathy, this very personal conversation offers practical wisdom and reassurance in a world obsessed with comparison. This event is for anyone feeling the pressures of modern life, seeking inspiration and laughter in equal measure.
One of Us: The New Novel from the Writer and Podcaster
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Meadow Stage
Best-selling author Elizabeth Day delves into politics, power and privilege in this timely discussion of her new novel One of Us with fellow podcaster Jamie Laing. This compelling thriller is the sequel to her 2017 best-seller, The Party (soon to be an ITV drama starring Luke Evans), and we rejoin the characters at a huge moment for the entire nation.
Ben is now a cabinet minister and being touted as the next Prime Minister. But when his excommunicated friend Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of Ben’s family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge. In unfolding the story of Martin, Ben and his family, Day also writes about a country unravelling under the weight of its secrets.
Day is also host of the hugely successful podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, where guests share three personal failures and discuss the lessons learned from them.
A middle-aged woman obsessed with pickling, body painting and taxidermy is an unlikely star, but thanks to a BAFTA-winning animated film, Beryl is just that. Film director, animator and Beryl’s co-creator Joanna Quinn takes us behind the scenes of the 2021 film Affairs of the Art, and explains the creative process behind animation.
Joanna will give an entertaining insight into her creative process including a range of sketches, storyboards and final artwork for Beryl’s creation. She will also illustrate live in this event, bringing her dynamic and vivacious character to life before your eyes.
We Are Movement: Unlocking Your Physical Intelligence
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Exchange Marquee
Internationally-celebrated choreographer and director Sir Wayne McGregor tells us how and why we should master our physical intelligence, in conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East.
In We Are Movement, McGregor draws on research with elite performers, athletes and cognitive neuroscientists to argue that our intelligence lies not only in our brains, but our bodies too. By learning to use it properly, we can become better communicators, more creative thinkers and live fuller lives. Filled with practical advice and inspiration, this event will have you appreciating your body in a new way.
Learn to Write in Cuneiform, the World’s First Writing System
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Creative Hub
Abandon your Biro and learn all about the world’s oldest writing, invented in Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. Mesopotamia expert Dr Selena Wisnom will demonstrate how simple pictograms evolved into a complex writing system with nearly a thousand signs, and how it was deciphered after two millennia of silence. She’ll show you how to make your own cuneiform tablet out of plasticine and impress the signs into it just like the Mesopotamians did. You can write your name in this ancient script, and take home a piece of history.
A screening of Argentine auteur Lucrecia Martel’s ingenious adaptation of the existentialist novel Zama. Frenzied first-person narration transforms to become a cinematic fugue state in this singular and stupefying period drama, and Martel inserts her own incisive commentary on colonialism and masculinity.
An 18th-century Spanish magistrate is eternally languishing in anticipation for a transfer from the outpost to which he has been relegated. When his last hope of departure comes to naught, he joins an expedition to track down Vicuña Porto, a legendary outlaw who may or may not exist.
15+ years
Directed by Lucrecia Martel (2017). Film duration: 1 hour 54 minutes. Certificate 15.
Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm
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Discovery Stage
Charlie Mackesy’s original story of four unlikely friends became a global phenomenon and the best-selling adult non-fiction book of all time. Now he returns to Hay Festival to introduce the book’s sequel. Talking to broadcaster Francine Stock, he explores why his creations have offered so much comfort and hope to readers.
Mackesy is an artist, illustrator and author who began his career as a cartoonist. The short animated film of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won both an Oscar and a BAFTA.
An exclusive opportunity to see two creative icons in conversation. Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman, Kevin Rowland, speaks to best-selling novelist, Irvine Welsh, about his astonishing memoir. Rowland takes readers from the juvenile courts of his troubled teenage years to the success of Dexy’s Midnight Runners in the 1980s. With searing honesty, he also recounts the lows – including a serious cocaine addiction that left him bankrupt. Rowland and Welsh discuss resilience after adversity, iconic moments in British music, and how it feels to have had a major impact on our culture. For music lovers and pop culture buffs, as well as those who want a ring-side seat to lively and candid conversation.
Barrel of Laughs: Lessons from a Default Parent – Surviving the Front Line of Family Life
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Meadow Stage
A candid, funny and relatable look at what it means to be the ‘default parent’. Lou Beckett, wife of comedian Rob Beckett, enjoys a no-holds-barred chat with comedian and mother Sara Pascoe about the emotional and logistical burdens of being the parent who plans, pre-empts, organises and remembers, and offers community to others in the same position.
Beckett’s book Lessons From a Default Parent contains advice and reflections on parenting, and provides comfort to the people depended on the most and appreciated the least. Beckett is a mother of two and ex-secondary school teacher, as well as a mostly silent participant on her husband’s podcast Parenting Hell.
Poet Stephanie Sy-Quia discusses her debut novel, a look at the space between public identity and private self, with author Sarah Moss. A Private Man moves between the 1960s, where Margaret finds unexpected love with Catholic priest David, and the 2010s, where Adrian cares for his ageing grandmother Margaret.
Sy-Quia’s debut poetry collection Amnion won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and received a Somerset Maugham Award. Moss is assistant professor of creative writing at University College Dublin. Her most recent book is Ripeness.
Linda Kamau and Aleks Krotoski talk to Madhumita Murgia
Technology, Women and Africa
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Exchange Marquee
Kenyan social entrepreneur Linda Kamau and BBC technology and social science writer and presenter Aleks Krotoski discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women carving careers in technology across Africa.
Kamau is a pioneer in the inclusion of women in technology. Co-founder of AkiraChix, she has trained hundreds of young women in programming, providing them with the tools to transform their lives and communities. She has been recognised by initiatives such as the Obama Foundation’s Leaders Africa programme, and is a member of the Segal Family Foundation, a trust supporting social justice in East Africa. Krotoski has written and presented landmark technology and social science series for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World.
They speak to Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.
Supported by Open Society Foundations and the British Council
Do you have real-life experiences that you’d like to turn into a book? This workshop with Dr Lily Dunn will give you both direction and inspiration. Where do you start and how do you discover a story’s momentum? Dunn will help you identify key moments, how to characterise yourself, capture place and run dual timelines, as well as navigate the ethics of writing about real people. You’ll come away from the session with new tools and techniques to bring your true stories to life on the page.
Dunn is author of Into Being: The Radical Craft of Memoir and Its Power to Transform. She teaches narrative non-fiction and memoir at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab.
Arvon is the UK’s leading creative writing charity. Founded in 1968, it is known for its diverse creative writing courses and events led by leading authors. Its online programme offers writing weeks, writing days, masterclasses and a Saturday Writing Club. Residential courses are set in historic writing houses in inspiring countryside locations. Courses cover a range of genres including fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, theatre, screenwriting and more.
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.
The play contains no graphic or explicit language but discusses themes on sexual assault which some audience members may find triggering.
We’re thrilled to welcome back the brilliant screenwriter, actor, novelist and unforgettable star of Gavin and Stacey, Ruth Jones. She captured the heart and soul of the nation with her portrayal of Nessa and won countless awards for the family of characters she created with her co-writer, James Corden. Here she chats to author and broadcaster Hannah Beckerman about her incredible career, and her most recent novel By Your Side. Join the conversation to find out what’s next for one of the best writers of our times.
Having Spent Life Seeking: Exploring Family and Forgiveness
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Discovery Stage
Poet, performer and recording artist Kae Tempest is one of the most electrifying voices in British culture. With his albums, poetry and plays, he’s captured the pulse of a generation. Here, Kae introduces his long-awaited new novel, Having Spent Life Seeking, a moving story about family, forgiveness and belonging. This event offers an unmissable opportunity to hear one of our most vital creative voices as he reflects on a life spent seeking meaning through art. He talks to Guardian literary critic Chris Power.
Welsh writer Jan Morris was once the most famous journalist in the world: she joined the 1953 Everest expedition and was first to get news of Hilary and Tensing’s successful climb back to London. Morris’ glittering career included interviewing Che Guevara and scooping the story of the Suez collusion. When she transitioned in the early 1970s, she documented the experience in her book Conundrum. Writer and broadcaster Sara Wheeler discusses her biography of Morris with author Oliver Bullough.
Catherine Loveday, Juliet Russell and Sian Williams
Why Singing Works: Voice, Brain and Belonging
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Spring Stage
Take a joyful and illuminating look at why we’re so deeply wired to respond to the human voice, especially when performing and listening live. Neuroscientist Professor Catherine Loveday reveals how singing actually works in the brain (did you know you’re more likely to remember vocal over instrumental music?); vocal coach Juliet Russell shares her insights on how singing aligns the body and mind; and psychologist Dr Sian Williams examines the relationship between voice, breath and emotional regulation.
Known to calm anxiety, sharpen memory and bring people together, the science behind singing is as intriguing as it is powerful. Combining psychology, performance and lived experience, this event explores how singing creates connection, improves memory and fosters wellbeing.
A celebration of the life and work of the quietly radical Welsh painter Gwen John on the 150th anniversary of her birth. John’s art has been an inspiration for the work and creative lives of many others, from Dior’s creative director to the Manic Street Preachers.
Conservator Fiona McLees and curator Lucy Wood discuss the lasting impact of John’s work, which is currently on display in an exhibition at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
This landmark retrospective brings together John’s most celebrated pieces alongside rarely seen paintings, drawings and letters. Two accompanying books, Unseen Gwen John and Gwen John: Strange Beauties, reveal extraordinary discoveries from her studio and offer fresh insight into her quiet and strikingly modern vision.
In Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, the character Kaufman is a confused LA screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt the latest book by Susan Orlean, Kaufman’s life spins from pathetic to bizarre.
As a screenwriter, Kaufman’s style of reality-bending comedy made him a superstar. With Adaptation, he turned a case of writer’s block into a brilliantly weird and weirdly touching comic tribute to living life as a movie – and earned an Oscar nod for both himself and his imaginary twin!
15+ years
Directed by Spike Jonze (2002). Film duration 1 hour 55 minutes. Certificate 15.
In her fantastic new show, Sara Pascoe explores the joys and absurdities of being human – from the chaos of motherhood to the contradictions of fame and the unanswerable question: why won't my kitchen clean itself?
With her trademark mix of sharp observation and surreal humour, Pascoe turns everyday anxieties into pure comic gold. You've seen her on Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo and The Great British Sewing Bee. Now enjoy her company in person at a special show for Hay Festival. Clever, curious and joyfully offbeat – this is Sara Pascoe at her brilliant best.
Joey Batey, Peter Jones and Aleks Krotoski talk to Colin Grant
Heard at Hay Festival: three brilliant speakers all on one ticket
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Spring Stage
The perfect session if you love new ideas, original thinking and passionate speakers all on one ticket! Actor, musician and now author Joey Batey shares his passion for modern folk horror. Historian Peter Jones reveals how self-help worked in the Middle Ages. And journalist Aleks Krotoski discusses the moguls and tech bros who are trying to defy death so they can live forever. Hosted by author and historian Colin Grant. We guarantee you’ll leave having learnt something new – something you Heard at Hay Festival.
Join renowned cellist-singer and environmental activist Sarah Smout for a unique evening of visceral storytelling, making the Gothic arches and austere stonework of St Mary’s Church shimmer with atmosphere. Smout sailed among frozen sea, icebergs and glaciers during a 2025 expeditionary residency around Svalbard in Norway, collecting their sounds and performing improvisations amid the rapidly melting Arctic.
This experience inspires her entrancing and transportive solo show, which invites us to listen more deeply to the fragile beauty of polar regions, inspiring hope, awe and wonder, and highlighting the profound impacts of climate change. Smout creates atmosphere with live-looped cello, haunting melodies and poetry that is never too far from the sea. This is a truly special evening of performance in a unique setting.
A blissful night of songs that make you sing and tunes that make you dance, as cosmic shape-shifters The Poozies take to the stage. The pioneering Scottish trad band formed in 1990, originally with an all-female line-up, and were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scots and Gaelic music.
They’re known for their eclectic choice of material and a seductive energy – expect unusual and exciting arrangements, notable vocal harmonies and a dose of sass and irreverence as the group performs new music and old hits.
The band are anchored by founding member Mary Macmaster on electro-harp, with the irrepressible riotousness of Eilidh Shaw and Sarah McFadyen on twin fiddles and the shimmering joyfulness of Mike Bryan on guitar.
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.
Please bring your own yoga mat and wear loose, comfortable clothing. Booking is essential. Contact Clare Fry at hello@larchwoodstudio.com with questions relating to these classes. Alert your practitioner at the start of class if you have any injuries.
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.
Writer and children's laureate, Frank Cottrell-Boyce kicks off a bold campaign to get young people talking. Improving a child’s speaking skills is proven to directly improve their life chances, and the biggest transformations can be seen in children from the poorest backgrounds. Frank Cottrell-Boyce reveals the real-world impact of encouraging young people to express their thoughts and make their voices heard, and is joined by some surprise guests in his mission to help those from the toughest beginnings find a better life through the power of speaking.
The Path More Travelled: The Secret History of Britain’s Footpaths
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Discovery Stage
Explore the hidden history of Britain’s coast-to-coast web of walkways with geographer and travel writer Nicholas Crane as he chats to nature journalist Nicola Cutcher. This event takes you from the prehistoric routeways walked by European migrants 12,000 years ago to the Hadrian’s Wall Path and the banks of the Severn, via our national parks and long-distance trails, which emerged from the ashes of two world wars.
Crane, who is a presenter on the BAFTA-winning series Coast, talks about the routes he took for his new book The Path More Travelled, the discoveries he made along the way, and offers up a passionate ode to walking, urging us all to rediscover and protect our landscapes.
Nhã Thuyên with MontenegroFisher, Wanda O’Connor and Lowri Hedd Vaughan
Rising and Sinking Like Mountains in Streams: An International Poetry Performance
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Exchange Marquee
An hour of visceral poetry performance led by the Vietnamese artist Nhã Thuyên and the duo MontenegroFisher, this event showcases an artistic exploration of two rivers – the Red River, which runs through Vietnam, and the River Wye, which runs through Wales.
Inspired by the classical female poet Ho Xuân Hương, this international collaboration results in a performance resonating with resilience, sensuality and nature’s force. Joined by two emerging artists from Wales the project interprets landscape, language and sound through the lens of ecology. Dr Wanda O’Connor is an academic and writer working in contemporary poetry and poetics; Lowri Hedd Vaughan is a regenerative practitioner concerned with the restoration of natural living systems.
A Literature Across Frontiers project supported by the British Council
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.
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!
The Platform is a space for young, emerging artists to share their work with Hay Festival audiences. Spanning a diverse range of art forms it aims to help promote and develop outstanding young creative artists aged between 21 and 28 who are at the start of their careers. These three works are taking place across the festival site from 10-5pm. There are also three artists performing in the Creative Hub at 7pm (free but ticketed)
Beth Lewis - Ebb & Flow
Ebb & Flow is a sound installation inspired by rock pools and the act of deep listening. Discover a series of handcrafted cardboard sculptures embedded with speakers, breathing life into immersive coastal landscapes. Come to the rock pool to rest a while and explore the tidal pools, seals, coastal birds and seaweed formations. An invitation to slow down and listen to the seals singing, seabirds calling and lose yourself in a swelling coastal soundscape and ambient folk music as the tide comes in and out. Ebbing and flowing.
Beth Lewis is a sound artist and creative technologist. She creates scores and sound design for live performance, screen and site-specific art and develops interactive installations in XR and other immersive technology. Her work is rooted in creating the opportunity for play and reflection, combining her love of music and the natural world into immersive, interactive playgrounds.
Hannah Hoebeke - Tea Talk
Tea Talk is a one-day performance in which tea, conversation, and sculpture come together in a shared experience. Visitors are invited to sit with the artist, engage in conversation, and have their portraits sculpted in clay. Throughout the day, a single block of clay is continuously reshaped — each new face replacing the last, leaving only the final portrait as a trace of all the encounters that preceded it.
Hannah Hoebeke is a sculptor from Ghent, Belgium, whose practice relocates the traditional studio encounter into social and community environments. Working directly from sitters, she uses the act of sculpting as a method of encounter — a way to slow down, occupy shared space, and open room for deeper conversation
Scott Wearing - Sonic Networks
Sonic Networks is an immersive audio-visual installation that transforms live video input into dynamic electronic soundscapes. Using the provided phones, participants can explore their environment through the camera lens, discovering a sensory crossover where sight becomes sound.
Scott’s research focuses on electronic and alternative forms of musical scores that reshape how performers interact—both with the score itself and with each other. By moving beyond traditional notation, his work explores new ways of guiding performance, often encouraging more dynamic, responsive, and collaborative relationships between performers.
Award-winning author and illustrator David Litchfield is bringing his Bear Band to Hay Festival on a 10th anniversary concert tour! David will read his book The Bear and the Piano, (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016) accompanied by live music, with David on guitar, Rebecca De Winter on piano and lots of audience participation.
After this very special story time, stick around to help David create a piece of animal-related artwork. You can even join David’s Merry Band of Bears as they perform a live music concert. There’ll be plenty of fun for both Little Bears and Big Bears.
3+ years
Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.
There will be a BSL interpreter at this event
