Hay Festival 2026

Maggie O’Farrell, the award-winning author of Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait, talks about and reads from her highly-anticipated new novel, Land, ahead of its publication. Inspired by O’Farrell’s own family history and by the landscape of the West Coast of Ireland, 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, which she co-wrote and stars 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. O’Farrell Talks to BBC presenter and avid reader, Sophie Raworth.

Get ready to rhyme, rap and ROAR with laughter!

Join former Children’s Laureate and poetry icon Michael Rosen and award-winning rap teacher and viral sensation, MC Grammar, for a riotous celebration of words. These two masters of language pit Raps against Rhymes in a high-energy carnival of poetry, performance and pure fun. Perfect for families and anyone who loves wordplay. It will leave you smiling, inspired and maybe even freestyling your own ridiculous rhymes all the way home!

Jeremy Bowen is one of the foremost journalists of our time, and has built a career from making sense of the complexities of conflict. Now, as the BBC’s International Editor we turn to him to analyse the prospects for peace in the Middle East – a region he’s lived and breathed for the past 30 years. Bowen also talks candidly about the difficulties of being a journalist at a time when ideas of truth and free reporting are under attack. And he poses the most difficult question of all: how do you get to the truth in a post-truth world?