Hay Festival 2026

Bear Grylls is one of the most recognised faces of survival and outdoor adventure in the world. His adrenalin-filled life reads like an action thriller – three years with 21 SAS, a life-changing parachute accident, climbing Mount Everest – all by the age of 23. His next chapter saw him become a world-renowned TV presenter, leading the likes of Julia Roberts and President Obama on epic survival adventures. He’s somehow found time to write over 100 books, including two best-sellers, and spends part of the year on a secluded, off-grid island in Wales. In this thoughtful conversation with presenter and podcaster Jamie Laing, Grylls reveals the books that hold a special place in his heart and have helped him through the ups and downs of his incredible life.

Celebrate the best of Scottish writing with two giants from the country’s literary scene. This rare and exciting conversation between Jenni Fagan and Irvine Welsh will see them explore their own writing, discuss creativity and reflect on modern Scottish literature. They talk to writer and presenter Jude Rogers.

Fagan won the Gordon Burn Prize for her memoir Ootlin. Her new novel The Delusions is about Edi, who has spent almost 50 years processing the newly dead and waiting to be reunited with her son when he dies. Irvine Welsh has described the story as “1984 for the afterlife”.

Welsh’s latest novel Men in Love sees him revisit the beloved characters – Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie – from his era-defining novel Trainspotting at the end of the 1980s and the dawn of the 1990s, as they wonder if love is the answer to their dreams.

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon uses previously undiscovered archives to paint a vivid new picture of the life of artist Johannes Vermeer, most famous for his painting ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’. Following new leads, and drawing on a mass of historical evidence, some of it freshly uncovered in the archives of Delft and Rotterdam, Graham-Dixon uncovers the painter’s unknown friendships, and reveals his previously undetected allegiance to a radical movement driven underground by persecution.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event

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.

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.

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.

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.

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event