Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2026

What happens to art when it becomes a matter of life or death? As chief culture writer of the Guardian, Charlotte Higgins never imagined she would report on a war. But in the autumn of 2022, seven months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she travelled there to find out how artists and writers were reflecting the devastation of their daily lives.

Drawing on two decades of cultural journalism, three years of reporting trips to Ukraine and her training as a classicist, Charlotte explores the profound connections between war, art and life in her book Ukrainian Lessons: Art in a Time of War. In a conflict that threatens the very existence of Ukrainian culture, Higgins talks to journalist and cross-bench peer Rosie Boycott about what artists are prepared to risk – and why culture is worth fighting for.

Luke Wright brings all the wit, pathos and silliness that has made him one of our most popular live poets to this warm and moving hour exploring family and adoption through poems and conversation.

A later life letter is written by a child’s social worker to be opened at an appropriate age, detailing their journey from birth to adoption. When Luke received his as a teenager, he didn’t think much of it. But now, he re-examines his own past – and the life he might have had.

Maxine Peake is one of the most versatile actors in Britain today, equally at home on the stage, on television and in film. She effortlessly spans comedy and tragedy – from Victoria Wood’s Dinnerladies to playing Hamlet at Manchester’s Royal Exchange and, most recently, starring in the multi-award-winning film I Swear and Apple TV’s critically-acclaimed thriller Last Seen.

We’re thrilled to welcome Maxine back to Hay Festival to talk about the books that hold a special place in her heart and have inspired her throughout her life.

A Christmas tradition with a difference! Poet Laureate Simon Armitage leads artists from across our programme in a literary reinvention of the traditional Nine Lessons and Carols.

Each speaker will perform a reading inspired by the themes of the original service, from the funny to the moving, the thought-provoking to the entertaining.

A unique and unforgettable evening curated in collaboration with our friends at the London Review of Books.

An unmissable exploration of female sexuality and desire, with cutting-edge thinking from three experts on the many ways that sex can change the world. From disconnection to control and from private pleasure to porn, this event will break through the boundaries of conventional thinking about sex.

Emma-Louise Boynton, host of media platform Sex Talks, is author of Pleasure: The Reclamation of My Body. Kate Lister is host of award-winning History Hit podcast Betwixt the Sheets and author of Flick: The Story of Female Pleasure. Film-maker Erika Lust (Lust: Pleasure, Performance, Power) has spent decades pioneering ethical, feminist pornography. They talk to investigative journalist Nicola Cutcher.

Chew over the biggest news stories of 2026 in our review of the year, led by writer and historian David Olusoga. Revisit the good, the bad and the I-forgot-that-happened moments of the year, as our panel of cultural commentators bring personal perspectives and first-hand experiences of the stories that defined 2026.

David will be joined by Channel 4 home affairs correspondent Symeon Brown and The Guardian’s chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins. They’ll traverse the Strait of Hormuz, tackle heatwaves and wildfires, examine advances in AI and World Cup outrage, and pick out the political moments that defined 2026, from Andy Burnham to Count Binface.

The perfect way to begin your Sunday at Hay Festival Winter Weekend.

Bring some violet creams and gently recline while Matthew Sweet draws a wickedly funny and perfectly outrageous portrait of the queen of romance. The life of socialite and novelist Barbara Cartland makes for a wonderfully entertaining story, from her eventful youth through two world wars and 49 proposals, to her 723 books selling in the millions worldwide.

Uncovering the woman behind the powder and mascara, we see a clever, socially precarious writer navigating a twentieth-century world of war-damaged men, class conflict and sexual peril. Matthew, presenter of Free Thinking on BBC Radio 4, talks to author and memoirist Cathy Rentzenbrink about how the literary legend was made.

Enjoy a short, upbeat musical interlude between events, as Love To Sing Choir returns to Hay Festival following their popular performance last year. Love To Sing is a double gold award-winning, inclusive popular music choir based in Pembridge, Herefordshire. They promote togetherness, fun, belonging and a shared passion for singing.

Embrace the many joys of autumn with award-winning novelist Kate Mosse. Let her lead you to the mulchy, misty, golden-hued Sussex marshlands of her childhood, peep at the reed banks, along the sea wall and into the oak pond, all teeming with life.

Share in Mosse’s love of folklore, nature and creativity as she celebrates the season – the shifting light and crisp mornings, the ever-changing colours of the landscape, the crunch of leaves underfoot and the drift of migrating birds.

An uplifting hour with chef and food writer Olia Hercules, as she tells the story of Ukraine seen through four generations of one extraordinary family. From her grandmother’s deportation under Stalin to her parents’ flight from Ukraine when their town was occupied in 2022, Olia shares memories of the land, ideas of home and belonging, and family stories and recipes passed down the generations. Speaking to author and journalist Charlotte Higgins, Olia gives a compelling account of resilience in the hardest of circumstances. Her global initiative #CookForUkraine has raised over £2 million for Ukraine.

Enjoy a short, upbeat musical interlude between events, as Love To Sing Choir returns to Hay Festival following their popular performance last year. Love To Sing is a double gold award-winning, inclusive popular music choir based in Pembridge, Herefordshire. They promote togetherness, fun, belonging and a shared passion for singing.

A fascinating journey through the history of ceramics with The Great Pottery Throwdown’s favourite judge. Did you know the potter’s wheel was invented before any other kind of wheel? And in the 17th century people believed eating clay was good for you?

Keith Brymer Jones’s very personal tour leads from Roman kilns in North London to urinals in Scotland, and from wine jars to ink pots. He talks to presenter and craft champion Kate Humble about the crucial role ceramics have played in cultures throughout the world – and how his own life is inextricably linked to an industry that demands the same of its makers today as it did thousands of years ago.

Young Welsh artist Jack Lewis shares his graphic novel interpretation of the Aberfan Disaster in this powerful and very personal event. Jack’s family were living in Aberfan in 1966, when a mountain of slurry engulfed the small village, killing 144 people, most of them children in the local primary school.

Jack focuses on their story, while reflecting the enormous impact the disaster had on the entire village. 60 years on, his potent storytelling and evocative art bring to life the tragedy of that day and the resilience of community. He talks to Owen Sheers, author of The Green Hollow, a poetic history of Aberfan.

A unique and hugely entertaining conversation between two titans of British theatre.

Dominic Dromgoole (Time Frames: A Century of Proscenium Playwrights) is the former Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe and presents a thrilling, witty and surprising sweep across a century of theatrical history, from Shakespeare himself through Noel Coward, Ibsen, Sartre and more. Lucian Msamati (The Godot Diaries: Behind the Scenes of Beckett’s Play) is an award-winning actor and writer, and here he recalls in dazzling detail the experience of working on a major production of Samuel Beckett’s iconic Waiting for Godot.

An exclusive opportunity to hear two greats unpack the layers of social history woven into some of the best-known plays of our times. With live readings from Lucian Msamati and acclaimed actor Greg Wise.

A tender, funny look into Liv Little’s hotly anticipated new novel. Talking to Channel 4 broadcaster Symeon Brown, the author and gal-dem founder invites us on a road-trip into memory, mortality and the fierce love between a daughter and her father.

Jalissa and her dad aren’t close, but when he invites her to Jamaica, his homeland, for the first time, she says yes. She’s running from heartbreak and a loss of her own; he’s running out of time. As they navigate tangled family roots, old wounds open and long-held silences begin to break. They’re both trying to outrun something – can they face the past, reckon with the present and reimagine what comes next?

Caroline Quentin invites us to reconnect with nature in a joyful celebration of the outdoors. She pairs personal stories and reflections with her own colourful illustrations to show us the power and beauty to be found in the natural world. Join Caroline as she shares her practical guide for using nature to bring joy and calm to our lives wherever we live and whatever our space.

Famous for her acting roles in Men Behaving Badly, Jonathan Creek and other hit series, Caroline has since focused on horticulture, amassing a large following as @cqgardens. She talks to wildlife broadcaster Kate Humble.

We often think of classical music and contemporary pop as being poles apart – but are they really so different? Here Elizabeth Alker, host of BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified and Classical Live, uncovers their strong connections, revealing both the classical innovators and their fans and collaborators in the world of pop.

Talking to music critic Jude Rogers, Elizabeth draws a direct and fascinating lineage from the experimentalism of Pierre Henry to The Beatles, from Stockhausen to Donna Summer and from Bruckner to Sonic Youth via Glenn Branca. We’ll hear how artists challenged the idea that these musical worlds are mutually exclusive.

Join one of Hay-on-Wye’s most fun-loving singing groups for an irresistible music session. The Innominati Singers hail from diverse musical backgrounds including folk, musical theatre, classical, pop, jazz and Welsh music. Settle in by the roaring fire in Hay Castle’s Great Hall for an eclectic, unpredictable and lively moment of song.

The world is changing and two men are at the root of it. Presidents Trump and Putin have shattered the comfortable world order we’d got used to. Foreign correspondent and bestselling author Luke Harding takes us deep into the places most affected by their wars and conflicts.

He’s lived in the villages of eastern Ukraine under Russian bombardment, and spent time with Volodymyr Zelensky. He’s travelled to Greenland to talk to residents about the threatened US takeover and visited the divided border region between North and South Korea. Speaking to journalist and cross-bench peer Rosie Boycott, Harding tells the story of ordinary people and their leaders caught up in this uncertain and dangerous era of global politics.

Come together for a festive finale to the Winter Weekend with this musical celebration of Christmas carols. Professional singer and author, John Potter presents his historical guide to carols (Christmas Carols - An English Enchantment) taking us from their beginnings as secular songs sung in medieval and Tudor courts, through the Victorian era where they were used to encourage revellers into church, to their place at the heart of our modern Christmas traditions.

Of course there'll be plenty of opportunity for carol singing too. A local choir will lead the music to match the storytelling, with a chance for everyone to join in and share in the Christmas spirit.