Kells 2014

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Life Changing returns to Hay Festival with another story of an extraordinary moment that changed someone’s life for ever. Presenter Dr Sian Williams has a wealth of broadcasting experience both on radio and television. She then added another string to her bow, qualifying as a chartered Counselling Psychologist, and now works part-time for the NHS. It’s that professional combination that has helped build Life Changing into a trusted series and podcast downloaded by millions.

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 Boo La Croux (Miss Drag UK 2021), a farmer/drag queen based in Herefordshire. 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.

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.

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.

A real wait-and-see moment! The International Booker Prize is announced in May 2026, and here we present the winning author and translator in conversation with one of the judges, Sophie Hughes, the most-nominated International Booker Prize translator, and chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, Gaby Wood. The world’s most influential prize for translated fiction, the International Booker Prize is awarded annually for a single book translated into English, and celebrates the vital work of translation with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between author and translator. The prize is a global celebration of a community of writers and readers whose experiences and shared love of literature transcend borders.

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.

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.

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. A unique event that might make you want to jump in the water, or sing, or both!

A group of enthusiastic book club members review their latest read, recorded for BBC Radio Wales.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

BBC Wales' Lucy Owen talks with famous names about the books they loved as a child.

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.

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.

 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.

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.

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.

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.

What do the results of the May elections tell us about the state of the parties, and their big players? Who’s up and who’s down? Who’s in and who’s on their way out? We bring together those in the know to hear what’s really being talked about behind the scenes in Westminster. Chaired by ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham. Chaired by ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham, with guests including the leader of the Green Party in Westminster and North Herefordshire MP, Ellie Chowns.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Are you sitting comfortably? Petr Horáček, a storyteller loved by both children and adults, brings a laugh-out-loud story with a big surprise. Blue Monster wants to play with Rabbit – but Rabbit is sleeping and doesn’t want to play. So... what should Blue Monster do? Blue Monster does something you should never do and then... he does it again and again! Now he definitely has no one to play with! He feels sad, lonely and very guilty. But when Blue Monster opens his mouth and yawns... What a surprise! Things may get better after all! This comforting tale of friendship and forgiveness will get all the family giggling.

Step into the weird and wonderful world of Kitsch & Sync Collective. This high-energy comedy dance theatre workshop whirls through eccentric characters, time-travelling moves and toe-tapping tunes. Expect laughter, silliness and joyful movement for all. Led by Kim Noble, co-founder of the company.

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.

Step inside Hay Castle – a border stronghold shaped by myth, power and reinvention. Visit the current BorderLands exhibition delivered in partnership with Meadow Arts, and enjoy full access to the castle, from cellar to rooftop. Explore rooms layered with stories, including Matilda’s room, the Richard Booth space, historic costumes and the castle cellar.

Experience the new, interactive exhibit on the second floor, then climb to the viewing platform for wide views across the Wye Valley. Your ticket also includes unlimited return visits for a full year, so you can come back as the seasons – and the castle – change.

This ticket allows you to visit the castle at a time of your choice on the day selected, and also gives you entry into the Meadow Arts BorderLands exhibition.

This special guided walk invites you to step beyond Hay-on-Wye and into the richly layered border landscape that has shaped centuries of history. Led by professional walking guide Sarah Price, with writer and historian Joseph Emmett accompanying, this gentle circular walk blends walking, listening and reflection.

Sarah will share local insight into the landscape and its human history, while Joseph draws on his book New Roots, Ancient Lands: Walking Herefordshire’s History, offering short readings and welcoming questions as the walk unfolds. A chance to experience the countryside as both place and story.

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.