Where great minds meet:  Hay Festival releases biggest ever earlybird selection for 2025 event, 22 May–1 June

Earlybird events feature novelists Abdulrazak Gurnah, Elif Shafak, Alexander McCall Smith, Fflur Dafydd, Pankaj Mishra, Matt Haig, Jojo Moyes, Kit de Waal, Michael Morpurgo, Onjali Q. Raúf, Daniel Kehlman, Javier Cercas and Juan Gabriel Vasquez; illustrator Chris Riddell; broadcasters Susie Dent, Stacey Dooley and Naga Munchetty; journalists Emma Barnett and Oliver Burkeman; climate researcher Mike Berners-Lee; nature writer Robert Macfarlane; explorer Levison Wood; classicist Edith Hall; historians Anne Applebaum, William Dalrymple, Tom Holland, Ben Macintyre and Hallie Rubenhold; Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama; essayist Rebecca Solnit; poets Michael Rosen and Gwyneth Lewis; lawyers Sayeeda Warsi and Philippe Sands; actors Ben Murray and Tuppence Middleton; IT expert Kaitlyn Regehr; geneticist Richard Dawkins; entertainers Tweedy the Clown and MC Grammar; musicians Billy Ocean, Tim Rice and Colin Greenwood; comedians Katherine Ryan, Miranda Hart, Al Murray, Julian Clary, Chris McCausland; and more… 

Hay Festival has announced 44 earlybird events for next spring’s Hay-on-Wye edition, taking place 22 May–1 June 2025, ahead of the full programme release next March. 

This is the Festival’s biggest ever earlybird event drop, hinting at the dynamic programme of 600+ events to come blending household names and new talent. 

Tickets are on sale now to Hay Festival Members, Patrons and Benefactors at hayfestival.org/hay-on-wye. General sale begins at noon this Friday. 

Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, the 2025 Festival will offer insights and conversation around big global issues along with a diverse programme of entertainment. More than 600 writers, activists, pioneers and performers will take part.  

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:  

“Hay Festival next spring has something for everyone in Hay-on-Wye. Here are 44 events to preview what’s to come, showcasing a world of different perspectives in a place where great minds meet. Join us to be inspired, provoked and entertained by conversations and performances that celebrate free expression and new ideas, and get involved with workshops and pop-up wonders.” 

Events will take place across eight stages in the free-to-enter Festival site at Dairy Meadows in the Bannau Bryncheiniog National Park – which will offer a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, BBC Marquee, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés, and the Family Garden ­– as well as venues around Hay-on-Wye, including St Mary’s Church and Hay Castle. 

Projects and themes woven throughout the programme will include the News Review each morning; the return of the Hay Festival Sports Day on Wednesday 28 May; South to South conversations; Hay Festival Green, prompting innovative solutions to the climate crisis; celebrations of 250 years of Jane Austen and 20 years of Hay Festival’s work abroad; global collaborations with NBO Litfest in Kenya and Lviv BookForum in Ukraine; and a vibrant programme for families and young people, beginning with the free Schools Programme, 22–23 May, and including events throughout the half-term week. 

Late nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances around the site keeps audience entertained between sessions.  

The full programme of 600+ events will be released in March 2025.  

EARLYBIRD EVENTS OVERVIEW 

Award-winning storytellers share new work including Alexander McCall Smith on Looking for YouFflur Dafydd on The House of WaterJojo Moyes with We All Live HereDaniel Kehlman on The DirectorJavier Cercas on his Terra Alta crime trilogy; Kit de Waal on The Best of EverythingMatt Haig on The Life Impossible; broadcaster Susie Dent joins comedianJulian Clary to launch their crime novels; and writers Juan Gabriel Vasquez and Erna von der Walde join translator Daniel Hahn to celebrate a new translation of the Latin American classic, José Eustasio Rivera’s The Vortex. Meanwhile, Nobel Prize-winning author Abdulrazak Gurnah joins fellow novelist Elif Shafak for a one-to-one conversation. 

Our understanding of the natural world is challenged and explored as Mike Berners-Lee shares A Climate of TruthRobert Macfarlane explores Is A River Alive?Levison Wood shares The Great Tree Story; and classicist Edith Hall offers a study of Homer’s Iliad in the context of our ecological disaster.  

New political orders come under examination with historian Anne Applebaum on AUTOCRACY INCEdi Rama, the 33rd and incumbent prime minister of Albania on the future of Europe; author Pankaj Mishra on the post-Western world; and writer Rebecca Solnit on her new essay collection, No Straight Road Takes You There

Personal stories illuminate our times as Gwyneth Lewis shares her memoir Nightshade Mother; comedian Miranda Hart shares I Haven’t Been Entirely Honest With You; lawyer Sayeeda Warsi talks Muslims Don't Matter; journalist Emma Barnett joins broadcaster Stacey Dooley to share experiences of motherhood; and Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood talks How to Disappear

History is reimagined with lessons for the present day as William Dalrymple talks The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the WorldBen Macintyre presents The Siege: The Remarkable Story of the Greatest SAS Hostage DramaTom Holland shares Lives of the Caesars; Human Rights lawyer Philippe Sands talks 38 Londres Street; and award-winning historian Hallie Rubenhold offers her Story of a Murder

What it means to be human is examined as actor Tuppence Middleton shares her exploration of OCD, Scorpions; broadcaster Naga Munchetty talks It’s Probably Nothing: Critical Conversations on the Women’s Health Crisis (and how to thrive despite it); journalist Oliver Burkeman shares his lessons on time, mortality and accepting imperfections, Meditations for Mortals; IT expert Kaitlyn Regehr talks Smartphone Nation: Why We’re All Addicted to Screens and What We Can Do About It; and Richard Dawkins presents The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie

Young imaginations are sparked through an expanded programme for families that sees poet Michael Rosen join illustrator Chris Riddell to share Pocket Shakespeare; writer Michael Morpurgo joins actor and musician Ben Murray for a special War Horse concert; Onjali Q. Raúf offers The Letter with the Golden StampTweedy the Clown shares his new book; and award-winning teacher turned rapper MC Grammar performs. 

Music and comedy performances lead an evening programme that will dazzle and entertain audiences, featuring R&B legend Billy Ocean; a special evening of musicals with Tim Rice; and comedy from Al MurrayKatherine Ryan, and Chris McCausland.  

Two free Schools Programme days open proceedings on Thursday 22 May (KS2) and Friday 23 May (KS3/4), blending live performance, workshops and storytelling in specially curated sessions, while a range of education initiatives – Hay Festival Academy and the Scribblers Tours – will engage thousands more. 

A curated selection of Festival sessions will be streamed live online throughout the 2025 event, with the Online Festival Pass on sale in March, continuing the Festival’s commitment to digital accessibility.  

Community partnerships with Inclusive Books for Children, Adult Learning Wales, Hereford Community Foundation, Reaching Wider, and more will make this one of the most accessible Festival editions yet with targeted projects to attract harder-to-reach communities, while a plethora of new sustainability measures will help to tackle the environmental impacts of running a festival.  

Winners of the Hay Festival Medals 2025 will be celebrated on stage. Awarded annually since Britain’s Olympic year (2012), and crafted locally by silversmith Christopher Hamilton, the Hay Festival Medals draw inspiration from the original Olympic medal given for poetry. Past winners include Margaret Atwood, Alice Oseman, Salman Rushdie, John le Carré, Mererid Hopwood and Ahdaf Soueif. 

While the countdown to Hay Festival in Wales is just beginning, Festival events further afield are already in full swing. In January, Hay Festival celebrates 20 years in Colombia with events in Jericó, Medellín and Cartagena; Hay Festival Forum Panama City takes place 28–29 January; followed by Hay Festival Forum Seville in Spain, 14–17 March. Closer to home, Hay Festival Scribblers Tour takes writers direct to schools across Wales in free events in February. 

SPEAKER COMMENTS 

“It’s an honour to be joining the Hay Festival 2025 programme.  I’m very much looking forward to having a lovely chat on stage, putting the world to rights with the good people of Hay.  My aim is to bring some silliness too and lower the tone of the festival considerably!”

– Miranda Hart

“For a Welsh writer there is no more exciting place to be than with audiences at Hay Festival. The chance to meet readers and make new friends in such a wonderful town is brilliant. For writers and readers alike, it’s like coming home.”

– Gwyneth Lewis

“I am very happy to come back to the wonderful Hay Festival and discuss my book with its unique and amazing audience.”

– Daniel Kehlman

“I am thrilled to be part of this year’s Hay Festival, where I got my start in the writing world and where 38 Londres Street – on impunity, Pinochet and Patagonia – might be uniquely resonant.” 

– Prof. Philippe Sands KC

“I am delighted to be part of the Hay Festival 2025 programme! Festivals are on the front line of tackling disinformation and I’m thrilled to be joining the fight! See you there!”

– Kaitlyn Regehr

“I am very happy to be participating in the Hay Festival and looking forward to my conversation with Elif Shafak.”

– Abdulrazak Gurnah 

“I'm thrilled to be part of the Hay Festival 2025 programme. Sharing ideas and conversation face-to-face has never been more important, and I'm looking forward to joining readers this May, in a town I've long loved, to explore what makes life most meaningful.”

– Oliver Burkeman

“I can’t wait to be back at the Hay Festival in 2025, it’s such a good scene. I’m looking forward to talking about my new book and taking lots of audience questions, as well as enjoying some of the other wonderful events and talks that will be going on. See you there!”

– Mike Berners Lee

“I’ll be making my Hay Festival debut next year. Join me and the band for unforgettable hits, hooks and choruses, from 'Suddenly' and 'Caribbean Queen' to 'Love Really Hurts' and 'When The Going Gets Tough...'. See you at the party!”

– Billy Ocean 

“I'm very excited to be returning to the Hay Festival 2025 having performed there for a number of years with Giffords Circus, it was always a highlight of the circus tour and where the circus did its first ever performance 25 years ago! I'll be bringing some mischief and mayhem to the stage as I attempt to read my book.”

– Tweedy the Clown

“I’m delighted to say I’ll be having a cheery chat with Susie Dent about Curtain Call to Murder. Looking forward to seeing the general public there too, although I must request that they don’t attempt to touch me or breathe on me.”

– Julian Clary

“I am delighted to be returning to the Hay Festival in 2025 to speak about my latest book, The Siege, the extraordinary story of the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege.” 

– Ben Macintyre 

“I’m thrilled to be coming back to Hay for the 2025 festival. With its unique atmosphere and committed audiences, it is not just a lovely place to speak, but a lovely place to listen too.” 

– Jojo Moyes 

“Yo, Hay crew! Guess who's coming back to read and RAP!  Yep, yours truly, and this time I've got my own book! Wowza! So get ready to read, rhyme and shine on stage with me for this epic event. 2025, I'm bringin' the vibez!”

– MC Grammar