Hay Festival has today announced The Pleasure List, a crowd-sourced selection of adult reading recommendations to celebrate the many joys to be found in fiction.
Run in partnership with the National Year of Reading 2026, The Pleasure List campaign encourages reading for pleasure in adults, sharing the most un-put-downable books.
A public call-out for suggestions ran over six months with thousands of readers having their say to inform the final selection. The list is released on the opening day of Hay Festival 2026, the UK’s largest, free-to-enter celebration of books.
Made up of 39 titles – to mark the Festival’s 39th year – the selection offers a range of inspiration for readers of all ages, from literary classics to #BookTok bestsellers, capturing a broad mix of genres with fantasy, crime and romance all making a strong showing.
Hay Festival president Stephen Fry said:
“You might have heard that this year is our National Year of Reading. Great news for book lovers, but the stats show we’re a dying breed. Fewer and fewer people in Britain are reading for pleasure and we want to change that. So with the help of passionate readers all over the country, Hay Festival has pulled together a reading list that can entice all of us back to books – The Pleasure List – built from recommendations, crafted to offer something for everyone. Settle in, you’re in for a treat.”
The Pleasure List in full
A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J Maas
A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara
A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman
A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini
David Copperfield Charles Dickens
Dune Frank Herbert
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Gail Honeyman
Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros
Hamnet Maggie O’Farrell
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J.K. Rowling
Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie
Night Watch Terry Prachett
Northern Lights Philip Pullman
One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Marquez
Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Rebecca Daphne du Maurier
Refugee Boy Benjamin Zephaniah
Riders Jilly Cooper
Right Ho, Jeeves P.G. Wodehouse
Small Things Like These Claire Keegan
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle
The Blue Book of Nebo Manon Steffan Ros
The Book Thief Marcus Zusak
The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
The Island of Missing Trees Elif Shafak
The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien
The Midnight Library Matt Haig
The Secret History Donna Tartt
The Shining Stephen King
The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
The Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman
Things We Lost in the Fire Mariana Enríquez
Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel
1984 George Orwell
Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said:
“Over the past six months we have been inspired as the public nominations for our Pleasure List campaign have flooded in. It has been a reminder of the joyful place reading holds in many of our lives – the power of great stories to delight and entertain us – a joy we’re keen to spread as far as possible in the National Year of Reading. With this reading list we hope to offer something for everyone to get stuck into – whatever your passions and interests, there are writers eager to take you on a journey. Enjoy!”
Director of the National Year of Reading David Hayman said:
“The National Year of Reading is all about making reading relevant, accessible and most importantly, full of joy – and Hay Festival’s Pleasure List fits this campaign perfectly. We hope this brilliant list inspires conversation, debate, and – most importantly – millions more people to Go All in and find the books and stories that bring them joy during the National Year of Reading.”
The campaign complements other National Year of Reading projects at Hay Festival 2026, including expanded learning and engagement projects and new programming.
Hay Festival runs its 39th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with more than 500 events over 11 days, 21–31 May 2026.
Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction books, while sharing insights around global issues, the programme sees more than 700 artists, policymakers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world.
A series of new initiatives and fresh programming strands feature across the programme:
• My Life in Books events see celebrities open their personal libraries
• Heard at Hay Festival panels spark thought-provoking debates
• America 250 conversations reflect on the changing face of a nation
• The Pleasure List campaign celebrates the joys of reading
• New genre days spotlight bestselling fiction
• Barrel of Laughs sessions spotlight funny people with new books
• Book to Screen events showcase adaptations in the MUBI Cinema
• Debut Discoveries series spotlights new writing talent
• The Platform elevates new creatives
• Matters of Taste demos take food from page to stage
• Creative Industry Insights sessions engage budding young creatives
• South to North Conversations explore international perspectives
Alongside the best new fiction and non-fiction, our changing world is drawn into focus with commentary from leading politicians, economists, historians and scientists, while journalists and commentators reflect on the UK’s recent elections and what lies ahead.
Nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment with a renewed focus on innovative, immersive event experiences, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances will delight audiences between sessions.
Free to enter, the Festival’s Dairy Meadows site in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park will also offer a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy between events, including the Bookshop, BBC Marquee, Wild Garden, Make & Take Hub, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés, and the Family Garden.