South to North conversations
With the South to North series, the Hay Festival offers a forum for some of the most innovative voices of the global South, in order to share different ways of seeing the world, as well as non-Western solutions to the problems that beset us. This series is supported by Open Society Foundations
Upcoming events
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye (21 — 31 of May)
- Prophecy — Prediction, Power and Fight for the Future. Carissa Véliz talks to Jamie Bartlett. Saturday 23 May 2026, 11.30am – Meadow Stage
- Language, Memory and Community in the Face of Disaster. Liliana Colanzi and Eduardo Halfon talk to Ángel Gurría-Quintana. Saturday 23 May 2026, 4pm – St Mary’s Church
- The Novel in the Age of Globalisation — A New Approach to Fiction. Hisham Matar and Kamila Shamsie talk to Pankaj Mishra. Saturday 23 May 2026, 7pm – Meadow Stage
- Uprising. Tahmima Anam talks to Kamila Shamsie. Sunday 24 May 2026, 10am – Spring Stage
- Empire of AI: How AI is Reshaping our World. Karen Hao in conversation with Carissa Véliz. Sunday 24 May 2026, 5.30pm – Discovery Stage
- A New Me: Her Latest Novel. Helen Oyeyemi talks to Kirsty Lang. Monday 25 May 2026, 2.30pm – Spring Stage
- Kinship, Memory and Survival. Brenda Navarro and Mónica Ojeda talk to Chris Power. Wednesday 27 May 2026, 5.30pm – Exchange Marquee
- Documentary Screening Followed by Q&A. How to Build a Library: Maia Lekow and Angela Wachuka talk to Kitty Corrigan. Thursday 28 May 2026, 1pm – 3pm – St Mary’s Church
- Technology, Women and Africa. Linda Kamau and Aleks Krotoski talk to Madhumita Murgia. Thursday 28 May 2026, 5.30pm – Exchange Marquee
- The Future is Peace — Friends Across Borders. Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon talk to Lyse Doucet. Saturday 30 May 2026, 10am – Discovery Stage
- Voices That Will Not Be Silenced. Rabih Alameddine and Elif Shafak talk to Daniel Hahn. Sunday 31 May 2026, 10am – Discovery Stage
- Gabriel Boric in conversation with Jon Lee Anderson. Sunday 31 May 2026, 4pm – Meadow Stage
Past events
Watch or listen to the events by clicking on the hyperlink.
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Forum Seville (16-17 February, 2026)
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias (29 January — 1 February, 2026)
- Cartographies of our world. Nesrine Malik in conversation with Camila Osorio
- Necessary histories. Sani Ladan and Karima Ziali in conversation Diego Aretz
- The world is different after Gaza. Catalina Gómez Ángel and Janne Teller in conversation with José Manuel Acevedo
- Fictions from the remains of Empiress. Pankaj Mishra and Lea Ypi in conversation with Nesrine Malik
- The hidden side of artificial intelligence. Karen Hao, Chao Tayiana y Carissa Véliz en conversación con Luhan Gabel
- Media organisations outside the Anglo-centric world. Fernando Arancón, Denise Maerker, Pankaj Mishra en conversación con Javier Lafuente
- XXI century Inperialism. Daniel Alarcón, Sani Ladan and Nesrine Malik in conversation with Mario Arriagada
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Winter Weekend (26-30 November, 2025)
- Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China. Jung Chang talks to Erica Wagner
- 20 Years of Hay Festival in Latin America – Celebrating its Literature. Carlos Fonseca and Oscar Guardiola-Rivera talk to Cristina Fuentes La Roche
- The Betrayal of Afghanistan. Lyse Doucet and Sune Engel Rasmussen
- Reporting on the Middle East. Jehan Alfarra, Lyse Doucet and Imran Khan talk to Bethan McKernan
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Arequipa (6-9 November, 2025)
- Feminisms. María Galindo, Arwa Mahdawi and Rafia Zakaria in conversation with José Luis Ramos Salinas
- The Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Rodolfo Sánchez-Aizcorbe and Arwa Mahdawi in conversation with Natalia Sobrevilla
- This democracy is not democracy. Nelly Luna and Josefina Townsend with David Marcial Pérez
- In first person. Marie-Pier Lafontaine and Rafia Zakaria in conversation with Nelly Luna
- French ethnology in Peru Pascal Riviale in conversation with Mario Rommel Arce Espinosa
- Catholicism in the 21st century. Elise Ann Ellen, Pablo Quintanilla and Paola Ugaz in conversation with Camila Osorio
- Violences. Carlos Enrique Freyre and Enmanuel Grau in conversation with Paola Donaire
- 'Coreografía para trenzas solas'. Teresa Ruiz Rosas in conversation with Augusto Carrasco
- From the trenches and the periphery. María Galindo in conversation with Camila Osorio
- Inhospitable countries, sartling stories. Alejandra Moffat and Dany Salvatierra in conversation with Jorge Malpartida
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Forum Dallas (14-17 October, 2025)
- The pioneering cartoonist who redefined graphic journalism. Joe Sacco in conversation with Arwa Mahdawi
- From Mumbai to Harvard—rethinking caste through a global lens. Suraj Yengde in conversation with Miriam Fauzia
- Seven years embedded with “coyotes”: De León’s National Book Award winner. Jason de León in conversation with John Gibler
- Pulitzer Prize winner and author of 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'. Junot Díaz in conversation with Paola Nagovitch
- Talk & Performance. Bocafloja in conversation with Paula Cuellar
- A Night Only Come Back. AfroPerreo
- Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and Michel Nieva with Carmen Álvarez
- A groundbreaking feminist anthology from Mexico, now in English. Tsunami: Marina Azahua, Gabriela Jauregui and Sara Uribe
- Presented by Manuel “Pantro Puto” Sánchez Viamonte from El Mato a Un Policia Motorizado. Festiclip: Music Video Stories from Argentina
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Segovia (11-14 September, 2025)
- Mariana Enriquez in conversation with Miquel Molina
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Querétaro (4-7 September, 2025)
- Pankaj Mishra in conversation with Mario Arriagada
- Gaza and the silenced conflicts. Reed Brody, Selma Dabbagh and Pankaj Mishra in conversation with Jaled Abdelrahim Aranda
- Bibiana Collado and Fatima Ouassak in conversation with Yael Weiss
- Screening of the documentary 20 años del Hay Festival en Colombia. Presented by Cristina Fuentes La Roche
- South Asia Speaks. Sonia Faleiro and V. V. Ganeshananthan in conversation with Mario Arriagada
- Future hacking: science fiction and neoliberalism. Michel Nieva in conversation with Eduardo Rabasa
- Disappeared in Mexico. Yadira González, Alma Delia Murillo and Mirna Nereida in conversation with Héctor Guerrero
South to North Conversations at Nairobi Lit Fest (27 June - 29 June, 2025)
- Masterclass: On the Mic: Crafting Your Voice in Podcasting. Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata
- Power of humour. Aditi Mittal and Ty Ngachira in conversation
- Indigenous wisdom and climate change. Bia'ni Madsa' Juárez López, Joan Otieno and Waringa Wahome in conversation with Edith Kimani
- Book Talk: Africa Is Not a Country. Dipo Faloyin in conversation with Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata
- Defying the long shadow of empire. Panashe Chigumadzi and Joe Sacco with Garnette Oluoch-Olunya
- Book Talk: 'Tidal Waters'. Velia Vidal in conversation with Wendy Njoroge
- Hearth as source. Leïla Slimani in conversation with Mukami Kowino
- Retrospective on a career. In Koli Jean Bofane in conversation with Nteranya A. Sanginga
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye (22 May - 1 June, 2025)
- Fictons: DeathTakes Me. Cristina Rivera Garza talks to Gaby Wood
- One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Omar El Akkad talks to David Olusoga
- How to save the Amazon. Eliane Brum, Beto Marubo, Alessandra Sampaio and Jonathan Watts talk to Jon Lee Anderson
- Reclaiming History. Atinuke and Kavita Puri talk to Sonia Faleiro
- Is the mainstream media ready for a post-American world? Pankaj Mishra and Jonathan Shainin in conversation with Fara Dabhoiwala
- Fictions: Chaos and Control. Guadalupe Nettel and Saba Sams talk to Georgina Godwin
- Rainforests: The Centre of Earth. Eliane Brum and Guy Shrubsole talk to Ayisha Osori
- The Power of Narratives. Ngartia Bryan and Djamila Ribeiro in conversation with Ayisha Osori
- International Aid, What Next? Bob Geldof, Martin Griffiths, Ayisha Osori in conversation with Lyse Doucet
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Forum Sevilla (12 - 15 February, 2025)
- Rashid Diab in conversation with Sema D’Acosta
- Boris Izaguirre in conversation with Ana Gavín
- Xu Tiantian in conversation with Martha Thorne
South to North Conversations at Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias (28 January - 2 February, 2025)
- Jon Lee Anderson in conversation with Leonard Benardo.
- Managing our territory. Olimpia Palmar, Gustavo Ulcué Campo and Ricardo Villafañe in conversation with Weildler Guerra
- Viet Thanh Nguyen in conversation with Óscar Guardiola-Rivera.
- Colson Whitehead in conversation with Mayra Santos-Febres.
- Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Javier Zamora in conversation with Leonard Benardo
- Book Club. Camila Sosa Villada in conversation with Margarita Valencia.
- Creation. María Negroni and Cristina Rivera Garza in conversation with Daniela Pabón
- 20 questions: AI. Marcus du Sautoy, Rodrigo Quian Quiroga and Rafael Yuste in conversation with Sylvie Duchamp
- Camila Sosa Villada in conversation with Melba Escobar
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT HAY FESTIVAL AREQUIPA 2024 (7-10 NOVEMBER, 2024)
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT HAY FESTIVAL QUERÉTARO 2024 (5-8 SEPTEMBER, 2024)
- Thirty years of the Zapatista movement. Guiomar Rovira and Rosaluz Pérez Espinosa in conversation with Kevyn Simón
- Thirty years of the Zapatista movement. Rosaluz Pérez Espinosa and Guiomar Rovira in conversation with Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil
- Nimmi Gowrinathan in conversation wih Andrea Díaz Cardona
- Narratives in plural. Garry Gottfriedson and Josefa Sánchez Contreras in conversation with Mikel Ruiz
- Presidenta. Gabriela Jauregui, Brenda Lozano and Mariana H in conversation with Yuriria Sierra
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT NBO LITFEST 2024 (28-30 JUNE, 2024)
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT HAY FESTIVAL HAY-ON-WYE 2024 (23 MAY - 2 JUNE, 2024)
- An African History of Africa. Zeinab Badawi talks to Areeba Hamid
- How to Stand up to a Dictator: The Fight for our Future. Maria Ressa talks to Misha Glenny
- In the Shadow of the Mountain. Silvia Vasquez-Lavado talks to Kirsty Lang
- The Challenges of Covering the Israel-Palestine Conflict. Hind Hassan, Dalia Hatuqa and Lindsey Hilsum talk to Roula Khalaf
- On Democracy. Aditi Mittal, Elif Shafak and Lola Shoneyin talk to Roula Khalaf
- Writing from Elsewhere. Hisham Matar, Elif Shafak and Adania Shibli talk to Philippe Sands
- Minor Detail. Adania Shibli talks to Hisham Matar
- Colonialism. Sathnam Sanghera talks to David Olusoga
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT HAY FESTIVAL CARTAGENA DE INDIAS 2024 (25-28 JANUARY, 2024)
- South to South conversations: literature and freedom of expression. In Koli Jean Bofane and Adania Shibli in conversation with Jon Lee Anderson.
- South to South conversations: different ways of seeing the world. Tsitsi Dangarembga, In Koli Jean Bofane, Pankaj Mishra and Erna von der Walde in conversation with Juan Esteban Lewin Pinzón.
- South to South conversations. Pankaj Mishra and David Olusoga in conversation with Juan Esteban Lewin Pinzón.
- South to South conversations: cultural management. Cristina Fuentes La Roche, Wanjiru Koinange and Angela Wachuka in conversation with Margarita Valencia.
SOUTH TO SOUTH CONVERSATIONS AT HAY FESTIVAL AREQUIPA 2023 (9-12 NOVEMBER. 2023)
- South to South conversations: Literature. Lina Meruane and Lola Shoneyin in conversation with Jorge Bedregal La Vera.
- South to South conversations: The city. Natalia Beristáin, Carlos Moreno and Djamila Ribeiro in conversation with Emma Graham-Harrison.
- South to South conversations: Ancestral medicine. Pedro Favaron in conversation with Stefano Varese.
