Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2023

Join television presenter Louise Minchin and bike racer Lee Craigie for a celebration of women who have done extraordinary things.

Craigie is one of Scotland’s great bike racers, and tells the story of her life in her book Other Ways to Win. Growing up in Glasgow, she skipped French lessons after discovering the freedom of cycling, heading into the Campsie Fells to see just how far she could ride. Craigie recounts epic adventures along the Tour Divide, Silk Road and the Highland Trail 550, as well as key moments in her career, including representing Great Britain at the World Championships. Through it all, she examines themes of friendship, loss, identity and the power of the outdoors, reminding us that there is more than one way to win at cycling – and life.

Journalist Minchin, who served as chair of judges for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023 and is a World Championship Triathlete, celebrates the remarkable women who inspire her in her book Fearless. Embarking on adventures across the world, including free diving under the ice in the dark in Finland with the first female to swim a mile in the Antarctic Circle and swimming from Alcatraz with two teenage sisters who have braved the shark infested waters over 70 times, Minchin shows that extraordinary women, although little recognised and celebrated by our media and in our conversations, are everywhere.

Minchin and Craigie talk to author, former civil servant and journalist Ava Glass.