Hay Festival has announced the programme for its 31st edition, taking place 24 May to 3 June in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
View the full programme at hayfestival.org. Booking opens today to Friends of Hay Festival online or via 01497 822 629, public booking opens Thursday 29 March.
Featuring over 600 of the world’s greatest writers, global policymakers, pioneers and innovators in 800 events across 11 days, the festival showcases the latest ideas in the arts, sciences and current affairs, alongside a rich schedule of music, comedy, and entertainment for all ages. A galaxy of literary stars gathers to launch new work, while the biggest ever HAYDAYS and #HAYYA programmes give young readers the opportunity to meet their heroes and get creative.
Peter Florence, director of Hay Festival, said: “We are facing alarming insecurities and crises. We need to approach the complexity of those challenges with all the hope and courage we can muster. We need to hear the wisest voices, not the loudest. And we need the gift that novelists and poets give – the ability to imagine the world from someone else’s point of view. There has never been a time when we were in such urgent need of empathy. It’s a time for serious thought and serious work, and so too, it’s a time to laugh and a time to dance and a time to feast. Let’s do it together.”
The Festival site is free to enter, with ticketed events in 10 tented venues, plus a range of sites to explore, including the Festival Bookshop; the HAYDAYS courtyard; the Hay Festival Wild Garden; creative workshops in the Make and Take Tent, the Scribblers Hut, The Cube and the Mess Tent; and market stalls, cafés and restaurants.
In an age increasingly characterized by abbreviated content and algorithmic recommendation, Hay Festival promotes serendipitous discovery through the long-form, immersive experience, offering a platform for informed conversation and the chance for inspiration to take hold.
The Festival runs a wide programme of education work supporting coming generations of writers and culturally hungry audiences of all ages – Hay Festival Wales opens with two free Schools Days of programming, the Beacons Project gives students aged 16–18 the chance to learn from internationally acclaimed writers, students in tertiary education can get free tickets, and Hay Compass is a special space on site to learn and discover, with free access to inspiring speakers.
Appearances from Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Asne Seierstad, Michael Morpurgo, Judith Kerr, David Walliams, Jacqueline Wilson, Lauren Child, Jilly Cooper, André Aciman, Rose Tremain, Marian Keyes, Chelsea Clinton, Donna Brazile, Maurice Gourdault Montagne, Michael Wolff, Gordon Brown, Michael Gove, David Miliband, Ehud Barak, Shashi Tharoor, Akala, Afua Hirsch, James O’Brien, Laura Bates, David Olusoga, Rose McGowan, Ruby Wax, Edmund de Waal, Germaine Greer,
Kate Brandt, Monty Don, Bear Grylls and Goldie
Find out more at hayfestival.org