Hay Festival

04/09/2026

Querétaro, it’s time!

Step inside a world of different this weekend as writers and readers gather in this UNESCO World Heritage Site to imagine the world anew.

Follow Hay Festival ESP for live updates.

03/09/2026

A lesson in humility.

Actor, activist and writer Emma Thompson on re-reading her Peanuts books, with author Elizabeth Day in our conversation of the week on Hay Festival Anytime now.

01/09/2026

𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦…

This month’s Book Club pick is I Want to Talk to You by Diana Evans, winner of the Jhalak Prose Prize 2026.

As a young journalist, Diana Evans was catapulted overnight into the role of culture editor, going on to interview a roster of stars including Lauryn Hill, Viola Davis, Alice Walker and Edward Enninful. In these portraits of contemporary icons, the author remains the observer. Alongside them, in pieces collected here for the first time, we also see her turning the lens on herself.

Crafted over 25 years, I Want to Talk to You invites you into a conversation about literature, art and music, identity, grief and everything in between – an endlessly rewarding read.

Join our Book Club conversation free online, Thursday 17 September, 7pm BST – register now! https://www.hayfestival.com/p-25911-hay-festival-book-club-i-want-to-talk-to-you.aspx

01/09/2026

Write.

Actor, activist and writer Emma Thompson shares lessons from her life in art, talking to author Elizabeth Day in our conversation of the week on Hay Festival Anytime now.

29/08/2026

Join us live on Wednesday 9 September for a very special event at The Conduit London to launch the Lviv BookForum 2026 digital programme.

Hear from a trio of acclaimed writers – Yaryna Chornohuz, Inua Ellams and Olesya Khromeychuk – with journalist Misha Glenny in an evening of fiction, poetry, and reflections on this year’s theme: the responsibility of literature.

Book now! https://www.hayfestival.com/p-25884-words-at-war-the-responsibility-of-literature.aspx

27/08/2026

What can a sheep’s liver tell us about Andy Burnham’s premiership?

Assyriologist Selena Wisnom showcases an ancient Mesopotamian divination technique in our conversation of the week on Hay Festival Anytime.

26/08/2026

A new chapter begins.

Ted Hodgkinson has been appointed Creative Director of Hay Festival Global, joining the team this November.

Leading curator, broadcaster and editor Ted Hodgkinson is to join the Hay Festival Global team in the new role of Creative Director this autumn. 

25/08/2026

How to read cuneiform, the earliest known writing system.

Assyriologist Selena Wisnom offers an immersive tour of the extraordinary library of the Mesopotamian king Ashurbanipal, in our conversation of the week on Hay Festival Anytime.

22/08/2026

On The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

Artist, illustrator and author Charlie Mackesy talks to journalist Francine Stock in our conversation of the week on Hay Festival Anytime.

21/08/2026

On homecomings.

Novelist Colm Tóibín talks to journalist Gary Raymond in our August Book Club conversation for Long Island.