John Irving, Peter Florence
John Irving talks to Peter Florence
David Crystal
The vaudevillian linguistics Prof David Crystal celebrates the most inventive and gifted wordsmith of all time.
Caspar Walsh, Peter Florence
Caspar Walsh is a former inmate, and now writer-in-residence at HM Parc Prison, Bridgend. He discusses his autobiography Criminal with Peter Florence. This session complements the Hay Comes to Parc arm of the Festival being held this week at the prison.
Diana Athill, John Walsh
The great nonagenarian publisher and memoirist Diana Athill talks to John Walsh about how the pleasure of sex ebbs, how the joy of gardening grows, how much there is to remember, to forget, to regret, to forgive—and how one faces the inevitable fact of death.
Catherine Tate, Fiona Lindsey
The actress Catherine Tate talks to Fiona Lindsey.
Christopher Hitchens, Ian McEwan
Christopher Hitchens presents his case against Religion to a London audience at The Hospital in Covent Garden. He talks to Ian McEwan.
David Rose, Clive Stafford Smith
Stafford Smith (Bad Men: Guantanamo Bay and the Secret Prisons) and Rose (Violation: Justice, Race and Serial Murder in the Deep South; Guantanamo: America's War on Human Rights) explore America's negation of constitutional principle and the rule of law.
Martin Amis
The most gifted and spectacular contemporary novelist, author of Money, London Fields and House of Meetings talks to Peter Guttridge.
John Haynes
The Costa Poetry Award-winner reads from his book-length poem in iambic pentameter, set in Patience’s Parlour, a small, mud-walled bar in northern Nigeria in 1993, and he talks to Owen Sheers.
Miranda July, Marina Lewycka, Ariane Koek
The screenwriter, July, launches her debut collection of stories Nobody Belongs Here More Than You. Lewycka discusses her comic jewel Two Caravans set amongst an international brigade of Kent strawberry pickers.
They talk to the Arvon Foundation Director.
Neil Pearson, Rick Gekoski
The actor and author of Obelisk shares his passion for book collecting with the legendary first edition and manuscript dealer, Gekoski, author of Tolkien’s Gown and Other Stories of Famous Authors and Rare Books.
Mavis Nicholson, Rachel Trezise, Rebecca Ray
Nicholson and Trezise (winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize) have contributed to Parthian’s Bit on the Side anthology. Ray’s novels are A Certain Age and Newfoundland.
They talk to New Welsh Review editor Francesca Rhydderch.
Thomas Steinbeck
The author talks about his Nobel Prize-winning father and his own new short story collection Down to a Sunless Sea.
John Mullan, Peter Florence and guests
In April a panel of experts selected 50 era-defining books that mapped each decade of the C20th. We announce the Guardian readers’ top ten books of the century, and discuss what's resonating in the Noughties.
Joan Bakewell, Kerry Fowler
Two judges are joined by winners of the inaugural awards that celebrate intelligent, entertaining and provocative fiction.
William Hague
The charismatic Parliamentarian celebrates the great abolitionist.
John Mullan
The Prof builds on his hugely popular Guardian book-club column analysing contemporary fiction, to produce an accessible and hugely entertaining guide to creative reading.
Doris Lessing, Peter Florence
The writer’s latest novel The Cleft imagines a mythical society free from men.
Graham Swift, John Walsh
The Booker-winner (Last Orders) discusses his new novel Tomorrow
Helon Habila, Ngugi Thiong'o
Habila’s Measuring Time is the story of twin brothers from a Nigerian village dealing with famine, religious zealotry and appalling violence. The great Kenyan exile Ngugi discusses his comic masterpiece Wizard of the Crow.
Chaired by Paul Blezard.
David Crystal
The vaudevillian Linguistics Prof browses Britain celebrating the treasures of our language and culture.
Deborah Moggach, Louise Chunn
The screenwriter (Pride and Prejudice) and novelist (Tulip Fever, These Foolish Things) launches In The Dark, a tantalising, pageturning story of war, meat and desire on the home front, set in South London’s dark and dirty wartime streets during WWI.
Chunn is the editor of Good Housekeeping.
Barbara Erskine, Sandra Howard
Lady of Hay creator Erskine discusses her new novel Daughters of Fire. Howard talks about her political romance Glass Houses.
Chaired by Phil Rickman.
Terry Eagleton
The Prof ranges across literature and philosophy, and comes up with some answers of his own.
Hermione Lee
A scintillating biography of the author of The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth: a fiercely modern woman of passionate conviction and conflicting ambitions and desires.
Vivien Norris, Matt Whyman, Claire Armistead
Vivien Norris, Matt Whyman and Claire Armitstead The child psychologist running the pioneering Gwent Health Trust scheme to use self-help books in mental health cases is joined by children’s novelist and agony uncle Matt Whyman and Guardian Literary Editor Claire Armitstead to discuss how books can help parents and children with the struggles they face.
Rose Tremain, Claire Armistead
The novelist (The Colour, Restoration) discusses her glittering story collection The Darkness of Wallis Simpson.
Sophie McKenzie, Michael Morpurgo, Michelle Paver, Rick Riordan
Four superstar writers for teenagers answer your questions about stories, the business of writing, and their own reading.
Chaired by Wendy Cooling. 9 yrs +
Adrian Tinniswood
To know the Verney family is to know the C17th. And as Tinniswood demonstrates, we know the Verneys very well indeed.
Michael Morpurgo
Children's Laureate 2003-5, writer of modern classics Private Peaceful and Kensuke's Kingdom, creator of Radio 4's epic series The Invention of Children: the great storyteller entertainers. 8 yrs +
Geraldine McCaughrean, Philip Reeve
Two award-winning and eminent writers in conversation with Daniel Hahn. Philip’s novel Here Lies Arthur gives a new truth to the famous legend; Geraldine has written Peter Pan in Scarlet, the sequel to JM Barrie’s classic. 10 yrs +
Al Kennedy, Segun Afolabi
Kennedy’s new novel Day is a masterpiece. It’s ‘about’ war and peace, and the human condition. It enriches readers’ lives. Afolabi’s debut novel Goodbye Lucille brilliantly explores the world of European immigrants and outcasts.
Chaired by Paul Blezard.
Tony Benn
The great diarist (Free at Last), orator and festival favourite will soon release his second post-parliamentary volume More Time for Politics.
Cressida Cowell
A lively journey through the slapstick adventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, helmed by his creator Cressida Cowell. 7–9 yrs
John Hare
A 100-day, 1500-mile journey with camels from Lake Chad to Tripoli accompanied by a Chinese scientist, a 77-year-old Kenyan rancher, warring tribesmen and Gaddafi’s secret police
Illustrated.
David Hart, Gavin Selerie, Glenn Storhaug
A multi-media session with film, poetry readings and conversation, celebrating the design and art of the exquisitely produced Five Seasons Press publications.
Iain Banks, Claire Armitstead
Dark family secrets, a long-lost love affair, and a multi-million pound gaming business lie at the heart of Banks’ fabulous new novel The Steep Approach to Garbadale.
Matthew Engel
A delightfully eclectic selection of astute insight and observation from the 35 commonplace books the journalist has kept over 27 years. Proceeds from the event and the book will go towards the Laurie Engel Fund that is raising money with the Teenage Cancer Trust to support the appropriate care of teenage cancer patients.
Sebastian Faulks
The novelist’s new book Engleby engages a profoundly unstable protagonist with the last 35 years of English society. It’s elegant and darkly funny.
Mark Tully
A fascinating, deeply personal account of the impact the Subcontinent has had on the life and beliefs of the broadcaster.
Naomi Bagel, Diana Beloved, Guinevere Clark, Tyler Guthrie, Megan Haggerty, Liz Hambley, Davena Hooson, Mary Houseman, James Morgan, David Oakwood, Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Jamie White
Naomi Bagel, Diana Beloved, Guinevere Clark, Tyler Guthrie, Megan Haggerty, Liz Hambley, Davena Hooson, Mary Houseman, James Morgan, David Oakwood, Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Jamie White
Gillian Clarke
We celebrate the 70th birthday of the great poet and teacher, whose collections include Selected Poems, The King of Britain’s Daughter and Making the Beds for the Dead.
Blake Morrison, Claire Armitstead
The poet and memoirist discusses his big state-of-the-nation first novel South of the River with the Literary Editor of The Guardian.
Malorie Blackman, Jonathan Douglas
The author of the Noughts and Crosses series and Dangerous Realities, introduces her Unheard Voices: An Anthology of Stories and Poems to Commemorate the Bicentenary Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. 8 yrs +
Tom Watt, Paul Hayward, Alison Kervin, Peter Burden
The inside track on the great act of literary ventriloquism with celebrity sportswriters Tom Watt (David Beckham), Paul Hayward (Michael Owen, Bobby Robson), Alison Kervin (Paula Radcliffe, Jason Leonard, etc.). Chaired by Peter Burden (John Francome, Jenny Pitman, Leslie Phillips).
Ian Rankin, Marcel Berlin
We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Rebus series.
Trevor Fishlock
A celebration of the remarkable survival and triumph of the National Library of Wales, as it celebrates its centenary.
Libby Purves
The broadcaster discusses her novel of C20th friendship, music and romance
Brenda Maddox
The amazing tale of the brilliant and sexually voracious Welsh psychoanalyst who rescued Sigmund from Vienna in 1938.
Orhan Pamuk, Maureen Freely
The 2006 Nobel Laureate, talks to his translator about his work My Name is Red, Snow and Istanbul: Memories and the City.
Sioned Davies
We celebrate the new translation into English of the greatest Welsh literary work.
Chaired by Revel Guest.
Edna O'Brien, Francesca Rhydderch
The great Irish novelist discusses her classic debut The Country Girls and her new novel The Light of the Evening with the New Welsh Review Editor.
Clive James
The Australian polymath maps his influences and heroes who’ve formed contemporary civilization, from Satchmo to Kafka.
Liz Calder, Jorge Herralde
The two outstanding international publishers discuss their adventures in the book world. Calder co-founded Bloomsbury and the Brazilian lifest FLIP. Herralde at Anagrama is the most admired independent publisher in the Spanish-speaking world.
They talk to Peter Florence.
Elif Shafak, Maureen Freely
Freely’s thriller Enlightenment spans 25 years of contemporary Turkish society. Shafak previews her forthcoming novel The Bastard of Istanbul and launches her Hay Festival Press story The Happiness of Blond People.
Rachel Holmes, Erica Wagner
Holmes introduces The Hottentot Venus: The Life and Death of Saartjie Baartman (Born 1789 – Buried 2002). Wagner’s debut novel Seizure is a compelling exploration of identity and adulthood.
Chaired by Claire Armitstead
Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers
We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking Hammersmith restaurant, whose creative visionaries, Gray and Rogers, and kitchen alumni (Oliver, Fearnley-Whittingstall, Clark & Clark, etc). have changed the way we eat in Britain.
Chaired by John Mitchinson.
Robert Wyatt, Simon Reynolds
Wyatt’s distinctive and emotive voice is instantly recognisable as an instrument of compassion, integrity and, occasionally, righteous indignation. His last studio album Cuckooland was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Charles Leadbeater
The rise of YouTube, Linux, MySpace and Wikipedia defines a new society in which participation will be the key organising idea. Join us for a last chance to shape Leadbeater’s groundbreaking investigation before publication. Chaired by Ariane Koek, Director of the Arvon Foundation.
Wole Soyinka, Alastair Niven
The Nigerian Nobel Laureate, ferocious and heroic champion of freedom of speech, discusses his plays, novels and poetry with the Director of Cumberland Lodge.
Dave Eggers, Valentino Achak Deng
The true story of the courage and endurance of a boy wrenched by conflict from his Sudanese family home and joining thousands of other orphans on the exodus to Ethiopia.
Chaired by David Freeman.
Stephen Marshall, Nick Cohen
Two searing and brilliantly entertaining examinations of Liberalism here and in America, from eco-shopping to Iraq, with Marshall’s Wolves in Sheeps Clothing and Cohen’s What’s Left? How Liberals Lost Their Way.
Chaired by Palash Dave.
Ruth Rendell, Stephanie Merritt
The great psychological thriller and crime writer discusses her work.
Kathy Lette, John Mortimer
Lette (married to Geoffrey Robertson) wrote How To Murder Your Husband. Mortimer created Rumpole.
Chaired by meettheauthor.com’s David Freeman
Steve Jones
Scientists are professional pessimists, always dubious about what they find. Believers, in contrast, are certain: full of joy that their own Big Book contains the truth. The geneticist talks about science and faith as conflicting explanations of what we are; and how biology, in the end, is blind.
Peter Stothard, Peter Godwin, Tinashe Mushakavanhu
The TLS editor is joined by Godwin, author of Mukiwa, and the brilliant Zimbabwean novelist Mushakavanhu to discuss Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Chaired by Paul Blezard.
AC Grayling
‘Humankind’s great conversation with itself about what is best in life involves reading, thinking, conversing, learning, enjoying, judging, being sceptical, being open-minded – and, in bad times, maintaining trust in all that these endeavours prove to be valuable.’
John Major
The politician celebrates the golden ages of Gentlemen and Players, underarm bowling, the Empire, the gaming and the MCC.
Gordon Brown
The Chancellor (at time of going to press) celebrates his political heroes from Martin Luther King and Aung San Suu Kyi to Bobby Kennedy and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Wole Soyinka, Nik Gowing
The Nigerian Nobel Laureate talks about freedom of expression, the need to articulate truths and the power of literature.
Alexander McCall Smith, Paul Blezard
The creator of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency celebrates the eighth novel in the series, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive.
Sponsored By: Pembertons
AA Gill, John Mitchenson
A conversation with the spectacularly provocative and delightfully acerbic Sunday Times journalist.
Thomas Keneally, Alistair Niven
The Australian Booker winner (Schindler’s Ark) discusses his work and his new novel The Widow and her Hero.
Stephen King & Peter Florence: Part 2
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1973, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 40 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers
He talks to the director of the Hay. Festival Peter Florence.
Download Part 1 of this talk
Stephen King & Peter Florence: Part 1
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1973, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 40 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers.
He talks to the director of the Hay Festival Peter Florence.
Download Part 2 of this talk
Ronan Bennett
The Irish novelist (Havoc in it's Third Year, The Catastrophist), winner of several literary prizes and scriptwriter (The Hamburg Cell, Love Lives), talks about his life, his books and his personal experiences with the IRA, as well as about his latest novel set in St Petersburg in 1914, ZUGZWANG, published in instalments in The Observer newspaper and which can be read on the web page. The academic and poet Adriana Bebiano is assistant Professor of English and Irish Literature at the University of Coimbra.
Vikram Seth
Please note: The introduction to this lecture is in Spanish.
Colombian writer and journalist Laura Restrepo speaks to Indian writer and poet Vikram Seth about his works An Equal Music, A Suitable Boy and Two Lives.
Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing, author of The Golden Notebook, one of the world's greatest living writers, discusses her literary career with Marianne Ponsford, Director of the cultural magazine Arcadia. The author, who has been awarded numerous international literary prizes (Somerset Maugham Award from the Society of Authors, Prix Médicis, Austrian State Prize for European Literature, German Federal Republic Shakespeare Prize, Mondello Prize, Grinzane Cavour Prize, etc.), is a prolific writer and her most recent novels are The Sweetest Dream and the collection of stories The Grandmothers. She received the Príncipe de Asturias Prize in 2001.
Ian McEwan
Please note: The introduction to this lecture is in Spanish. However, the rest of the conversation is conducted in English.
Mexican writer and journalist Juan Villoro talks to one of the most important contemporary British writers, Booker-winner Ian McEwan, author of works such as Amsterdam, Enduring Love, Atonement and Saturday.
Martin Amis
Please note: The introduction to this lecture is in Spanish.
British writer Martin Amis discusses his life and work with the writer Carmen Posadas (Pequeñas infamias, Juego de niños). The author, amongst other works, of Experience, Money and London Fields, Martin Amis is considered one of the most original contemporary novelists.