News and Live Updates from Hay Festival 2019

Hay Festival Wales has today unveiled the Programme for Schools for this spring’s edition, 21-31 May, merging award-winning writers with inspiring new takes on science and history reimagined...

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The Kingdom Choir moved Heaven and Earth as they closed Hay Festival 2019.

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“I love the feeling of being lost in a story,” said Ken Follett at Hay. 

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Thomas Grant and Geoffrey Robertson, two of the UK's leading legal thinkers, cross-examined the British justice system today at Hay.  Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Sunday 2 June.  Read more

“It’s an absurd book to take on” -  that was Julia Blackburn’s verdict on Time Song  which bridges the gap between absence and presence.

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Technology’s importance to the education sector was the subject up for debate by a panel of experts at Hay Festival today. Read more

The Gruffalo illustrator, Axel Scheffler has brought together 45 artists from across Europe to share their powerful illustrations of the European Union’s shared past and our unsure future.  Read more

The award-winning campaigner and writer, Caroline Criado-Perez, shows us how, in a world largely built for and by men, we are systematically ignoring half the population.  Read more

Booker prize winner Arundhati Roy told Hay about her book, My Seditious Heart.  Read more

Joseph O'Connor's follows three extraordinary people whose lives intertwine at London's Lyceum Theatre in his new novel Shadowplay. Read more

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo delighted children with a reading of his latest work Muck and Magic at Hay today. Read more

"Clothes are about who we are and how we see ourselves". Shahidha Bari and Anna Murphy spoke about the power and meaning of clothes at Hay today.

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The biographer and journalist Lindsey Hilsum brought the former American journalist to life at Hay today.  Read more

The Fritter Shack won the top award for sustainability among all the food outlets at Hay Festival. Read more

“They fire 1,650 bullets that day. It takes ten minutes. Ten minutes of sustained firing, and then they leave”. Anita Anand, author and radio presenter, gave a compelling insight into her book The Patient Assassin.

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A.C. Grayling returned to Hay Festival to launch his magnum opus The History of Philosophy  Read more

Sindhu Vee gained new fans as she entertained the Hay audience tonight. Read more

Carr warned his audience that his show would be full of "funny, terrible things". He didn't disappoint. Read more

The creator of the hit Netflix series Sex Education spoke of the programme’s popularity and influence at Hay Festival.  Read more

It was Emily Maitlis' turn to be in the hot seat tonight when the Newsnight presenter and “queen of the withering side eye”  come to the Hay Festival. Read more

Acclaimed violinist Rachel Podger borrowed Bach's Cello music at the Hay Festival tonight.

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Death On The Third Floor is the harrowing story of Eric Ngalle Charles' journey from Cameroon to Europe.  Read more

Matt Haig's Notes on a Nervous Planet investigates how to be happy in a world riddled with social pressures. Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Saturday 1 June.  Read more

"I have no identity and that's why I am a writer," said Leila Slimani. Read more

Ian McEwan shared his vision of what a world of artificial intelligence will look like.  Read more

“The death rate remains at 100%” said Dr Kathryn Mannix who is on a mission to reclaim public understanding of dying through her book With the End in Mind: Dying, Death and Wisdom in an Age of Denial.

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Katherine Rundell spoke glowingly of the escapism one can find in books as she entertained a crowd of children at Hay Festival.  Read more

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explains why he believes Artificial Intelligence can boost human creativity.  Read more

Jacqueline Wilson spoke about her 110th book this afternoon.

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Reading from his latest book Lanny, alongside the Herefordshire band, Alula Down, Max Porter produced an enchanting performance at Hay Festival.  Read more

The Pulitzer Prize winner diagnosed the world’s current political polemics at Hay today.

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Andrea Wulf presented her take on "the father of environmentalism" whose name deserves to be better known today. Read more

It’s been twelve years since Marcus Zusak was last at Hay to talk about Book Thief. He returned this year to re-read the contemporary classic.

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The wordsmith, hip hop artist and poet Karl Nova performed original rap poetry from his award-winning book Rhythm and Poetry.

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The Eccles Centre for American Studies and Hay Festival announced a new literary award today. Read more

The difficulties that black women face to get their work published was discussed at Hay today. Read more

Simon Sebag Montefiore took an audience at Hay through the correspondence that changed the world.  Read more

No-one does noir better than James Ellroy.  His hardboiled, telegraphic style is immediately recognisable.

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The comedian unpicked the current political stalemate with his sarcasm and schtick. Read more

Monty Don and Derry Moore talked about their extraordinary experience of visiting Japanese Gardens. Read more

Benjamin Zephaniah said now more than ever was the time for social commentary in music in a rootsy set at Hay tonight. Read more

“We can all see the same stars, I’m trying to join the dots in an interesting way”.  Bragg received a standing ovation after his talk introducing his book Three Dimensions of Freedom.  Read more

The plant-based pioneers behind BISH BASH BOSH! gave their audience an exclusive taster of their delicious brand-new recipes at Hay today.

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Moving and uplifting – tonight's community choir performance. Read more

A group of young emerging poets performed a blend of funny and striking original poems at Hay tonight.   Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Friday 31 May.  Read more

The Oxford scholar on connecting the dots of our histories to make sense of our present.

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Noel Fitzpatrick, aka, the Supervet, talked about the purpose of his life, gave advice to his 11 year old self, and even got a packed Hay audience to sing Happy Birthday to his 90 year old “mam”.  Read more

Warrior, diplomat, hero, villain, Saladin has cast a spell over the Near East for centuries. Read more

By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 65 and over will outnumber children aged five and under. Camilla Cavendish joined Joan Bakewell at Hay Festival to contest taboos around ageing.  Read more

“When English becomes a global language, people adapt it to suit their cultural needs”.

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The author and historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto charmed the audience at Hay with a light-hearted talk on how we understand history.  Read more

In The Wellcome Book Prize Lecture 2019 Elif Shafak explored how to stay sane in the age of populism, political uncertainty and pessimism. Read more

Technology is all pervasive, so how do we properly concentrate in a digital age? That was the question posed by Tyler Shores to an audience at Hay today.

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William Shakespeare, one of the greatest literary icons in human history, was heavily reliant on inspiration from classical literature, said an expert at Hay.  Read more

In 2016, Britain chose to detach itself from the EU. This inspired Nicholas Jubber to adventure into Europe’s past.

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Legendary salsa, pop and flamenco outfit featuring André Reyes introduced their unique blend of music to a sell-out crowd. Read more

Prue Leith traced her journey from a kitchen in Paris to The Great British Bake Off.

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Art is of utmost cultural importance, and a panel of experts examined how it is preserved and protected during wartime at Hay Festival.  Read more

The Academic Archers were at Hay today for a session on 'Ambridgeology'.

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Top picks from Hay Festival Bookshop, Thursday 30 May Read more

The MP for Tottenham investigated the modern concept of ‘tribes’ and how New Tribalism has pernicious effects on the health of our society. Read more

World population is increasing rapidly. Sarah Harper explained how a lower childbearing rate would benefit the planet.

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Guardian Art critic Jonathan Jones is passionate about William Hogarth, placing him at the top of the pile when it comes to influencing British artists down the ages. Read more

Assassination has always been a morally contentious issue for countries to navigate. Two experts analysed its history and examined the issue in a modern context at Hay Festival.   Read more

The Bookseller YA Book Prize this year has been awarded to Sara Barnard for Goodbye, Perfect.  Read more

We are in danger of having increasing health problems, and not enough staff to treat them.

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In an age of heightened interest in gender politics and the discovery of identity, two experts examined issues of inequality in children’s literature at Hay today  Read more

The Romantic movement, poetry and the importance of place were up for discussion with author Adam Nicolson and illustrator Tom Hammick at Hay today. Read more

A self-taught scientist told a Hay audience that Darwin’s theory of the “survival of the fittest is the most inaccurate, misunderstood, damaging and downright dangerous phrase in the whole history of science”. 

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Bidisha, Nikita Lalwani, Eley Williams and Ra Page previewed forthcoming anthology, Resist, with stories inspired by British protest movements. Read more

Take a deep breath...but only if you're away from a busy road. Read more

“It’s an extremely unfair system that we have here” - that was the damning verdict on the education system generally, according to a panel of experts speaking at Hay today.

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Following several fruitless attempts to eradicate the disease, two experts at Hay analysed whether Malaria will be eradicated by 2040

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar  delighted children in a quest for food at the festival. Read more

Meltem Arikan, Turkish novelist and playwright, and Memet Ali Alabora, actor and director, told a Hay audience about their traumatic censorship in Turkey and their exile to Wales.

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"It started as an acorn of an idea" - Spell Songs brings The Lost Words to life. Read more

We must all become activists now, in the face of the climate crisis. Read more

It was the equivalent of heaven for Welsh rugby fans at Hay this evening, as Carolyn Hitt chaired an all-star panel.  Read more

Launching a new partnership between Hay Festival and Aberystweth University, a law lecture defined the East-West divide. Read more

The act of suicide that inevitably brings pain to the families left behind was sensitively explored at Hay Festival tonight. Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Wednesday 29 May Read more

Three writers Leah Cowan, Nina Dahmani and Kuba Shand-Baptiste from the award-winning magazine gal-dem spoke passionately about the issues facing teenagers today, at the Hay Festival.

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Environmental thinker and writer, Professor Mike Berners-Lee spoke to Rosie Boycott about a course of action for us to navigate the make or break years of the climate crisis.  Read more

Four writers representing the Authors4oceans initiative spoke passionately on the devastating reality of ocean pollution and damage to wildlife by mankind at Hay Today.

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“Needlework is used as a form of language, and what a universal language it is”, according to  Clare Hunter who unpicked history in a panel discussion at Hay today.

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Two writers shared their passion for nature and survival skills in the animal kingdom. Read more

The creators of the acclaimed Netflix show Our Planet told remarkable tales of the work involved making the Wildlife series at Hay Festival today. Read more

"It's really concerning" - Dr Adrian Weller spoke on the rapidly moving phenomenon, artificial intelligence.

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Jonathan Drori had the crowd rooted to their seats at Hay with a comprehensive talk on trees and nature.  Read more

Heiõa Ásgeirsdóttir, a solitary farmer with a flock of 500 sheep in a remorseless part of Iceland, also happens to be a prize-winning international bestseller

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A new British Library exhibition traces the development of the written word. Read more

The Hay audience was treated to an art masterclass today by Jackie Morris, who recently collaborated with nature writer Robert Macfarlane.    Read more

Ezra Furman performed in his typically energetic, exciting style at Hay tonight. Read more

Comedian and all-around funny guy, Nish Kumar, left the audience in hysterics at Hay Festival.

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Fighting terrorism and how you negotiate with kidnappers was at the heart of a sobering discussion at the Hay Festival tonight.  Read more

Reading has the “ability to change a life”, according to Neil Pearson.

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Progress in person-centred dementia care in the past 20 years was discussed by a panel of experts.  Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Tuesday 28 May Read more

On the 20th anniversary of the publication of their books, Deborah Moggach and Tracy Chevalier entertained the audience at Hay with memories of their best-selling novels of life in Holland in the17th century.

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A scientific panel chaired by Bronwen Maddox vigorously debated the notion of misinformation in science, focusing on media coverage.  Read more

Director of the Global Health Programme Thomas J. Bollyky explained we may be getting healthier - but we are doing so in worrying ways.

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Exploring the beauty of the Greek language and its importance in the formation of other languages, the writer and author, Mary Norris, charmed an audience at Hay today.  Read more

Germaine Greer spoke of the historical impact, and tragic mis-remembrances, of the life and work of Sappho at the Hay Festival today.

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"It's rarely sensible to ask an expert to make decisions for you." That was the surprising advice from Bill Sutherland, conservation biologist at Cambridge University.

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Bart Van Es spoke to Philippe Sands at the Hay Festival about his deeply moving and personal award-winning biography of Holocaust survivor, Lien.   Read more

Ahead of BBC Arts’ Novels That Shaped Our World Festival, Jo Whiley asked a panel of guests at Hay to discuss the novels that have shaped their worlds.  Read more

Jessie Burton’s new book The Restless Girls is a dazzling, feminist retelling of Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses.   Read more

Henriette van der Blom of Birmingham University provided a masterclass on political rhetoric and its ability to alter public perceptions at Hay Festival.

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In June 1969, police raided the New York gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. Fifty years on, tonight's event at Hay Festival looked at progress since then by activists and ordinary people. Read more

Afrobeats got Bank Holiday revellers dancing at Hay last night.

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The primatologist and professor, Frans de Waal, captivated the audience at Hay by examining emotional similarities between humans and animals.  Read more

Electric cars were given a boost at Hay tonight. Read more

William Howard and Howard Skempton teamed up to celebrate their latest exquisite compositions.  Read more

Jo Whiley presented her BBC Radio 2 show live from Hay with a selection of music, poetry, and a special edition of her Radio 2 Book Club.

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Humour and offbeat facts ruled at Hay tonight in Sandi Toksvig's new stand-up show Great Dane. Read more

Economic journalist Tim Harford shared his thoughts on modern technology and how it shapes our lives, at Hay Festival tonight.

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Hay Festival top picks, Monday 27 May.   Read more

The multi-award-winning journalist examined heroic failures of Brexit in The 2019 Christopher Hitchens Lecture Read more

Serhii Plokhy’s Baillie Gifford Prize-winning record of the tragic events of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster were today retold at the Hay Festival.

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Jeanette Winterson rebooted Mary Shelley's gothic horror story at the Hay Festival today with a bravura performance of her novel Frankisstein.   Read more

The French author came to collect the Hay Medal for Fiction and discuss his latest novel, The Order of the Day.

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The journalist and author transported the Hay audience to his vision of the future through the prism of the present.  Read more

Fortunately, hosted by Fi Glover and Jane Garvey, is the gloriously insightful podcast brought to you by BBC Radi 

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Each day of the Festival a walk is led out into the spectacular landscape that surrounds Hay-on-Wye. Read more

Top children’s authors - shortlisted for the BookTrust Storytime Prize - performed extracts of their books today at Hay Festival.    Read more

British feminist, economist and academic, Victoria Bateman, gave a powerful insight into female empowerment discussing her book The Sex Factor: How Women Made the West Rich at the Hay Festival. Read more

Hay Festival today announced the names of 28 women writers, artists and scientists, one for each European country, who are taking part in a global project reimagining the future of Europe. Their short stories and essays will be published in an anthology, Europa28: Visions for the Future, at a new Hay Festival next year in Rijeka, Croatia, European Capital of Culture 2020, and at other events around the world.   Read more

Amitav Ghosh, one of the world's great storytellers, launched his new novel at Hay today. Read more

A joint campaign between Hay Festival and the TES aims to inspire the next generation of world changers. Read more

Stand-up comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes regaled the Hay audience tonight with Troy Story, her version of the Trojan War story from a female perspective. Read more

The new Poet Laureate launched his latest collection at Hay today.

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Veteran funny-man Bill Bailey entertained the crowds at Hay tonight. Read more

Eminent historian and writer Simon Schama and Martin Sorrell, businessman and advertising legend delighted the Hay audience with tales of their 60 year friendship.  Read more

Six eminent poets gathered in Hay to celebrate the ninetieth birthday of the great publisher Faber and Faber. Read more

Hay's President celebrated the classical tales of his books, Mythos and Heroes.  Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Sunday 26 May.   Read more

Author of Landmarks and The Lost Words Robert Macfarlane took the Hay Festival on a journey into the underland this afternoon.

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BBC journalist Kamal Ahmed recalled being a mixed-race child growing up in the 1970s, at the Hay Festival this evening. Read more

From social media in China and rhubarb in America to poems of hope in Britain and finding love at Hay, this afternoon was a celebration of art and literature.  Read more

The audience at the Hay Festival were left spellbound today as Marion Turner detailed the epic biography and adventures of Chaucer, the ‘Father of English Literature’.  Read more

A star-studded line-up entertained the audience at Hay in the Festival Foundation Gala performance of 'Diaries Live'.  Read more

Milkman author Anna Burns explained to an audience at the Hay Festival the "messy" process of writing behind her books. Read more

Editor of TLS Stig Abell led a thoughtful discussion into Britain’s institutions with Professor and author David Olusoga, Director of the Institute for Government Bronwen Maddox, Labour politician Keir Starmer and presenter of the BBC’s Today Programme Nick Robinson.

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Pat Barker's retelling of Homer's The Iliad  from a different perspective.  Read more

Nicole Soranzo, Professor of Human Genetics at Cambridge shed light on the nature vs. nurture debate.  Read more

Steven Strogatz is a man composed of numbers. In his talk at Hay today, he explained why studying calculus can help us understand the complicated equation that is life.

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Author Nina Stibbe was today presented with the 2019 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction for her novel Reasons to be Cheerful at the Hay Festival... Read more

An exciting new educational institution was launched at Hay Festival today.   Read more

Marek Kohn explained the thinking behind his book Four Words for Friend that depicts the significance of multilingualism, how we inherit our language, and what our emotional connections are to it.

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The MP for Didcot and Wantage, Ed Vaizey, chaired a discussion on how to establish successful brands with leading entrepreneurs Jean-Christophe Chopin, Annoushka Ducas, Edeline Lee and Geordie Willis.  Read more

Nigerian singer Eno Williams fronted Ibibio Sound Machine at Hay tonight. Read more

Elizabeth Day’s success stems from her failure. In her latest book she outlines how things going wrong can translate into happiness and self-acceptance.

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Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, outlined her manifesto for climate justice at Hay Festival today. Read more

What happens when facts fail? Social psychologist at the University of Cambridge Sander van der Linden spoke at the Hay Festival about how his game Bad News can be used to inoculate people against fake news.

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Stand-up comedian Sara Pascoe regaled Hay Festival tonight with stories of her life following the break-up of a relationship. Read more

How will new tech shape our lives?John Browne was positive  about the future in an upbeat presentation at the Hay Festival.

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Hay Festival top picks, Saturday 25 May.  Read more

Beauty Myth author Naomi Wolf revealed the premise of her most recent piece of scholarly detection, centred on the resistance of sexual dissident John Addington Simmons and the aftermath of the 1857 Obscene Publications Act.

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Hay was honoured with the presence of five children's laureates today, talking about how they promoted reading and the joy of words.  Read more

The journalist and mental health campaigner shared her life lessons with audiences at Hay today.  Read more

David Nott, often styled the ‘Indiana Jones of surgery’, came to Hay Festival to discuss his book War Doctor.

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American novelist, Siri Hustvedt, talked about her latest book, Memories of the Future and cited Charles Dickens as one of her literary inspirations.

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Malorie Blackman can't get away from her hugely successful Noughts and Crosses series urged on by the the voices of her characters. Read more

The London School of Economics professor and author, Paul Dolan, enthralled today’s audience at Hay Festival with a humorous talk on the pursuit of happiness and people’s tendencies to conform to social norms.  Read more

Authors Mia Couto and Wayétu Moore are united by the past. They tackle the awkward and painful stories that the history books so often choose to forget.

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Bettany Hughes, chair of the Man Booker International Prize, discussed with this year’s winners Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth their winning novel Celestial Bodies.

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A new global environmental project was launched today between Hay Festival and the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), pairing artists and scientists to convey the latest in cutting-edge research.

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Television  presenter Spencer Kelly wowed the crowds at Hay with live demos of the latest technology.

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"It's not lost of me that Hay Festival sits on a border and if there have to still be borders in this world, I wish more of them were like Hay" - Kapka Kassabova  Read more

Hay Festival live-stream to libraries around the UK

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The Hay audience gave Jo Brand a very warm welcome tonight. Read more

Michael Fuller’s memoir is one of silence and noise- the moments in which he chose to speak out and the moments in which he chose to take the higher ground. His book, Kill the Black One First, charts his life. From his childhood in care to his remarkable career in policing, it encapsulates social changes and personal successes.

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How does someone “become gay”? Why do babies have to “come out”? And why on earth are we still talking about it?  These are some of the questions Stephanie Merritt posed to comedian Mae Martin on her new book Can Everyone Please Calm Down.

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In a myth-busting talk at Hay today, the neurologist, Guy Leschziner, explained the extent to which scientists and medics understand sleep.  Read more

It takes some front to play a stand-up comedy routine dressed as Lucifer, but Marcus Brigstocke was full of devilment at the Hay Festival tonight Read more

Enjoy a short film about today's action at Hay Festival. Read more

Hay Festival top picks, Friday 24 May Read more

What is sayable in today's society? Racism, anti-semitism and where the line should be drawn in humour, satire and on social media were all subjects tackled on Front Row Late broadcast from the Hay Festival.

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Michael Rosen entertained the crowds at the Hay Festival today in an engaging discussion with Peter Florence where he emphasised the significance of libraries and paid homage to the late Judith Kerr.  Read more

The Oxford economist and academic, Dieter Helm, laid out his vision for a green and sustainable future at the Hay Festival today.

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Poetry on paradise and eternity seen from East and West perspectives were read to an enthralled audience at the Hay Festival today.

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The two winners of the New Welsh Writing Awards 2019 were announced at Hay this afternoon. Read more

Hay Festival devoted four stages today to local young activists in order to raise awareness of the climate crisis, and to support the millions of young people striking across the world.

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Mike Scott leads his Waterboys to triumph at Hay  Read more

To what extent are we fed misinformation in this digital age, and has this led to a moral epidemic on the climate crisis? Hay Festival sustainability director Andy Fryers spoke to astronomer David J Helfand on his recent book A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age.

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“I never thought I’d write a book but life works in mysterious ways” said Stacey Dooley on the opening day of Hay Festival talking about her new book On The Front Line With Women Who Fight Back.

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Dr Mariecia Fraser from Aberystwyth University in conversation with the poet Elizabeth Jardine-Godwin provided a scientific and literary overview of the significance of upland farming in Wales.

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Hay Festival top picks, Thursday 23 May

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Hay Festival opened with spectacular enthusiasm from more than 5,000 children on the first of the free Programme for Schools days. Packing out the Festival venues for a day of events with Cressida Cowell, Harry Hill, Caroline Lawrence, Chris Bradford, Abi Elphinstone and Ade Adepitan, it is a fabulous way to begin the Festival. Read more

Inspirational conservationist Isabella Tree spoke about her pioneering project to hand a 3,500 acre farm back to nature.

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Are we destroying the planet by eating meat? Campaigner, author and founder of People Tree Safia Minney and writer and agricultural worker Simon Fairlie discussed with Martin Wright one of the most prevalent issues facing the food and waste industry today.

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Anthony Warner, aka The Angry Chef, took a butcher's cleaver to the fashion industry and the media in a discussion about obesity at Hay Festival today. Read more

Natalie Fee, Lucy Siegle and Paula Owen were at the Hay Festival today highlighting the problem of plastic pollution.  The main theme of the discussion centred around what more can we do to subvert the detrimental impact on our planet.  Read more