María Negroni (Argentina) is an Argentine writer and poet, with a doctorate in Latin American Literature from Columbia University in New York. His work covers various genres, including poetry, essay and fiction, and she has received important fellowships, including the Guggenheim and the Rockefeller. Her publications include the poetry book Islandia, which won an award from the PEN American Center, and the novels El sueño de Úrsula and La Anunciación. Her latest books are La idea natural (2024) and Utilidad de las estrellas (2024), which presents a fusion of austere and minimalist language with intense, expressionist images. She will talk about this book with Mario Jursich.
Richard Ford (United States), winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, 2016, published his most recent novel, Be Mine, recently. In the book he returns to the character of Frank Bascombe, and through him to the themes of happiness and denial, completing a social history of the baby boomer generation. Author of, among other novels, The Sportswriter, the bestselling Canada and the novel Independence Day, which won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN / Faulkner Fiction Award. His work has been translated into at least 28 languages, and he very recently won the Prix Femina Étranger in France. In conversation with the Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. We reflect on the importance of culture and literature, based on the questions: What value does fiction have for society? How can we render visible and learn from non-hegemonic narratives? What role does art play in the construction of a more peaceful, empathetic society that is aware of its challenges? With Piedad Bonnett (Colombia), Charlotte Higgins (United Kingdom), Nicola Lagioia (Italy) and Cristina Rivera Garza (Mexico) in conversation with Pilar Reyes.
Interpretation from English to Spanish available
In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. In a context in which the environmental crisis and climate change have become urgent matters, festival guests urge us to reconsider our relationship with the planet based on the following questions: How can we change existing narratives to tackle the climate emergency? How can we make the exploitation of raw materials compatible with their climate impact? How can extensive farming be made compatible with protecting biodiversity in Colombia? Peter Frankopan (United Kingdom), writer and historian; Virginia Mendoza (Spain), journalist, writer and anthropologist; Gustavo Ulcué Campo (Colombia), Nasa film and television producer. In conversation with Rosie Boycott.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
The origin of racism against Afro-descendent people goes back to slavery, empire building and the capitalist development of the world. In conversation with Paula Moreno will be Susan Neiman, a US philosopher and writer, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil; Rinaldo Walcott (Barbados / Canada) is a writer, critic, researcher in the area of Black Diaspora Cultural Studies, gender and sexuality, and author of the book On Property: Policing, Prisons, and the Call for Abolition; and with Colson Whitehead (United States), author of The Nickel Boys, among other books.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. With democracy being questioned and affected by growing disinformation, the participants at this round table invite us to reflect on the following questions: Are we experiencing the end of the single Western narrative? Are there models other than the democratic one? Will we give up our civil rights to have more security? How should we combat disinformation? How should governments manage immigration? With Daniel Coronell (Colombia), Anne Applebaum (United States), Nataliya Gumenyuk (Ucrania), Susan Neiman (United States) and Edward Chancellor (United Kingdom). In conversation with Jon Lee Anderson.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available
In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. We are asking ourselves more and more whether we are progressing towards equality of gender, race and class; we tackle this matter based on the following questions: How can we fight structural racism? How is it possible to guarantee that artificial intelligence does not increase existing inequalities? What can the city learn from the countryside, and vice versa? With Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua), Bocafloja (Mexico), Ochy Curiel (Dominican Republic) Colm Tóibín (Ireland) and Justin Torres (United States) in conversation with Ayisha Osori.
Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available