Hay Festival 2014

The bestselling authors Tracy Chevalier (Girl with a Pearl Earring) and SJ Parris (Alchemy) compare notes on writing spellbinding historical fiction.

Chevalier’s The Glassmaker is set in Venice, 1486, where Orsola Rosso flouts the convention barring women from glassmaking, to save her family from ruin. She knows her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her? Parris’ Traitor’s Legacy takes us to England in 1598, when a young heiress is found murdered at the theatre. Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster calls upon former agent Sophia de Wolfe to investigate, but her quest soon takes her into dangerous waters.

After fifteen years at the pinnacle of test rugby, leading the most successful squad in Welsh history, Dan Biggar tells his story. In conversation with presenter and co-writer Ross Harries, Wales’ most capped fly-half offers a rare insight into his personal and professional life.

His playing style has been described as brash, aggressive and forthright, and it has earned him a reputation he has never been able to shake. But to anyone who knows him off the pitch, he is one of the most grounded ambassadors the game could ask for.

Honest and self-critical, Biggar talks candidly of his place within rugby, from the Premiership through to the Lions, and of the power dynamics within Wales’ most successful squad ever. He also opens the changing room doors and explores his relationships with past team mates, coaches and managers.

Take a deep dive into the story of information with author and illustrator Chris Haughton (A Bit Lost). His latest work is a graphic handbook to the biggest influence on human history.

Exploring the ways humans share and store information, and how this has shaped and changed the world, we travel through time from the first languages and cave paintings to how we communicate and record information today. With illustrations in his signature style, Chris shows us everything we know and how we know it!

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

Kes Gray eats Ideaflakes for breakfast, spreads silliness on his toast and loves to write books that will make children laugh out loud. Come and join him in this hilarious interactive event where he’ll be reading from the latest Oi book, Oi Dinosaurs!, and sharing lots of dinosaur jokes.

According to Frog, in dinosaur times sitting down hadn’t been invented. So . . . Pterosaurs didn’t sit on bendy straws? Velociraptors didn’t sit on plug adaptors? And Triceratops didn’t sit on lollipops? Frog, Cat and Dog bring us oodles of prehistoric rhyming fun packed with dinosaurs, mammoths and – of course – prehistoric frogs! This event is guaranteed to get little dinosaur fans giggling.

Children’s author and vet Gill Lewis shares her new inspiring tale of wildlife adventure and conservation. A camping trip to count puffins on Devil Bird Island turns into a real adventure for friends Tia and Nat. First, they have to rescue a mysterious marine animal caught in a fishing net and swept very far from home. Then, when it gets dark, they hear strange wailing and something white and ghostly flies at their tent. Safely back home, they unravel the mysteries of the previous night and learn some important lessons about how everyone on the planet needs to look out for the wildlife around them.

Reena from Bollywood Dreams Dance Company will teach you some dynamic moves in this fun Bollywood dance workshop. You’ll learn hand gestures, some technique work and choreography. By the end of the session you’ll have formed a fun Bollywood routine to take away and show your friends!

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Enjoy a twenty-minute open air performance between events with Feast of Fools, an a cappella quartet from the South West of England singing traditional and contemporary folk songs.

Prepare for brutal honesty and lots of laughter as friends Kathy Lette and Ruby Wax discuss growing older, the problems and joys of being a feminist of a certain age, and how to deal with life-changing events.

The pair, who met in the 1990s, look at their work and lives, and give a glimpse into their friendship. Lette’s latest book HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy is an outrageously funny, heartbreaking novel about a woman who is diagnosed with cancer on the eve of her 50th birthday, and who decides to start living instead of complying.

Lette has written 20 books and has recently completed a tour of her one-woman show, Girls Night Out. Wax is a comedian, performer and bestselling author who also campaigns on mental health.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time author weaves ancient fables into fresh, unexpected forms and forges new unforgettable legends, reimagining stories from Laika the Soviet space dog on her fateful orbit to St Anthony wrestling with loneliness in the desert.

The myth of the Minotaur in his labyrinth becomes a wrenching parable of maternal love – and of the monstrosities of patriarchy. Actaeon, changed into a stag after glimpsing the naked Diana and torn to pieces by his hunting dogs, becomes a visceral metaphor about how humans use and misuse animals. From genetic engineering to the eternal complications of family, Haddon shows us that we’re subject to the same elemental forces that obsessed the Greeks.

Approach the natural world with awe, as environmental justice researcher Joycelyn Longdon merges ancient wisdom with modern technology. Talking to travel and adventure writer Dan Richards, she inspires us to view climate action as a shared goal rather than an individual burden.

Longdon, an AI and bioacoustics researcher at the University of Cambridge, examines rage, imagination, innovation, theory, healing and care in Natural Connection. The book celebrates the histories and extraordinary acts of ordinary people who have paved the way for today’s environmental movement, bringing together stories and wisdom from marginalised people and celebrating the power of community.

Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2025 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg.

A BBC Radio 3 lunchtime concert series marking the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth. This last of three recitals recorded for broadcast explores the music of Ravel and others. The Kleio Quartet – Juliette Roos (violin), Katherine Yoon (violin), Yume Fujise (viola) and Eliza Millett (cello) – perform a programme including Ravel and Alice Smith.

Programme:

Alice Smith String Quartet in E ‘Tubal Cain’

Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F

Howzat? Having lost the inaugural Hay Festival Cricket Match 2024 on the last ball, the Hay Festival All-Star team returns to face its nemesis – the local Hay Town team – umpired once again by actor and author Stephen Fry.

The Authors Cricket Team has a 100-year history with the likes of PG Wodehouse, AA Milne and Arthur Conan Doyle stepping up to bat. More recently, the team has played against IPL players, the Vatican and the national teams of Japan and Iceland. Hay Festival Global is teaming up once again with The Authors to put out a side of writers and actors, with the odd professional cricketer filling in…

This year’s team features historian Tom Holland, actor Paterson Joseph, former England Captain Ebony Rainford-Brent, and authors Charlie Campbell and Adam Rutherford, with more names to be announced. The Hay Festival All-Stars will battle it out against the mighty Hay Town team captained by John Sly. Who will be victorious?

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first female ascent of Mount Everest, join Everest summiteers Jo Bradshaw, Tori James (first Welsh woman) and Rebecca Stephens (first British woman), alongside adventurer researcher Jenny Hall and historian Kate Nicholson on a slightly less challenging walk.

From Hay we’ll climb to atmospheric Mouse Castle Wood, home to ancient oaks and site of an unfinished motte-and-bailey earthwork, consisting of a rock boss with an artificially scarped vertical side. The castle was held by the de Clanowe family in the 14th century. We’ll return across undulating fields to Hay.

Join the Paralympic champion, Strictly Come Dancing star and You Can Do Anything! author for an empowering and inspirational discussion with former Paralympic athlete Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson about finding your happiness, chasing your dreams and being unstoppable. Jonnie will take us on a journey to get inspired, build confidence, overcome setbacks and learn that we can achieve anything, no matter what our abilities or ambitions might be.

A double Paralympic 100-metre sprint champion, Jonnie won gold and set the Paralympic record at the age of 19 at the London 2012 Olympics, going on to win gold again, and smash his own record at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. He was the first disabled contestant to compete on Strictly Come Dancing and is passionate about challenging and changing other people’s perceptions around disability.

Magic and sparkle with a bit of bite… The author of the Isadora Moon and Emerald and Mirabelle series gives a very special introduction to Isadora Moon Rides a Bike, with interactive readings, draw-alongs and lots of behind-the-scenes secrets from Isadora’s world.

The series celebrates difference from the unique perspective of our favourite half vampire, half fairy. Isadora can fly and do magic, but there’s one thing she has never tried, and that’s riding a bike. Luckily, her mum and dad and best friend, Zoe, are eager to help. Can she overcome her fears and learn to ride a bike after all…?

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

A brilliant interactive workshop with Neill, Phoenix comic supremo and creator of the graphic novel series Mega Robo Bros. In this fun-filled hour, Neill will introduce you to his latest epic robot book Mega Robo Bros: Final Form and show you how to generate awesome ideas for your own comics, how to turn those ideas into a fully-fledged story and how to make your stories come alive with incredible artwork.

Reena from Bollywood Dreams Dance Company will teach you some dynamic moves in this fun Bollywood dance workshop. You’ll learn hand gestures, some technique work and choreography. By the end of the session you’ll have formed a fun Bollywood routine to take away and show your friends!

Draw your sabre and take on friends and family for the Hay Festival fencing crown in this have-a-go session with Fencing Cymru/Welsh Fencing. Learn the skills of this fast-paced Olympic sport in a safe and friendly environment before stepping onto the piste – en garde!

Join us for an exclusive guided tour led by one of our passionate volunteer guides during Hay Festival 2025. Our knowledgeable guides will take you on a captivating journey through the castle, revealing tales of medieval knights, royal intrigue and the castle’s remarkable restoration. As you explore the castle you’ll gain unique insights into the lives of those who once called this place home. The tour also offers breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, providing the perfect backdrop for your visit.

Guided tours run daily at 11am and 2pm. Tour price includes entry into the Castle for a year including the current exhibition: 20th Century Welsh Artists.

Enjoy a twenty-minute open air performance between events with Feast of Fools, an a cappella quartet from the South West of England singing traditional and contemporary folk songs.

As the first Muslim to serve in a British cabinet, there are few people better placed than Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi to reflect on the position of Muslims in the UK, and the rising tide of Islamophobia they face. Discussing her book Muslims Don’t Matter, Baroness Warsi looks at the far-right riots that broke out in the UK in 2024, how more hatred has been directed at Muslims in public life during the war on Gaza, and how a network of media and commentators feed Islamophobia. She urges us to change course and unite to dismantle this toxic bigotry.

Warsi is a lawyer, businesswoman and racial justice campaigner. She was instrumental in the launch of Operation Black Vote, a national not-for-profit working towards greater racial justice throughout the UK. Rachel Shabi has reported extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She is author of Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism.

The future is uncertain. The future is full of danger. The future is a risk. But there is hope in the future too, for us and the generations after us. Social geographer Danny Dorling and climate activist Rob Hopkins discuss how we should navigate life now to mitigate the effects of the crises we are facing, from the cost of living to climate change, and how we should rethink the future.

Dorling is author of The Next Crisis, in which he unpacks the data on what people really think about when they consider the future. He is the 1971 Professor of Geography, and advises the government and the Office for National Statistics.

Hopkins is co-founder of the international Transition Network movement, which aims to reimagine and rebuild the world. His forthcoming book How to Fall in Love with the Future looks at how we change the world.

Dive into the thrilling life of Raymond Chester, the Oakland Raiders legend. During the 1960s, while America was convulsed following the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Chester was making historic changes that brought Black American football into the mainstream. From his college glory at Morgan State to his iconic moments on the NFL field, Chester’s story is one of resilience and triumph which resonates far beyond the world of sport and proves the significance of sport in our social and political lives.

Welsh author and rugby fan Jon Gower’s Raider is based on extensive conversations and interviews with Chester himself – a love-letter from Wales to an American football icon whose legacy transcends the game.

The author of The Lamplighters introduces her suspenseful new novel. The Sunshine Man is the story of a terrible crime that shakes a community, and of a revenge plotted over decades.

Birdie Keller wakes up one freezing January morning to hear that her sister’s killer has been freed from jail. Birdie leaves for London with a pistol and a plan: to find this man and make him pay. She’s been waiting two decades to get him, biding her time: here, at last, revenge. But Jimmy Maguire, the man she’s after, knew Birdie a long time ago, in a life she’d sooner forget. They’ve got history, and he isn’t the only one with a secret.

Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2025 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg.

Fee Mak shares her career journey – from her start as a professional ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet School through to becoming a national BBC Radio broadcaster, and her love for literature which has led to her chairing events at leading UK literature festivals.

Join Fee in this workshop-style event, one of this of a Hay Festival series of sessions delivered by inspiring producers and practitioners from the creative industries, giving their insights, experience and advice on progression in their field.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Learn to draw some of Chris Haughton’s favourite illustrations from his new book, The History of Information, a graphic handbook to the biggest influence on human history.

In this informative and interesting drawing workshop, Chris will lead you on a journey through time, taking a deep dive into the story of information and how to illustrate it in his distinct signature style.

Chris is author and illustrator of many popular picture books including A Bit Lost, Oh No George!, Shh! We Have a Plan and Well Done, Mummy Penguin.

Reena from Bollywood Dreams Dance Company will teach you some dynamic moves in this fun Bollywood dance workshop. You’ll learn hand gestures, some technique work and choreography. By the end of the session you’ll have formed a fun Bollywood routine to take away and show your friends!

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Every Saturday morning, tens of thousands of people across the world gather to walk, run and jog 5km around their local parks. ParkRun has taken off worldwide. But before Paul Sinton-Hewitt founded ParkRun, he was struggling to hold his life together, having lost his successful career, with a marriage that had broken down and a devastating injury that threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been his lifeline.

Sinton-Hewitt talks about coming up with the simple idea of a Saturday morning free weekly run, how it instilled him with connection and purpose, and how it grew from 13 runners in its first week to a ten million strong community across five continents.