Previewing the 2023 edition, celebrating new literature and ideas
It’s been described as the “Woodstock of the mind” by Bill Clinton, and by another as the “Sundance for Bibliophiles” – they are of course talking about the long-running and much-loved Hay Festival. The independent charity’s annual celebration presents the very best new literature from award-winning writers, understanding that fiction and non-fiction allow us to truly see the world, and imagine it as it could be. Running since 1987, it first sprang from the booktown of Hay-on-Wye, Wales, and has since travelled to editions in everywhere from Colombia to Peru. This year will see its eclectic line-up – which also counts lectures and debates from policy makers and thinkers in the worlds of environmental science, politics, history, tech and more, plus lively workshops, music and comedy – take place on the edge of the verdant Brecon Beacons National Park, 25th May to 4th of June.
Highlights from its literary offering include Max Porter discussing his much anticipated new work Shy, Stephen Buoro talking to David Olusoga about his debut (The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa), poet laureate Simon Armitage reflecting on his journey to date, as well as events with Leïla Slimani (Watch Us Dance), Caleb Azumah Nelson (Small Worlds), Naoise Dolan (The Happy Couple), Nicole Flattery (Nothing Special) and Ben Okri (Tiger Work). Furthermore, writers from the fifth iteration of Granta magazine’s ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ share their latest writing, novelists Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak and Douglas Stuart join to mark the launch of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City, while Stormzy looks back at the past five years of his pioneering #Merky Books imprint. In addition to panels exploring the impact of literature on Wales, Ukraine’s biggest book festival – Lviv BookForum – will be coming to Cymru, co-curating events in order to illuminate both the state of the imperilled country, and the crucial place for storytelling within it.
“This Hay Festival edition is a beacon,” notes CEO Julie Finch, “an international symbol of hope for the collective, creative imagination and a better future. Our latest programme offers ‘11 days of different’, creating a space where great minds won’t always think alike, and where imaginations are free to roam. During the day our conversations will grapple and engage with the world around us, seeking solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our times while inspiring the next generation of world-changers. And in the evening we’ll laugh, dance and exchange stories in a place like nowhere else.”
Feminist activist and writer Laura Bates, director of arts and learning at the Barbican Will Gompertz, historian David Olusoga, and academic and cultural critic Charlotte Williams will act as the festival’s ‘Thinkers in Residence’, collaborating with artists and other cultural leaders to examine the problems facing the world while suggesting new platforms to tackle them. A special series titled ‘Hay on Earth’ will focus on arguably our most pressing issue, the climate crisis. Viewing potential solutions in the fields of energy, health, food, mobility, water, fashion, biodiversity and housing, speakers span from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to writer and campaigner Henry Dimbleby, professor of geophysical and climate hazards Bill McGuire to journalist George Monbiot.
Meanwhile, journalists, commentators, and sociologists will be taking the temperature of Britain today (it’s feverish), with Gary Younge in conversation with Jeffrey Boakye, sketch writer John Crace and Rosie Boycott in dialogue with MP Jess Phillips about parliamentary chaos, and Alastair Campbell and columnist Rafael Behr discussing with broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika ways to civilise how we debate in the political arena.
Port will be attending this year’s packed festival, so stay tuned for some exclusive interviews. To see the full extensive line up, visit the Hay Festival site.
Hay Festival 2023 runs from 25th May – 4th June