Actors Joanna Page and Sir Jonathan Pryce and novelists including Sebastian Faulks, Jung Chang and Oyinkan Braithwaite are to appear at the winter edition of the Hay Festival.
Political activist and Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina, comedians Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Watson and Olga Koch, politicians Sir Nick Clegg, Sir Vince Cable and Kim Leadbeater, and journalists Lyse Doucet, Jehan Alfarra and Imran Khan will also feature at November’s event.
The Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2025 will take place in the grounds of Hay Castle in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with organisers describing a focus on “the new role of storytelling, the impact of big tech, democracy, and the new world order”.
The programme of more than 80 artists was revealed on Tuesday and includes historians Alison Weir, Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga, Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman Huey Morgan, and broadcaster Hamza Yassin discussing his memoir, Homeward Bound.
Poet Hollie McNish will share her latest collection, Virgin, while Rachel Parris, who stars in improvised comedy Austentatious, will be celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen.
Lexicographer Susie Dent will share Words for Life with BBC Wales presenter Gary Raymond, and writers Carlos Fonseca and Oscar Guardiola-Rivera will join Hay Festival international director Cristina Fuentes La Roche to mark 20 years of the festival’s work in Latin America.
A free schools programme will offer pupils from state primary schools in Wales access to events featuring writers Rob Biddulph, Candy Gourlay and Simon Mole.
Hay Festival global chief executive Julie Finch said: “A new chapter starts now. Here is a programme packed with big ideas and new forms of storytelling to meet the challenges of our times.
“Hay Festival Winter Weekend offers an escape from the day-to-day, inviting audiences into a space where imaginations can roam and curiosity can thrive. Join us.”
The Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2025 takes place from November 26 to 30.
