Hay Festival 2025 Full Programme (2025)

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

On the beach you find a bottle with a map inside: an X marks the spot of buried treasure! Squawker the parrot gives you a magic telescope which whisks you away to Cap’n Sardine’s pirate ship. There you walk the plank, hop on a wooden leg, look through a telescope and eventually spot Treasure Island. Will you find the golden coins?

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event

Price:£10.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Bear can’t find his glasses. He must have left them at Giraffe’s house. On the way over, Bear sees all kinds of animals he didn’t notice last time: an elephant, a crocodile, a flamingo, a deer. And who’s this long spotty snake lying on Giraffe’s deckchair? Through his ingenious telling of this classic comical situation, Leo Timmers (Gus’s Garage, A Home for Harry) shows us how to enjoy the world through different eyes. Join Leo as he reads us his book and then guides you to create a drawing of your very own Bear.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

How far would you go to find your way home? Find out with Zoology graduate Brogen Murphy, who’s turned their fascination with flora, fauna and clean technologies into a gripping tale of survival in the wilderness. Twenty-five years from now, no humans are allowed in the Wildlands – a vast area in Britain where wolves, lynx and bison roam free. The only exception is a high-speed train line that crosses right through the heart of the project.

Thirteen-year-old Astrid and her little sister, Indie, are onboard when their train slows to a brief, unexpected stop… and they find themselves accidentally left behind. They have only a rucksack, a phone without signal – and each other. As every wrong turn takes them deeper into the Wildlands, do they have the ingenuity and determination to survive?

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

In this arts-based workshop you’ll use collage and printmaking techniques to design a Sirens of Sustainability character to protect our rivers, waterways and oceans.

University of Worcester staff and students from the Department of Illustration and the International Centre for the Picture Book in Society (ICPBS) return to Hay Festival with their engaging workshops to inspire young creatives. All materials and equipment provided – just bring your imagination!

Price:£12.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

On a school trip to NASA, you and your classmates are accidentally sent on a mission to Mars. Over the 300-day journey, you have to guide the shuttle on its course, repair damage from a meteorite and learn how to survive in zero gravity. Will you ever make it back home?

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

In this arts-based workshop you’ll create a self-portrait, or a portrait of somebody or something else that you love, using DIY print-making processes, recycled materials and mixed media.

University of Worcester staff and students from the Department of Illustration and the International Centre for the Picture Book in Society (ICPBS) return to Hay Festival with their engaging workshops to inspire young creatives. All materials and equipment provided – just bring your imagination!

Price:£12.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Drop in for this open-air performance with puppets, music and songs, for humans of all ages. A world premiere by Keith Temple, the show is created in tandem with music and art students at Kidderminster College.

Pod, the wilful Jack Russell terrier, has no idea that he’s a dog. Thanks to his scatter-brained owner, he’s grown up thinking he’s human… until a new addition to the family – Ella, the no-nonsense guinea pig – sets him straight on a few things. Pod begins to realise it’s not at all bad being a four-legged creature…

Join us for an afternoon with the much-loved Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Discover how she started her writing career, how she created some of her best-loved characters including Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather, and hear all about her new book, a funny, heartwarming story returning to the world of Daisy and Lily.

Daisy and her sister are excited about going on holiday. But Lily uses a wheelchair, which can make trips to the seaside tricky. Especially with all that sand! Will Daisy, Lily and their neighbour’s dog Scruff get their ice cream-filled dream holiday and maybe even have a Seaside Sleepover?

Please note: there will be no book signing after this event but printed bookplates will be available from the Festival Bookshop.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

In this arts-based workshop you’ll create a self-portrait, or a portrait of somebody or something else that you love, using DIY print-making processes, recycled materials and mixed media.

University of Worcester staff and students from the Department of Illustration and the International Centre for the Picture Book in Society (ICPBS) return to Hay Festival with their engaging workshops to inspire young creatives. All materials and equipment provided – just bring your imagination!

This session is tailored for neurodivergent children.

Price:£12.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Return to Wonderland with Anna James (author of the Pages & Co series) as she presents her enchanted new tale, Alice with a Why. This interactive event features Mad Hatters, White Rabbits and some brand new faces, too, in a celebration of Lewis Carroll’s beloved original as it marks its 160th anniversary year.

Alyce – with a Y – lives with her grandmother, the original Alice, having lost her father during the great war. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits her square in the face, Alyce realises her grandmother’s strange stories of a place called Wonderland might have some truth to them after all. But the land Alyce finds herself in feels different to the Wonderland of her grandmother’s stories – how can she find her way back home?

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

Your Mum’s flowers are wilting in the summer sun and you’re too hot to water them. There’s a strange clock on the wall that doesn’t tell the time, but instead tells what season it is. Surely if you could change the hand to winter, then it wouldn’t be so hot? But be careful what you wish for!

Professor Robert Winston leads a scientific journey through human history, featuring fascinating facts, innovative inventions and daring discoveries. Learn how accidents have led to some of the greatest findings we’ve ever seen, and how anybody who dares to dream can be successful. Have you ever been asked when writing was invented? Or how electricity works?

Robert covers it all – from evolution and the first tools to exploring microchips and the internet. If you’re constantly asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ things happen, this event is for you, as he’ll be on hand with (almost) all the answers to the questions that even adults find tricky!

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Rajiv has feelings for everything. He can feel confident. He can feel happy. He can feel silly. But today, he feels angry and he doesn’t know why. With the help of his father, he sets out on a journey to make sense of his feelings. It is a journey that will take him to a park, up into the branches of a tree, and all the way to the stars…

Join award-winning non-binary storyteller Niall to share this heartwarming story about understanding and embracing big emotions. Through captivating narrative and an engaging art activity, we’ll explore the beauty of self-expression and the magic of feelings.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

The author of Inkheart and Dragon Rider, Cornelia Funke shares the magic in her new and exciting mystery set in the heart of New York City. Come and hear how Caspia’s summer in the city is transformed when she discovers a bundle of letters containing ten botanical riddles. She sets out to solve the riddles and, as she does, she meets friends she could never have imagined and discovers that anywhere can feel like home, if you are brave enough to put down new roots.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Look out for the Scavenger Trail around the Festival site, inspired by Cornelia Funke’s The Green Kingdom.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

After weeks going hungry in your stone house, you’re desperate to join your dad and sister, Etta, out on the hunt. But the hunt party is attacked by wolves, and in the confusion you and Etta get lost and discover a house made of wood. What other new technologies do these people possess, and how will they lead you back to your dad?

Join Queen of Historical Fiction Emma Carroll (Secrets of a Sun King, When We Were Warriors) as she introduces the magical world of her new novel. In The Houdini Inheritance, two children in the 1920s find themselves dragged into the seedy world of American amusement parks in the service of the world’s greatest escapologist…

Discover everything there is to know about the world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini and his suitcase full of secrets, and pick up tips on how to fire your imagination and write your own stories.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join Lizzie Lomax, this year’s Hay Festival Illustrator in Residence, at the mural wall in the Family Garden to create a big nature mural. The collage will be inspired by the natural environment around Hay Festival, including the River Wye and the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), local animals, insects and birds. All materials are provided, just bring your imagination.

Lizzie Lomax creates through made and found textures, drawing and collage, to create playful, bright and accessible illustrations. She is also co-founder and co-editor of Seed Magazeen – a magazine for kids who care about the environment.

Children’s writer Onjali Q Raúf celebrates a hidden army of young carers in this event, as she shares her Wales-set novel The Letter with the Golden Stamp.

The book introduces Audrey, who lives in Swansea and is keeping a big secret: she’s the sole carer for her increasingly sick mother, as well as for her two younger siblings. Oh, and she’s also a seasoned thief…

When a new neighbour threatens Audrey’s world, she must go on an adventure to save her family.

The Letter with the Golden Stamp delves into the fears and hopes of young carers everywhere, and looks at the invisible sources of kindness knocking on all our doors.

Raúf gives young attendees to this event an insight into the challenges faced by carers, explains her storytelling process, and provides an uplifting look at how we can all be there for each other.

Price:£8.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join award-winning children’s novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The Girl of Ink & Stars, Julia and the Shark) as she celebrates the next book in her unmissable Geomancer trilogy, which began with In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen.

Kiran takes us on a journey through her creativity, to discover the real woodlands and earth magic that lie at the heart of her stories. You’ll marvel at Celtic rainforests, talking root systems, ambitious arctic foxes and ancient Greenland sharks. And you’ll leave feeling inspired by the world around you and ready to create your own tales.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join international storyteller Jan Blake, djembe player Mohamed Gueye and musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for an interactive performance of Ananse and the Monkeys.

Ananse needs some money to buy food, so makes some hats to sell, but on his way to the market some monkeys steal them! Can Ananse outwit the monkeys to get his precious hats back?

Price:£12.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join international storyteller Jan Blake, djembe player Mohamed Gueye and musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for an interactive performance of Ananse and the Monkeys.

Ananse needs some money to buy food, so makes some hats to sell, but on his way to the market some monkeys steal them! Can Ananse outwit the monkeys to get his precious hats back?

Price:£12.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Superstar author and illustrator Rob Biddulph is coming to share more #DrawWithRob activities with us at Hay Festival! In this fun-packed session, you can join in live with his draw-along. He’ll share tips using illustrations from his Peanut Jones trilogy, fizzing with magic, danger, friendship and art, and from Fantastic Food.

His latest Draw With Rob book, Fantastic Food takes a spin round everything we love to munch on. Cupcakes, pizza, fruit and ice cream?! Dive into the delicious world of food, with easy-to-follow drawing instructions that are perfect for all the family.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join author Hannah Gold on a thrilling Arctic adventure, as she introduces us to the sequel to The Last Bear (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022 and Blue Peter Book Award 2022). Pull on your rainbow snow boots and travel across icy glaciers, cross dangerous fjords, take a husky ride, be dazzled by the Northern Lights and best of all, come face to face with the most adorable tiny polar bear cub.

In this immersive event, perfect for animal lovers, you’ll encounter quizzes, jawdropping Arctic facts and breathtaking adventure guaranteed to leave you inspired! The only question is… are you ready to find Bear?

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Join us for a morning of singing, dancing and illustration with Julia Donaldson and friends, including Sarah Ogilvie, the illustrator of Gozzle, who will be illustrating live.

Julia Donaldson, much-loved author of The Gruffalo, Stick Man, Room on the Broom and many others, introduces her funny new picture book. Gozzle (created with Sara Ogilvie who illustrated The Detective Dog) sees a freshly hatched gosling latch onto a rather confused bear.

It’s springtime. Bear has woken up hungry and finds a lost egg outside his cave. Breakfast? No! Out hatches Gozzle, a very sweet little gosling who is convinced that Bear must be her daddy – and that she should be able to climb, dig and eat honey just like him.

Price:£10.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Dip into the animal kingdom with naturalist, wildlife cameraman and Strictly Come Dancing 2022 winner Hamza Yassin on an incredible and immersive journey. Soar through skies, dive underwater and roam the land with Hamza as he guides us through fun facts and figures, as well as eye-catching photos exploring the natural world. Hamza will share some of his own fascinating stories from adventures in the wild throughout his unique career as a conservationist and cameraman.

Hamza’s love for the natural world and animal kingdom encourages children to fall in love with the world around them. His book is accessible for all and has dyslexia-friendly formatting for readers, like Hamza, who are dyslexic.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.

Price:£9.00

Only Members of Hay Festival may buy tickets prior to public launch. If you are already a Member please log in. If you would like to become a Member, sign up here.

Booking for non-members opens at 12pm on Friday 14 March.