Hay Festival has today released 44 earlybird events for its flagship edition next spring, taking place 21–31 May 2026 in the booktown of Hay-on-Wye.

The events tease a dynamic programme of 600+ events to come in full next March, launching the best new fiction and non-fiction books while serving up a strong blend of entertainment, debate and creative inspiration for all ages.

Marking a major moment in the UK Government’s National Year of Reading: Go All In campaign, Hay Festival 2026 will open access to the joy of books like never before, showcasing the central role books play in our culture with a series of new initiatives and experimental event formats.

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said: “Hay Festival 2026 will offer something for everyone with world-famous writers, performers, experts, and the next generation of artists and activists offering us creative inspiration and hope for a better future.

“These 44 earlybird events are a small taste of what’s to come – a promise of spring to tide you over the darker months and whet your appetite. Next year’s National Year of Reading invites the whole country to Go All In for books – and where better to do that than at one of the world’s biggest and brightest book and ideas festivals? See you there!”

Tickets are on sale now to Hay Festival Membership+, Patrons and Benefactors at hayfestival.org/hay-on-wye. Priority booking starts at noon Wednesday 3 December before general booking opens Saturday 6 December.

Ground-breaking stories:

Award-winning novelists share new work including Ocean Vuong (The Emperor of Gladness), Maggie O’Farrell (Land), Douglas Stuart (John of John), Ruth Ozeki (The Typing Lady), Kae Tempest (Having Spent Life Seeking) and Elizabeth Strout (The Things We Never Say); the recently announced winner of the International Booker Prize joins director Gaby Wood and translator Sophie Hughes to discuss their writing; and blockbuster big screen adaptations take centre-stage as director Emerald Fennell talks about her soon to be released Wuthering Heights film.

Genre takeovers throughout the Festival will celebrate the most popular fiction genres: Crime Day on Tuesday 26 May leads with bestselling crime writer Val McDermid who joins author Fflur Dafydd to introduce her latest book Silent Bones; Graphic Novel Dayon Wednesday 27 May is led by cartoonist Neill Cameron and a spectacular Phoenix Comic Book Draw-Off; Arts Day on Thursday 28 May is led by art critic Katy Hessel and art historian Daisy Fancourt with The Art Cure; and Fantasy Day on Friday 29 May is led by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season) and Saara El-Arifi (Faebound) on the power of otherworldly fiction.

Public figures open their personal libraries in a new series of My Life in Books events with chef, writer, Great British Bake Off presenter and fashion icon, Prue Leith and adventurer Bear Grylls sharing their favourite books; trail-blazing publisher, writer and activist Margaret Busby talks to author Bernardine Evaristo as they discuss Busby’s acclaimed memoir, Part of the Story; writer Lea Ypi shares her memoir, A Life Reimagined; broadcaster Amol Rajan advocates for oracy skills with a new campaign to get young people talking more; and National Literacy Trust director Jonathan Douglas updates on the UK Government’s National Year of Reading: Go All In with a panel featuring content creator Jack Edwards and guests.

Stellar writers spark young imaginations through a programme for families that sees Reverend Richard Coles share his new collection of bedtime stories, A Heist Before Bedtime; former Children’s Laureate and poetry icon Michael Rosen and award-winning rap teacher and viral sensation, MC Grammar, present a riotous celebration of words; author and playwright Michael Morpurgo is joined by actor Jenny Agutter and the world-renowned Brodsky Quartet in a unique celebration of music, poetry and the natural world; while comedian Russell Kane offers his new show, When Brian met Terry.

Big ideas:

Economics, the impacts of AI and our pursuit of truth are explored as computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee talks This Is for Everyone: Reclaiming the web in the age of AI; BBC News presenter Sophie Raworth interviews her sister, economist Kate Raworth, about the ground-breaking ideas in Doughnut Economics; broadcaster Jeremy Bowen delivers the 2026 Christopher Hitchens Lecture: War, Peace and the Pursuit of Truth; and former UK Home Secretary and Chancellor Sajid Javid shares reflections on his life with his new memoir, The Colour of Home.

Global affairs come under examination with Palestinian writer Aziz Abu Sarah joining Israeli writer Maoz Inon to talk to broadcaster Lyse Doucet about their new book, The Future Is Peace; while writer and editor of the new magazine Equator Pankaj Mishraconvenes a panel of leading writers – Hisham Matar, Kiran Desai and Kamila Shamsie – to explore the challenges and opportunities of representing a complex world and global identities in fiction.

Health and wellness are scrutinised with former A&E doctor and leading mental health advocate Alex George joining comedian Sara Pascoe to explore the perennial question: Am I Normal?; public health expert Devi Sridhar is in conversation with science writer Dan Davis on her latest book How not to Die (too Soon); and gut health guru Tim Spector talks Fermentation.

History is reimagined with lessons for the present day as historian Antony Beevor talks Rasputin and the Downfall of the Romanovs; author Ben Macintyre explores the secretive history of espionage in Spies, Lies and Skulduggery; broadcaster and writer Zakia Sewell joins fellow historian David Olusoga to discuss British history and a view of the nation’s identity; and Andrea Wulf shares The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity.

Entertainment for all ages:

Festival lates will entertain audiences, featuring comedy from Michael McIntyre, Sara Pascoe, Alan Davies and Paul Merton and Suki Webster’s Improv Show; plus music from Gwenno, and The Amy Winehouse Band.

Personal stories from performers and sports stars illuminate our times as rugby stars James Haskell and Mike Tindall join broadcaster Alex Payne to share their biggest lessons from the pitch; Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman, Kevin Rowland, speaks to bestselling novelist Irvine Welsh about his memoir, Bless me Father; journalist Sathnam Sanghera reflects on the legacy of music legend George Michael and his impact on his own life with Tonight the Music Seems so Loud; and journalists and broadcasters Samira Ahmed and Stuart Maconie discuss their shared love of The Beatles.

Free to enter, the Festival’s Dairy Meadows site in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park will also offer a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy between events, including the Bookshop, BBC Marquee, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés, and the Family Garden.

Learning and engagement:

Two free Schools Programme days open proceedings on Thursday 21 May (KS1/2) and Friday 22 May (KS3/4), blending live performance, workshops and storytelling in specially curated sessions, while a range of education initiatives – Hay Festival Academy and Youth Group workshops – will engage hundreds more.

A curated selection of Festival sessions will be streamed live online throughout the 2026 event, with the Online Festival Pass on sale in March, continuing the Festival’s commitment to digital accessibility.

Community partnerships with Inclusive Books for Children, The Cart Shed, Hereford Community Foundation, Reaching Wider, and more, will make this one of the most accessible Festival editions yet with targeted projects to attract harder-to-reach communities, while a plethora of new sustainability measures will help to tackle the environmental impacts of running a festival.

Winners of the Hay Festival Medals 2026 will be celebrated on stage. Awarded annually since Britain’s Olympic year (2012), and crafted locally by silversmith Christopher Hamilton, the Hay Festival Medals draw inspiration from the original Olympic medal given for poetry. Past winners include Margaret Atwood, Alice Oseman, Ruth Jones, Salman Rushdie, John le Carré, Elif Shafak, Mererid Hopwood, Ahdaf Soueif and Miranda Hart.

While the countdown to Hay Festival in Wales is just beginning, Festival events further afield are already in full swing. In January, Hay Festival marks 21 years in Colombia with events in Jericó, Medellín and Cartagena; followed by Hay Festival Forum Seville in Spain, 16–17 February.