The Wick List
Viewing Hay Festival 2026
Above Courtesy of Hay Festival
Above Courtesy of Hay Festival
Hay Festival
Dairy Meadows
Brecon Road
Hay-on-Wye
HR3 5PJ
21 – 31 May
Hay day. Calling all book worms.
The world’s leading festival of ideas has just returned to Hay-on-Wye, bringing more than 500 events to Hay-on-Wye on the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park for 11 days of books, debate, performance, politics, music and cultural crossfire.
Now in its 39th spring edition, this year’s programme is suitably stacked. Headliners include Emma Thompson, Miriam Margolyes, Malala Yousafzai, Gisèle Pelicot, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Ian McEwan, Maggie O’Farrell, Ocean Vuong, Val McDermid, David Miliband, Nicola Sturgeon, Tim Berners-Lee, Emerald Fennell, Kae Tempest, David Olusoga, Mary Berry, Charlie Mackesy and many more.
This edition also sees some page turning new developments for the Culturally Curious. My Life in Books, a new strand of the festival, invites public figures to open their personal libraries, whilst Book to Screen brings adaptations into The MUBI Cinema. Debut Discoveries spotlights new writing talent, while Heard at Hay Festival gathers voices from across the programme into cross-disciplinary live conversations including The Wick Monday Muses Katy Hessel and Daisy Fancourt.
The Festival site is free to enter, with events ticketed individually. Go for one conversation, stay for the atmosphere, and leave with a reading list that may require a new tote bag.
The world’s leading festival of ideas has just returned to Hay-on-Wye, bringing more than 500 events to Hay-on-Wye on the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park for 11 days of books, debate, performance, politics, music and cultural crossfire.
Now in its 39th spring edition, this year’s programme is suitably stacked. Headliners include Emma Thompson, Miriam Margolyes, Malala Yousafzai, Gisèle Pelicot, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Ian McEwan, Maggie O’Farrell, Ocean Vuong, Val McDermid, David Miliband, Nicola Sturgeon, Tim Berners-Lee, Emerald Fennell, Kae Tempest, David Olusoga, Mary Berry, Charlie Mackesy and many more.
This edition also sees some page turning new developments for the Culturally Curious. My Life in Books, a new strand of the festival, invites public figures to open their personal libraries, whilst Book to Screen brings adaptations into The MUBI Cinema. Debut Discoveries spotlights new writing talent, while Heard at Hay Festival gathers voices from across the programme into cross-disciplinary live conversations including The Wick Monday Muses Katy Hessel and Daisy Fancourt.
The Festival site is free to enter, with events ticketed individually. Go for one conversation, stay for the atmosphere, and leave with a reading list that may require a new tote bag.
