Announcements

Hay Festival Winter Weekend 2023
WHERE IDEAS SPARKLE… HAY FESTIVAL WINTER WEEKEND 2023 PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED.

Speakers include actors Stephen Fry and Hugh Bonneville; farmer Helen Rebanks; lexicographer Susie Dent and Sarah Ogilvie; historian David Olusoga; writers Sebastian Faulks, Louis de Bernières, Kim Sherwood, Ava Glass, Miranda Aldhouse-Green and Daniel Morden, poet Nii Ayikwei; politicians Chris Bryant, Rachel Reeves and Lisa Nandy; journalists James O'Brien, Jennifer Nadel, Afua Hirsch and Louise Minchin; geographers Tim Marshall and Danny Dorling; cyclist Lee Craigie; sailor Suzanne Heywood; scientist Adam Rutherford; Welsh former international rugby union referee Nigel Owens; Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates; biologist Lewis Dartnell; historian James Holland; wildlife cameraman and Strictly winner Hamza Yassin; broadcaster Kate Humble; mathematician Marcus du Sautoy; classicist Adam Nicolson; comedians Matt Lucas and Reginald D Hunter; food writer Grace Dent; wine writer Oz Clarke; the Booker Prize 2023 shortlist; and more…

Hay Festival Winter Weekend brings writers and readers together for a year-end wonderland of in-person events, 23–26 November.

Explore the full programme, out now, at hayfestival.org/winter-weekend with priority booking open to Friends of Hay Festival for three days. General booking opens at noon this Friday 29 September. Over four days, more than 70 acclaimed writers and performers take part in over 60 events, launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, offering creative solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our time, and spreading festive joy in conversations, candle-lit storytelling, comedy, music, and workshops.

Now in its 24th year, events will take place in a new 350-seater marquee in the grounds of Hay Castle, tripling the event’s previous capacity. Additional events will also take place in the Castle’s Clore space, plus venues around town, including St Mary’s Church and The Poetry Bookshop.

For audiences unable to attend in person, the Festival’s commitment to digital accessibility will also continue with selected sessions available to live-stream remotely with an Online Festival Pass.

Other Announcements ...

UPGRADED IN JANUARY 2022
Website upgrade
Established in 1998 by two local men. This new version incorporates a new design / layout, new web server, and new database. Every main section has been re-worked, with a completely new retail section, showing Hay's many independent places to shop. Please note that we are continuing to upgrade business information, and further populate the new database as quickly as possible. We hope you like it!
INFORMATION
Hay Castle now OPEN!
In May 2022, Hay Castle opened its doors to the public for the first time in its 900-year history, following a major 10-year restoration project. The castle is one of the great surviving defence structures on the border of England and Wales, and preserves the Richard Booth Collection, which was established as a tribute to the self-declared King of Hay. The castle and the beautiful grounds are striking spaces for private and community events, as well as hosting a programme of exhibitions, musical and dramatic performances, workshops, performing arts, and cultural activities.

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