Double booker winner Mantel heads world-class line-up

Double booker winner Mantel heads world-class line-up

Hilary Mantel

Double Booker-winning novelist Hilary Mantel is among a world-class line-up of speakers at the 2017 FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival announced today. Mantel talks to historian Diarmaid MacCulloch about their different perspectives on the historical character at the centre of her two Booker-winning novels, Thomas Cromwell.

Paul Nurse

Booking is now open for the festival, which also welcomes novelists Vikram Seth, Alexander McCall Smith and William Boyd; multi-award-winning poet Simon Armitage; Nobel-winning scientist Paul Nurse, pictured left; and international cellist Steven Isserlis in a joint event with actor Simon Callow. An extensive programme for children and young people includes the return of the popular Harry Potter show, The Magical World of Harry Potter, and appearances by illustrator Nick Sharratt, explorer Justin Miles and detective fiction writer Robin Stevens. The 2017 festival takes place between Saturday March 26 and Sunday April 2. You can book online on this website, at our new telephone box office on 0333 666 3366*, or in person at Oxford Visitor Information Centre*, Broad Street, Oxford. More events will be added to the programme over the next few weeks. * A £1.50 agent's booking fee applies to all bookings made by phone and at the visitor information centre.

2023

2022

Festival information:

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

Every literary festival stays in an author’s mind for slightly individual reasons. I shall remember the Oxford festival for: - the size of the audience: at the top end of the range - their intelligence – this makes a huge difference for a speaker. In the Oxford audience I encountered many experts in the field my book covered and even one of the ambassadors I’d quoted - the beauty and the grace of the place itself – incomparable - the willingness of my hearers to buy books afterwards; I’ve never sold more.

A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation; a lively informed and tolerant audience; privileged access to the great treasures of the Bodleian, and finally, wonderfully interesting dinner companions to help me conclude the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere.

The Oxford festival is the most elegant and atmospheric of literary festivals. It’s a pleasure to both attend and perform there.

I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors (I’ve rarely seen so many concentrated in one place) but by challenging ideas and questions.

It was a privilege for me to visit the festival to receive the Bodley Medal. As an incidental blessing I saw Oxford at its most mysterious and atmospheric. It was a day of piercing cold and as I walked through the twilight from the Sheldonian to Christ Church, the streets were empty and the whole city was shutting itself away. Christ Church was silent except for the footfall of unseen persons around corners and the sounds of evensong creeping from behind closed doors. For the first time I understood thoroughly the power of college ghost stories.

The Oxford Literary Festival has in my mind become the leading literary festival of the year. The organisation, the roster of speakers, the ambience and the sheer quality of it all is superb. May it now go from strength to strength each year stretching its ambition more and more. I believe it will.

Often as an author, I only occasionally get to meet the public who buy and read my books. The Oxford Literary Festival was a special opportunity for me and certainly one of the highlights of my career – it was an honour I will never forget.

The Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

Festival media partner

Supported by the Delegation of the European Union to the UK

Supporter of the festival's Voices of Europe programme

International radio partner

Supporter of programme of science and medicine and annual science and innovation award

Festival cultural partner

Festival ideas partner

The Spanish Embassy: supporters of the programme of Spanish literature and culture

The Cervantes Institute, London

The Italian Embassy: supporter of the programme of Italian literature and culture

Festival London hotel partner

Festival literary heritage partner

Festival on-site and online bookseller

Festival hotel

Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection

Five-star hotel partners of The Oxford Collection

Patron donor for the programme of Irish literature and culture

CEO of Project People

Supporters of the programme of American literature and culture

Exeter College: college home of the festival. Founded 1314

New College founded 1379

Worcester College founded 1714

Lincoln College founded 1427

St Cross College founded 1965

Trinity College founded 1555

Magdalen College founded 1458

Accountants to the festival

Wines of the Douro Valley

Prestige publishing partner. Celebrating 25 years in Europe in 2024

Sponsor of the EBRD Literature Prize since 2018

Georgia's leading lifestyle hotel brand since 2012. Supporters of the programme of Georgian literature and culture

Partner of Oxford Literary Festival

Oxford International Centre for Publishing

Festival academic partner

Olive oil from Sicily

Local radio partner

Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design

Alumni Office

Oxford University Images

Supporter of the programme of Georgian literature and culture

Corporate communications

K T Bruce Photography