| Oxford Literary Festival

Trevor Eve on his acting life and writing a novel

TV scientist Jim Al-Khalili on what modern physics tells us

David Lammy talks about his book Tribes

Sebastian Barry joins a panel on Irish literature

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Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alex Rider with Anthony Horowitz

TV news presenter Kirsty Wark on her second novel

Chris Packham on his passion for wildlife and responsible farming

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Maggie O'Farrell on her Hamlet-inspired novel

Alexander McCall Smith receives festival honorary fellowship

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Donna Leon on her latest Brunetti crime case

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Historian Lucy Worsley has fun with The Austen Girls

Historian Roy Strong on the Elizabethan image

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Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes an interactive tour of the solar system

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Image credit: Justine Stoddard ©

Novelist Pat Barker talks about The Silence of the Girls

Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on his new book on morality

Welcome to the 24th FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival. We have more than 220 confirmed events available to book now. We will be adding lots more over the next few weeks. Click here to see events added since our last email newsletter.

Festival cultural partner

Festival ideas partner

International radio partner

Title partner

Patron donor for the programme of Irish literature and culture

Festival academic partner

Festival on-site and online bookseller

Festival London hotel partner

MIT Press. Sponsors of the programme of American literature and culture

Supporters of the Irish programme

Supporter of Italian programme

Partner of Jewish programme

Woodstock

St Cross College

11th St Hilda's day at the festival

Lincoln College

Worcester College

Regional media partner

Local radio partner

Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design

Alumni Office

Oxford University Images

Estate agents

K T Bruce Photography

Sheldonian events

Festival information:

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.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.

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.

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.

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

The night in Oxford was the most beautiful event I have ever done. Not just the spectacular setting (of the Sheldonian), but an unforgettable evening.

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.

FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival sponsors, donors & partners

Festival cultural partner

Festival ideas partner

International radio partner

Title partner

Patron donor for the programme of Irish literature and culture

Festival academic partner

Festival on-site and online bookseller

Festival London hotel partner

MIT Press. Sponsors of the programme of American literature and culture

Supporters of the Irish programme

Supporter of Italian programme

Partner of Jewish programme

Woodstock

St Cross College

11th St Hilda's day at the festival

Lincoln College

Worcester College

Regional media partner

Local radio partner

Festival Digital Strategy & Web Design

Alumni Office

Oxford University Images

Estate agents

K T Bruce Photography

Trevor Eve on his acting life and writing a novel

TV scientist Jim Al-Khalili on what modern physics tells us

David Lammy talks about his book Tribes

Sebastian Barry joins a panel on Irish literature

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alex Rider with Anthony Horowitz

TV news presenter Kirsty Wark on her second novel

Chris Packham on his passion for wildlife and responsible farming

Maggie O'Farrell on her Hamlet-inspired novel

Alexander McCall Smith receives festival honorary fellowship

Donna Leon on her latest Brunetti crime case

Historian Lucy Worsley has fun with The Austen Girls

Historian Roy Strong on the Elizabethan image

Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes an interactive tour of the solar system

Novelist Pat Barker talks about The Silence of the Girls

Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on his new book on morality

Sheldonian events

Penelope Lively Interviewed by Chris Patten

Chancellor’s Lecture: Life and Work

Harry Potter

Celebrating the Harry Potter Books

Alexandra Harris, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst and Roy Foster Chaired by Hermione Lee

Princeton Conversation: Lives of Houses

Val McDermid and Emma Smith

Shakespeare and Marlowe: Rivals, Collaborators, or Aliases – an Early Modern Mystery

Prue Leith and Peta Leith Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

The Vegetarian Kitchen

Chris Packham Interviewed by Philip Lymbery

Peter Roberts Compassion in World Farming Lecture

Jung Chang Interviewed by Nick Higham

Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of 20th-Century China

Allie Esiri

Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year

Sebastian Barry, Kevin Barry and Sinéad Morrissey Chaired by Boyd Tonkin

Voice of Ireland

Brenda Hale and Vernon Bogdanor

British Academy Lecture: Is the UK Constitution Fit for Purpose?

James Barr Interviewed by Peter Frankopan

Lords of the Desert: Britain’s Struggle with America to Dominate Middle East

Trevor Eve Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

An Acting Life and Lomita for Ever

Jim Al-Khalili Interviewed by Clive Cookson

The World According to Physics

Henry Blofeld

My A-Z of Cricket: A Personal Celebration of our Glorious Game

Maggie O’Farrell

Hamnet

Jonathan Sacks Interviewed by Nick Higham

Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times

Karen Armstrong

The Lost Art of Scripture

David Lammy Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Tribes: How our Need to Belong can Make or Break the Good Society

Pat Barker Interviewed by Richard Ovenden

2020 Bodley Lecture and Award of Bodley Medal: The Silence of the Girls

Michael Wood

The Story of China: A Portrait of a Civilisation and a People

Steve Jones

Here Comes the Sun: How it Makes us What we are

Alexander McCall Smith

A Celebration of A Writing Life and Honorary Fellowship

Donna Leon Interviewed by Peter Kemp

Trace Elements

Robin Stevens

Murder Most Unladylike

A C Grayling

The Good State: On the Principles of Democracy

Maggie Aderin-Pocock

An Interactive Tour of Space

Anthony Horowitz

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alex Rider

Anthony Horowitz

Licence to Thrill

Julia Neuburger

Antisemitism: What It Is. What It Isn’t. Why It Matters

Tom Holland Interviewed by Alex Preston

Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind

Lucy Worsley

The Austen Girls