April 1 | Oxford Literary Festival

John Bargh and Stephen Roberts Chaired by Simon Walker

Educating the Human Mind in a Robotic Age
Weston Lecture Theatre 9:30am Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Robert Hardman

Queen of the World
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Philip Goff and David Papineau Chaired by Stephen Law

The Oxford Debates: Is Consciousness Everywhere?
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Gordon Campbell

Garden History: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Alastair Lack

Oxford Poets with Alastair Lack SOLD OUT
Meet outside St John’s College Lodge (main entrance), St Giles 2:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Ursula Buchan

Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Annabel Abbs Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Frieda: A Novel of the Real Lady Chatterley
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Peter Conradi and Mark Logue

The King’s War
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Eilat Negev and Yehuda Koren

Flaming Dene. A Victorian Stunner, Nude Model and Actress
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Jonathan Cranston

The Travelling Vet: From Pets to Pandas, My Life in Animals
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Dermot Turing Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

X, Y & Z: The real Story of How Enigma was Broken SOLD OUT
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Lisa Hilton Chaired by Cassian Harrison

BBC 4 Preview Screening: Charles I and a Nation Divided
St Cross College 4:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Marcus du Sautoy

The Creativity Code: How AI is Learning to Write, Paint and Think
Sheldonian Theatre 5:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Dan Stone

Concentration Camps: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 5:15pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Michael Burleigh

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: A History of Now
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Sophie Ratcliffe Interviewed by Alan Rusbridger

The Lost Properties of Love
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event
Mike Berners-Lee

There is no Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Mon 1 Monday, 1 April 2019 See this event

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.

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

I loved the whole atmosphere of the Oxford Literary Festival. From breakfast, alongside some of the attendees, who were talking books with each other a mile a minute, to the public event at The Sheldonian where everyone was lively and engaged – I felt I had arrived in a kind of literary heaven.

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.

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 is intellectual Viagra.

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