March 31 | Oxford Literary Festival

Matthew Sturgis

Oscar: A Life
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
John Bargh

Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Mary Robinson Interviewed by Nick Higham

Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Antonia Keaney and Percy

Percy at the Palace: A Dog’s Eye View of Blenheim Palace
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
David Nott Interviewed by Hannah Beckerman

War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line SOLD OUT
St Cross College 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Charles Godfray, David Stanley, Maggie Charnley, Tony Wardle and Elinor Newman-Beckett Chaired by Lucian Hudson

Earthwatch Debate. Food for Thought: Can Veganism Save the Planet
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Christopher Lloyd

The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare
Bodleian Weston Library: Blackwell Hall 11:00am Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Martin Moore and Jamie Susskind Chaired by Ian Goldin

Is Democracy and Freedom Threatened by Technology SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Geraldine McCaughrean

Words, Words, Words: The Case Against Dumbing Down
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Suzanna Crampton

Bodacious: The Shepherd Cat
St Cross College 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Martin Bell, Kate Adie and Deric Henderson Chaired by Ivan Little

Reporting the Troubles: Journalists on the Northern Ireland Conflict
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Jo Cotterill and Cath Howe Chaired by Miranda McKearney

Empathy Workshop: Can Books Make you a Better Person?
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Will Iredale, Colin Bell and Keith Quilter

Pathfinders and Kamikaze Hunters: The Last of the World War II Aviators
Randolph Hotel: Ballroom 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Giles Yeo

Gene Eating: The Science of Obesity and the Truth about Diets
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Catherine McIlwaine

Stepping into Tolkien’s Study
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Sarah Harper

Demography: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Michael Nylan

The Chinese Pleasure Book
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Sam Willis and James Daybell

Histories of the Unexpected
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
John Boyne Interviewed by Hannah Beckerman

A Ladder to the Sky
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
John Dougherty

Dinosaurs and Dinner-Ladies
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Ruth O’Callaghan

A Poetry Workshop: Becoming SOLD OUT
St Cross College 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Sophia Bennett, Sofia Karamani, Safia El Dabi and Rachel Noel

The Bigger Picture: Women Who Changed the Art World
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Writing Workshop SOLD OUT
St Cross College 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Rachel Moss Interviewed by Janina Ramirez

The Book of Durrow
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Christopher Lloyd

Absolutely Everything! A History of Earth, Dinosaurs, Rulers, Robots and Other Things Too Numerous
Bodleian Weston Library: Blackwell Hall 2:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Simon Schama Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

An Audience with Simon Schama
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Chris Thorogood

Perfectly Peculiar Plants
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Geraldine McCaughrean and Sally Nicholls Chaired by Rebecca Butler

Oxford’s Finest: Writing and Inspiration
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Paul Lynch and Caoilinn Hughes Interviewed by Suzi Feay

Emerging Irish Voices
St Cross College 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Robert Daws

Wodehouse in Wonderland by William Humble
Randolph Hotel: Ballroom 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Gelong Thubten

A Monk’s Guide to Happiness: Meditation for the 21st Century SOLD OUT
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Digby Jones

Fixing Business: Making Profitable Business Work for The Good of All
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Jeremy Robson Interviewed by Maureen Lipman

Under Cover: A Poet’s Life in Publishing
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Ruth O’Callaghan

Poetry Reading: Becoming
St Cross College 6:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event
Adrian O’Neill

Irish Dinner: Celebrating theProgramme of Irish Literature and Culture
Worcester College 7:00pm Sun 31 Sunday, 31 March 2019 See this event

Festival information:

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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