Society | Oxford Literary Festival

Hans Herren and Philip Lymbery

Pasture to Plate®: How to Nourish the World
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 30 Saturday, 30 March 2019 See this event
Martin Rees Interviewed by Ian Goldin

Princeton Lecture. On the Future: Prospects for Humanity
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 30 Saturday, 30 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
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
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
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
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
Cameron Hepburn and Kirk Hamilton Chaired by Ian Goldin

National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Peter Hitchens and David Edgar Chaired by Stephen Law

The Oxford Debates: The Loss of Britain SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Aatish Taseer Interviewed by Boyd Tonkin

The Twice-Born: Life and Death on the Ganges
St Cross College 2:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

In Defence of Political Correctness
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Ed Vulliamy Interviewed by Daniel Snowman

When Words Fail: A Life with Music, War and Peace
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Ben Crane

Blood Ties and Global Falconry Traditions
Worcester College: Linbury Building 4:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Bobby Duffy

The Perils of Perception: Why We’re Wrong About Everything
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Robert Winston Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

An Audience with Robert Winston
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Ariane Sherine

The Oxford Debates: Is it Time to Reinvent Me Too?
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Tue 2 Tuesday, 2 April 2019 See this event
Alan Rusbridger Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Dominic Wilkinson and Julian Savulescu

Ethics, Conflict and Medical Treatment for Children
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Mary Beard Interviewed by Brooke Masters

Women and Power: A Manifesto SOLD OUT
Sheldonian Theatre 2:15pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Lisa Appignanesi

Everyday Madness: On Grief, Anger, Loss and Love
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Katherine Ormerod and Julian Baggini Chaired by Stephen Law

The Oxford Debates: Is Social Media Ruining our Lives?
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Heather Widdows

Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Wed 3 Wednesday, 3 April 2019 See this event
Jacqueline Rose Interviewed by Claire Armitstead

Mothers: An Essay on Love and Cruelty
St Cross College 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Andrew Copson and Andrew Grey Chaired by Stephen Law

The Oxford Debates. Assisted Dying and Euthanasia: Is it Morally acceptable?
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Onora O’Neill Interviewed by Jonathan Derbyshire

Judgement in Ethics and Politics CANCELLED
St Cross College 4:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Michael Dunn

Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 5:15pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Colin Mayer Interviewed by Andrew Hill

Prosperity and the Future of the Corporation
St Cross College 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Ian Goldin

Clarity from Chaos: Making Sense of Our Confusing Times
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Thu 4 Thursday, 4 April 2019 See this event
Oliver Bullough

Moneyland: Why Thieves Rule the World & How to Take it Back
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Barbie Nadeau Interviewed by Teresa Franco

Roadmap to Hell: Sex, Drugs and Guns on the Mafia Coast
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Paola Diana Introduced by Gilbert Licudi

Gibraltar Lecture. Saving the World. Women: The Twenty-First Century’s Factor for Change
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Jo Brand

Born Lippy: How to do Female SOLD OUT
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Stefan Dercon

Dull Disasters? How Planning Ahead Will Make a Difference.
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Fri 5 Friday, 5 April 2019 See this event
Merve Emre

What’s Your Type? The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 10:00am Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Cass Sunstein Interviewed by Tim Harford

How Change Happens
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
JPat Brown and Beryl C D Lipton

Writers under Surveillance: The FBI Files
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Ali Ansari

These Islands: A Letter to Britain
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Ben Arogundade

Fake Views? The Donald Trump Book of Covers — Celebrity, Politics and the Press SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 6 Saturday, 6 April 2019 See this event
Thomas Bollyky

Plagues and the Paradox of Progress: Why the World Is Getting Healthier in Worrisome Ways
Worcester College: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 7 Sunday, 7 April 2019 See this event
Josephine Wolff

Cybersecurity: You’ll See This Message When It’s Too Late
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 April 2019 See this event

Festival information:

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Founded 1884

Reuben College founded in 2019

Magdalen College founded 1458

Trinity College founded 1555

Lincoln College founded 1427

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New College founded 1379

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