Saturday 4 April 2020

Jem Poster and Sarah Burton

Creative Writing Course. Real Lives: Writing Biography and Memoir
St Cross College 9:30am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Robin Stevens

Murder Most Unladylike
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Euton Daley

Ending the Silence
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Christopher Fletcher

Rare and Beautiful American Books
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Nicholas Foulkes

Time Tamed: The Remarkable Story of Humanity’s Quest to Measure Time
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Frank Close

Trinity: The Treachery and Pursuit of the Most Dangerous Spy in History
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve

Kevin’s Great Escape
Cohen Quad: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Abi Daré and Abbie Greaves Interviewed by Suzi Feay

The Girl with the Louding Voice and The Silent Treatment
St Cross College 10:00am Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Anna Fifield Interviewed by Alec Russell

The Great Successor: The Secret Rise and Rule of Kim Jong Un CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Patrick Curry

Enchantment: Wonder in Modern Life
St Cross College 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Leah Plunkett

Sharenthood: Why We Should Think before We Post about our Kids CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Christopher Tugendhat Interviewed by Alex Preston

A History of Britain Through Books 1900-1964
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Michelle Paver

Wolf Brother Returns
Cohen Quad: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
A C Grayling

The Good State: On the Principles of Democracy
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
FT Editors

FT Leader Debate
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Keepsake Printing
Weston Library 12:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Paul Luna

Typography: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 1:15pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Alastair Lack

Literary Oxford with Alastair Lack SOLD OUT
St John’s College 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Maggie Aderin-Pocock

An Interactive Tour of Space
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Arthur Miller

The Artist in the Machine: The World of AI-Powered Creativity
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Nora Krug

Heimat: A German Family Album CANCELLED
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Emma Carroll

The Somerset Tsunami
St Cross College 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Gill Hornby Interviewed by Peter Kemp

Miss Austen
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Hugh St Clair

A Lesson in Art & Life: The Colourful World of Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Josh Berson

The Meat Question: Animals, Humans and the Deep History of Food
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Barney Norris Interviewed by Sophie Ratcliffe

The Vanishing Hours
St Cross College 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Thomas Hegghammer and Azadeh Moaveni

What Draws People to Global Jihad?
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Philip Reeve and Frances Hardinge

Pure magic
Cohen Quad: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Anthony Horowitz Interviewed by Amanda Craig

Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Alex Rider
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Dana Arnold

Art History: A Very Short Introduction
Blackwell’s Marquee 5:15pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Casey Gerald Interviewed by Oliver Balch

There Will Be No Miracles Here: Life in the Shadow of the American Dream CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
William Feaver

The Lives of Lucian Freud: Youth 1922-1968
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Ainissa Ramirez

The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
Cohen Quad: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Martin Sandbu

The Economics of Belonging
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Ben Okri Interviewed by Alastair Niven

Prayer for the Living
St Cross College 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
Ken Clarke Interviewed by Robert Shrimsley

FT Weekend Lecture: A Lifetime in Politics
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 See this event
The Festival American Dinner

Celebrating the Programme of American Literature and Culture CANCELLED
Trinity College 7:30pm Sat 4 Saturday, 4 April 2020 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.