November 7

Maggie Aderin-Pocock Introduced by Bridget Holligan

An Interactive Tour of Space
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sun 7 Nov Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
John Carey Interviewed by Bernard O’Donoghue

100 Poets: A Little Anthology
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Elif Shafak Interviewed by Suzi Feay

The Island of Missing Trees SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Arthur Miller

Machines that Make Art, Improvise Music and Write Film Scripts
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 7 Nov Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Chris Packham Interviewed by Philip Lymbery

Peter Roberts Compassion in World Farming Lecture
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sun 7 Nov Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Clive Aslet

The Story of the Country House: A History of Places and People
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Iain MacGregor Interviewed by Michael Crick

Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, the Berlin Wall and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 7 Nov Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Michael Morpurgo, Natalie Walter and Clare O’Connell Introduced by Suzanne Aspden

The Carnival of the Animals
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Henry Eliot

The Penguin Modern Classics Book
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Julia Neuberger Interviewed by Nick Higham

Antisemitism: What It Is. What It Isn’t. Why It Matters
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sun 7 Nov Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Joanne Harris Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

A Narrow Door
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 See this event
Kate Griggs Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

This is Dyslexia: The Untapped Power of Dyslexic Thinking and its Vital Role in our Future
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 7 Sunday, 7 November 2021 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.

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 Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.

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.

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