Literature

Penelope Lively Interviewed by Chris Patten

Chancellor’s Lecture: Life and Work
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Fri 25 Mar Friday, 25 March 2022 See this event
James Currey, Claude Joseph, Onyeka Nwelue and Nkiru. Njoku Chaired by Dan Hicks

African and Caribbean Voices
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 26 Saturday, 26 March 2022 See this event
Alastair Lack

Literary Oxford with Alastair Lack SOLD OUT
St John’s College 2:00pm Sat 26 Saturday, 26 March 2022 See this event
Sharon Ruston

The Science of Life and Death in Frankenstein
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Mon 28 Monday, 28 March 2022 See this event
Richard Harries

Hearing God in Poetry: Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Mon 28 Monday, 28 March 2022 See this event
Joe Moshenska Interviewed by Alison Gomm

Making Darkness Light: The Lives and Times of John Milton
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Mon 28 Monday, 28 March 2022 See this event
Christopher Prendergast

Living and Dying with Marcel Proust
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Mon 28 Monday, 28 March 2022 See this event
Alastair Lack

Literary Oxford with Alastair Lack SOLD OUT
St John’s College 2:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Alastair Niven Interviewed by Romesh Gunesekera

In Glad or Sorry Hours: A Life in Education and the Arts CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Peter Davidson

The Lighted Window: Evening Walks Remembered
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Tue 29 Tuesday, 29 March 2022 See this event
Marit Kapla Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

Voices of Europe. Osebol: Voices from a Swedish Village
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Adam Sisman and Geoffrey Streatfeild

Dashing for the Post: The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Ian McEwan, Karen Leeder and Laurence Laluyaux Introduced by Richard Ovenden

The Gift of Translation CANCELLED
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Xiaolu Guo Interviewed by Angus Phillips

China Lecture: Life and Work
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
John Goodall

St Cross College Lecture.The Castle: A History
St Cross College 6:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Sjoerd Levelt and Ad Putter

Voices of Europe. North Sea Crossings: The Literary Heritage of Anglo-Dutch Relations 1066–1688
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Frances Stonor Saunders

The Suitcase: Six Attempts to Cross a Border
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Emma Smith

Portable Magic: The History of our Long Love Affair with Books
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Fri 1 Friday, 1 April 2022 See this event
Joanne Harris and Kevin Crossley-Holland Chaired by Suzi Feay

Fairy Tales and Myths: Lessons in Life
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Fri 1 Friday, 1 April 2022 See this event
Julia Parry

The Shadowy Third: Love, Letters, and Elizabeth Bowen
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Fri 1 Friday, 1 April 2022 See this event
Jeremy Black Interviewed by Triona Adams

The Importance of Being Poirot
Randolph Hotel: Ballroom 6:00pm Fri 1 Friday, 1 April 2022 See this event
Catriona Kelly, Stefanie Halpern and César Merchan-Hamann

Jewish Children’s Books from Russia and Eastern Europe: a Masterclass
Weston Library: Bahari Room 11:00am Sat 2 Saturday, 2 April 2022 See this event
Alastair Lack

Literary Oxford with Alastair Lack SOLD OUT
St John’s College 2:00pm Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event
Maureen Lipman, Norma Winstone, Christian Garrick, Art Themen and Jeremy Robson

Festival 25 Celebration: An evening of Song, Humour, Poetry, and Jazz
Sheldonian Theatre 7:30pm Sun 3 Sunday, 3 April 2022 See this event

Festival information:

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

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.

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.

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.