Wednesday 30 March 2022

Geoffrey Tyack

The Historic Heart of Oxford University
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Jo Willett

The Pioneering Life of Mary Wortley Montague: Scientist and Feminist
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Stephen Law

How to think about Weird Things
St Cross College 10:00am Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Typesetting and Printing on the Hand-press SOLD OUT
Bodleian: Schola Musicae 11:00am Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Simon Jenkins

Europe’s 100 Greatest Cathedrals SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Renske Mann Interviewed by Mark Hudson

The Girl in the Green Jumper: My Life with the Artist Cyril Mann
St Cross College 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Nicholas Crane Interviewed by Nick Higham

Latitude: The True Story of the World’s First Scientific Expedition
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 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
Paul Summerville and Eric Protzer Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Reclaiming Populism: How Economic Fairness Can Win Back Disenchanted Voters
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Bodleian Libraries

Typesetting and Printing on the Hand-press SOLD OUT
Bodleian: Schola Musicae 2:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Raffi Berg

Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Holiday Resort
St Cross College 2:00pm Wed 30 Mar Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Valérie Perrin

Voices of Europe: Fresh Water for Flowers and Three CANCELLED
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Matthew Dennison

The Queen
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Alastair Santhouse

Head First: A Psychiatrist’s Stories of Mind and Body
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
James Fox

The World According to Colour: A Cultural History CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm 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
Philip Mansel

Louis XIV and the English: the Road to Versailles
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm 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
Charlotte Philby Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Edith and Kim
St Cross College 4:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Nigel Ashton

False Prophets: British Leaders’ Fateful Fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Ondjaki, Ever Obi and Nikhil Singh Interviewed by Onyeka Nwelue

Transparent City, Men Don’t Die and Club Ded
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Richard Hamilton

Tangier: From the Romans to The Rolling Stones
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Wed 30 Mar 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
Daniel Snowman

Just Passing Through: Interactions with the World 1938 to 2021 CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Alexandra Lloyd

Defying Hitler: The White Rose Pamphlets
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 2022 See this event
Geert Mak Interviewed by Gwenan Edwards

Voices of Europe: The Dream of Europe
Bodleian: Divinity School 6:00pm Wed 30 Wednesday, 30 March 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.