Thursday 31 March 2022

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
John Scriven and Tim Dieppe

Beyond the Odds: Providence in Britain’s Wars of the 20th Century
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Helen Batten

The Improbable Adventures of Miss Emily Soldene: Actress, Writer, and Rebel Victorian
St Cross College 10:00am Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Richard Moxon Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

Brain Fever: How Vaccines Prevent Meningitis And Other Killer Diseases
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 10:00am Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Nick Higham

The Mercenary River. Private Greed, Public Good: A History of London’s Water
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Jenny Goodman

Staying Alive in Toxic Times: A Seasonal Guide to Lifelong Health
St Cross College 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Alison Richard

The Sloth Lemur’s Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Antonio Munoz Molina Interviewed by Boyd Tonkin

Voices of Europe. To Walk Alone in the Crowd CANCELLED
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Martin Bell Interviewed by Mary Hockaday

War and Peacekeeping: Personal Reflections on Conflict and Lasting Peace
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Rob Percival Interviewed by Henry Mance

The Meat Paradox. Eating, Empathy, and the Future of Meat
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Howard Jacobson Interviewed by Sophie Ratcliffe

Mother’s Boy: A Writer’s Beginnings
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Osman Yousefzada Interviewed by Sally Bayley

The Go-between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different Worlds
St Cross College 2:00pm 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
George Carey Interviewed by Angela Tilby

The Truth Will Set You Free: Memoirs Continued
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Mark Ford, Lyndall Gordon, Jason Harding, Hannah Sullivan and Geoffrey Streatfeild

T. S. Eliot: A Celebration of his Life, Work, and Legacy, and of the T.S. Eliot Foundation and Prize
Bodleian: Divinity School 2:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Daisy Hay Interviewed by Suzi Feay

Dinner with Joseph Johnson: Books and Friendship in a Revolutionary Age
St Cross College 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Charles Dellheim

Belonging and Betrayal: How Jews Made the Art World Modern CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Andrew Lownie

Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Darren Naish

Dinopedia: A Brief Compendium of Dinosaur Lore CANCELLED
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Ed Miliband

The Provost of Worcester College Lecture. Go Big: 20 Bold Solutions to Fix our World
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Oliver Bullough

Butler to the World: How Britain Lost an Empire and Found a Role SOLD OUT
St Cross College 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Norman Scott Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

An Accidental Icon: How I Dodged a Bullet, Spoke Truth to Power and Lived to Tell the Tale
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Philipp Ther

Voices of Europe. The Outsiders: Refugees in Europe since 1492
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Zadie Smith Interviewed by Richard Ovenden

2022 Bodley Lecture and Award of Bodley Medal: Life and Work
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event
Alister McGrath, David Papineau and Christopher French Chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Scientism, Religion, and the Limits of Reason
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Thu 31 Thursday, 31 March 2022 See this event

Festival information:

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.

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 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 Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.

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

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.