Saturday 2 April 2022

David Pearson

Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Rob Biddulph

Draw with Rob
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Anthony McGowan

Dogs of the Deadlands
Exeter College: Marquee 10:00am Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
James Stourton

Heritage: A History of How We Conserve Our Past
Bodleian: Divinity School 10:00am Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Sarah Bakewell

Humanly Possible: 700 years of Humanist Freethinking, Enquiry and Hope
Exeter College: Marquee 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Keiron Pim Interviewed by Rebecca Abrams

Endless Flight: The Life of Joseph Roth
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Antonio Munoz Molina Interviewed by Boyd Tonkin

To Walk Alone in the Crowd
Bodleian: Divinity School 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Katherine Rundell

The Golden Mole and Other Living Treasure
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Robin Stevens

Ministry of Unladylike Activity
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Tom Nancollas

The Ship Asunder: A Maritime History of Britain in 11 Vessels
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Anne Katrin Schlag and Alex Stevens Chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate. Drug Policy: Are Politicians Following the Evidence or Ignoring It?
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Hannah Gold

Unforgettable Animal Adventures
Exeter College: Marquee 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Lara Feigel Interviewed by Tessa Hadley

Look! We Have Come Through! Living With D H Lawrence
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Michael Burleigh

Day of the Assassins: A History of Political Murder
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Emily Thomas

The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Caroline Dodds Pennock

On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe
Bodleian: Divinity School 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Leo Timmers

Elephant Island
Exeter College: Marquee 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Bella Pearson and Anna Goodall

Guppy Books and Maggie Blue and the Dark World
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 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.

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.

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.

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 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.