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Sunday April 2

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
Giles Tremlett

España: A Brief History of Spain
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 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 CANCELLED
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
James Stourton

Heritage: A History of How We Conserve Our Past
Blackwell’s bookshop 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Helena Lee Interviewed by Adam Rutherford

Who Gets to Tell the Story? Amplifying Overlooked Voices in Britain Today with East Side Voices
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Ian Goldin

Age of the City: Why our Future will be Won or Lost Together
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Tom Nancollas Interviewed by Nick Higham

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 and 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
Peter Frankopan Interviewed by David Isaac

Provost of Worcester College Lecture. The Earth Transformed: An Untold History
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Jim Mellon

Juno’s Ark
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Carla Guelfenbein Interviewed by Ian Goldin

My Writing Life
Blackwell’s bookshop 2:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Michael Burleigh

Day of the Assassins: A History of Political Murder CANCELLED
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
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Leo Timmers and Fiona Ross

Elephant Island
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 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
Lavie Tidhar Interviewed by Lucian Hudson

Maror: Bloody Tale of the Making of a Nation
Exeter College: Marquee 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Adam Rutherford and Matthew Cobb Chaired by Stephen Law

Genetic Control: A Fantastic Opportunity or a Dark Future
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Jordan Peterson

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life SOLD OUT
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm 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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.