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Cristina Dondi Introduced by Henry Woudhuysen

Lincoln Lecture. The 15th-century Printing Revolution in Europe: Myths and Realities
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 6:00pm Tue 28 Tuesday, 28 March 2023 See this event
John Carey

Sunday Best: 80 Great Books from a Lifetime of Reviews SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Wed 29 Wednesday, 29 March 2023 See this event
Judith Robinson and Scott Pack Chaired by Angus Phillips

Literary Cats
Weston Lecture Theatre 6:00pm Fri 31 Friday, 31 March 2023 See this event
David Pearson

Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 2 Sunday, 2 April 2023 See this event
Irene Vallejo Interviewed by Peter Kemp

Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World
Pusey House: Chapel 6:30pm Tue 6 Tuesday, 6 June 2023 See this event

Festival information:

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.

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 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.

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

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.