Oxford Debates

Eric Kaufmann, Nicola Kelly, Keon West and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: The Changing Landscape of Racism
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 29 Saturday, 29 March 2025 See this event
Justin Schlosberg, Tony Sewell and Zoe Strimpel chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debates: Immigration and the 2024 Riots
Trinity College, Levene Building: Auditorium 2:00pm Sun 30 Sunday, 30 March 2025 See this event
Chris Atkins, Gen Glaister and Rob McKeon chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate. Banged Up: Perspectives of an Ex-prisoner, Ex-prison officer, and Parole Board Member
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Tue 1 Tuesday, 1 April 2025 See this event
Helen Beebee and Philip Goff chaired by Tilda Storey Law

Oxford Debate: From Atoms to Awareness: What is Consciousness?
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Wed 2 Wednesday, 2 April 2025 See this event
Simon Heffer, Grace Blakeley, Marina Purkiss and Zoe Strimpel chaired by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Oxford Debate: You Ask the Questions
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Thu 3 Thursday, 3 April 2025 See this event
Mattias Desmet, Sunetra Gupta and Jolyon Maugham chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Covid and Corruption
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Thu 3 Thursday, 3 April 2025 See this event
Grace Blakeley and Zoe Strimpel chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate. Is Britain Broken? If it is, how do we fix it?
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Fri 4 Friday, 4 April 2025 See this event
Grace Blakeley, Matthew Goodwin and Justin Schlosberg chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Rising Fascism?
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Fri 4 Friday, 4 April 2025 See this event
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Nigel Biggar and Matthew Goodwin chaired by Gary Francione

Oxford Debates. Woke and Free Speech: Universities and Beyond
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 5 Saturday, 5 April 2025 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 Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.