Sheldonian Events

Henry Dimbleby Introduced by Philip Lymbery

Ravenous: Why our Appetite is Killing us and the Planet
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sat 25 Saturday, 25 March 2023 See this event
Val McDermid and Sue Black

The Facts of Fiction: The Author and the Forensic Anthropologist
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sat 25 Saturday, 25 March 2023 See this event
Michael Morpurgo Interviewed by Philip Lymbery

Farms for City Children: The Peter Roberts Memorial Lecture
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 25 Saturday, 25 March 2023 See this event
Anthony Horowitz

Thrills and Spills: From the Diamond Brothers to Alex Rider
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sun 26 Sunday, 26 March 2023 See this event
Cressida Cowell

Which Way to Anywhere
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sun 26 Sunday, 26 March 2023 See this event
Anthony Horowitz Interviewed by Matthew Stadlen

The Twist of a Knife and a Writing Life
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sun 26 Sunday, 26 March 2023 See this event
John Banville, John Boyne and Neil Jordan

Voices of Ireland: Literature, History and Nation
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Sun 26 Sunday, 26 March 2023 See this event
Martin Rees

Science and Innovation Award: If Science is to Save Us
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Mon 27 Monday, 27 March 2023 See this event
Joseph Coelho

The Power of Poetry with the New Children’s Laureate
Sheldonian Theatre 1:00pm Tue 28 Tuesday, 28 March 2023 See this event
Gary Younge, Deborah Meaden and Kenan Malik Chaired by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Oxford Debate: You Ask the Questions
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Wed 29 Wednesday, 29 March 2023 See this event
Mick Herron Interviewed by Chris Patten

Chancellor’s Lecture: A Life of Crime
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Wed 29 Wednesday, 29 March 2023 See this event
Simon McDonald

Leadership: Lessons for Running a Better Government
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Thu 30 Thursday, 30 March 2023 See this event
Juliet Davenport, Rupert Read, Simon Sharpe and Gaia Vince Chaired by Stephen Law

Climate Breakdown: Habit, Fear, and Progress
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Thu 30 Thursday, 30 March 2023 See this event
Thomas Hertog

On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking’s Final Theory
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Thu 30 Thursday, 30 March 2023 See this event
Colm Tóibín Interviewed by Richard Ovenden

Bodley Lecture and Award of Bodley Medal: Life and Work
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Thu 30 Thursday, 30 March 2023 See this event
Roger Highfield and Peter Coveney

Virtual You: How Building Your Digital Twin Will Revolutionise Medicine and Change Your Life
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Fri 31 Friday, 31 March 2023 See this event
Al Murray

Command: How the Allies Learned to Win the Second World War
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Fri 31 Friday, 31 March 2023 See this event
Kate Bingham and Tim Hames

The Long Shot: The Inside Story of the Race to Vaccinate Britain
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Fri 31 Friday, 31 March 2023 See this event
Greta Scacchi Interviewed by Peter Guttridge

An audience with Greta Scacchi
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Fri 31 Friday, 31 March 2023 See this event
Simon Sebag Montefiore

The World: A Family History
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sat 1 Saturday, 1 April 2023 See this event
Maggie Aderin-Pocock

Am I Made of Stardust?
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sat 1 Saturday, 1 April 2023 See this event
Eleanor Catton Interviewed by Alex Preston

Birnam Wood
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sat 1 Saturday, 1 April 2023 See this event
Peter Oborne, Thomas Simpson and Alice Sherwood Chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate. Trust, Corruption, and Politicians
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Sat 1 Saturday, 1 April 2023 See this event
Rob Biddulph

Draw with Rob
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am 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

Festival information:

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.

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 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.

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.