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Sunday 24 March

Susie Dent interviewed by Elizabeth Garner

Roots of Happiness: 100 Words for Joy and Hope SOLD OUT
Weston Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Geoffrey Robertson and Robert Service Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Russia: Past and Future SOLD OUT
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Jacqueline Wilson

The Girl Who Wasn’t There
Sheldonian Theatre 10:00am Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Manjiri Prabhu interviewed by Boyd Tonkin

Legend of the Snow Queen
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 10:00am Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Venki Ramakrishnan talks to Nuala McGovern

BBC World Service. Forward Thinking: Who Wants to Live Forever?
10:45am Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Kate Young and Ella Risbridger

The Dinner Table
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
C A Castle, Lex Croucher and K J Charles interviewed by Suzi Feay

Queering the Period Drama
Weston Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Christopher Preston

Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries that Change How we think about Animals
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Zeinab Badawi interviewed by Nick Higham

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Tom Holland Nicolette Jones

The Wolf-Girl, the Greeks and the Gods: a Tale of the Persian Wars
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang

Dragon Force
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Fernanda Eberstadt talks to George Prochnik

Bite your Friends
Exeter College: Chapel 12:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Bodleian Guides

Children’s Stories: A Family Walking Tour SOLD OUT
Weston Library Steps 1:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Kerry McInerney talks to Nuala McGovern

BBC World Service. Forward Thinking: Can Feminism Fix the Internet?
1:45pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Linda Yueh

The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Agnès Poirier talks to Matthew Stadlen

Left Bank: Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-50 SOLD OUT
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Michael Benton

Dinosaur Behaviour
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Josephine Quinn Peter Frankopan

How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Mya-Rose Craig talks to Susannah Jowitt

Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Catherine Doyle and Alex Bell chaired by Elizabeth Garner

Worlds of Wonder
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Venki Ramakrishnan and Andrew Scott chaired by Paul Nuki

Life and Death: The Science and Challenges of Living Longer
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Holly Jackson in conversation with Katherine Webber

The Reappearance of Rachel Price SOLD OUT
Exeter College: Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding

The Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Tasting SOLD OUT
Lincoln College: Oakeshott Room 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Elizabeth Cripps

Parenting on Earth: A Philosopher’s Guide to Doing Right by Your Kids and Everyone Else
Exeter College: Chapel 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Nichole Fazio

Julia Margaret Cameron: A Poetry of Photography CANCELLED
Weston Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Catherine Nixey

Heresy: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God
Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Lemony Snicket Jack Meggitt-Phillips

A Series of Unfortunate Events
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
Greg Doran interviewed by Suzi Feay

My Shakespeare: A Director’s Journey through the First Folio SOLD OUT
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event
William Hague interviewed by Dinah Rose

President of Magdalen Lecture: A Political Life
Sheldonian Theatre 5:00pm Sun 24 Sunday, 24 March 2024 See this event

Festival information:

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.

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.

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

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.

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.