Africa

Frank Thabani Sayi and Peter Godwin

The Birth of Zimbabwe: No Safer Kinder Hatred and Exit Wounds
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Sat 21 Saturday, 21 March 2026 See this event
Simukai Chigudu

Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire
Bodleian: Convocation House 12:00pm Wed 25 Wednesday, 25 March 2026 See this event
Martin Plaut talks to Nigel Biggar

Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement
Weston Lecture Theatre 2:00pm Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event

Festival information:

A stimulating and rewarding on-stage conversation . . . the best day I have enjoyed at any festival – anywhere.

I came away buzzing and reassured that we still have in this century a wide ranging community fascinated not just by famous authors but by challenging ideas and questions.

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 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.

I loved the whole atmosphere of the Oxford Literary Festival. I felt I had arrived in a kind of literary heaven.

The Oxford Literary Festival is intellectual Viagra.

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.