Politics

Jonathan Dimbleby talks to Chris Patten

Lord Patten Free Speech Conversation: War in Palestine and the New World Order SOLD OUT
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Sat 21 Saturday, 21 March 2026 See this event
Liam Byrne talks to Paul Simons

Why Populists Are Winning: and How to Beat Them
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 2 6:00pm Sat 21 Saturday, 21 March 2026 See this event
Taeku Lee, Oliver Bullough, Sarah Stein Lubrano and Pepper Culpepper chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Is Democracy under Threat from Oligarchs and Corporate Capture?
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 12:00pm Sun 22 Sunday, 22 March 2026 See this event
David Marsh, Marina Wheeler and Victor Mallet chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Can Europe Survive? SOLD OUT
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 4:00pm Mon 23 Monday, 23 March 2026 See this event
Zoe Gardner, Simon Heffer and Jonathan Portes chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate. Immigration Debate: Legitimate Concerns or the Mainstreaming of Racism? SOLD OUT
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Tue 24 Tuesday, 24 March 2026 See this event
Jeremy Hunt in conversation with David Starkey

David Starkey Talks: Can Britain Be Great Again?
Sheldonian Theatre 2:00pm Wed 25 Wednesday, 25 March 2026 See this event
John Sergeant talks to William Hague

Chancellor’s Forum: Give me Ten Seconds
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Wed 25 Wednesday, 25 March 2026 See this event
Fawaz Gerges

The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Thu 26 Thursday, 26 March 2026 See this event
Vince Cable talks to David Isaac

Provost of Worcester Lecture. Eclipsing the West: China, India and the Forging of a New World
Sheldonian Theatre 4:00pm Thu 26 Thursday, 26 March 2026 See this event
Rime Allaf, Patrick Haenni and Jerome Drevon chaired by Iram Ramzan

The Future of Syria after Assad
Pusey House: Chapel 10:00am Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Zoe Gardner, Eric Heinze, James Schneider and Zoe Strimpel chaired by Stephen Law

Oxford Debate: Has Socialism’s Time Come?
Department for Continuing Education: Lecture Theatre 10:00am Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Ed Davey and Tiggy Walker chaired by Gwenan Edwards

Why We Care and Why it Matters
Sheldonian Theatre 12:00pm Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Mia Bennett talks to Alex Diggins

Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic
Oxford Martin School: Lecture Theatre 12:00pm Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Alan Johnson talks to Lindsay Johns

Harold Wilson: Twentieth-Century Man
Pusey House: Chapel 2:00pm Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Sajid Javid talks to Alan Johnson

The Colour of Home: Growing up in 1970s Britain
Sheldonian Theatre 6:00pm Fri 27 Friday, 27 March 2026 See this event
Avi Shlaim and Peter Oborne

Gaza: Genocide and Britain’s Complicity in Destruction
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 10:00am Sat 28 Saturday, 28 March 2026 See this event
Penny Mordaunt talks to Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton

Pomp and Circumstance: Why Britain’s Traditions Matter
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 12:00pm Sat 28 Saturday, 28 March 2026 See this event
Andrew Monaghan

Blitzkrieg and the Russian Art of War
Pusey House: Chapel 2:00pm Sat 28 Saturday, 28 March 2026 See this event
Naz Shah talks to Harriet Wistrich

Honoured: Survival, Strength and my Path to Politics
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 2 6:00pm Sat 28 Saturday, 28 March 2026 See this event
Daron Acemoglu

What happened to liberal democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 6:30pm Wed Sep 16 Wednesday, 16 September 2026 See this event
Ben Macintyre

Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy
Oxford University Mathematical Institute: Lecture Theatre 1 6:30pm Fri Sep 18 Friday, 18 September 2026 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 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 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 but by challenging ideas and questions.