Oxford Literary Festival

27/08/2026

On Friday, 18 September 2026, bestselling historian of espionage Ben Macintyre discusses his latest book, Redwood, a timely account of a high-level KGB double agent operating within the turmoil of 1980s Iran.

Ben Macintyre is the author of books including The Siege, Colditz, The Spy and the Traitor, SAS: Rogue Heroes, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. Several of his books, including Operation Mincemeat and SAS: Rogue Heroes, have been adapted for film, television and stage. His most recent book, The Siege, the definitive history of the Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980, was the best-selling history hardback of 2024.

Ben Macintyre - Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy

27/08/2026

On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu launches his latest book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity, a sharp and sweeping analysis of the rise – and fall – of the dominant political structure of our age.

Here he talks to Professor Ian Goldin, Oxford University professor of globalisation and development and senior fellow at the Oxford Martin School, author of The Shortest History of Migration, Age of the City and Rescue: From Global Crisis to a Better World.

Daron Acemoglu talks to Ian Goldin - What happened to liberal democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity

28/03/2026

Tomorrow, the 29th of March, award-winning writer and campaigner Lee Lawrence talks about major cases of racial injustice in Britain including his own experience of fighting for 30 years for justice for his own mother who was shot by police in an incident that sparked the 1985 Brixton riot.

Lawrence was just 11 when his mother, Cherry Groce, was mistakenly shot in the shoulder by police in a raid on the family home, leaving her paralysed. Lawrence explains how he fought for justice for his mother for 30 years. He also describes other cases of racial injustice he came across during his campaign. They include a Somali sailor wrongly convicted of murder in Cardiff, an assault on footballer Dalian Atkinson and the hounding of Notting Hill’s Mangrove Club. Lawrence highlights many positive changes that have happened but says much still needs to be done. He lays out a pathway to a truly anti-racist society.

Lawrence is an author, speaker, social entrepreneur and advocate for restorative justice. His memoir of growing up a young black man and about the shooting of his mother, The Louder I Will Sing, won the Costa Biography Award. Here he talks to writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns, who contributes to The Telegraph on books and theatre.

Lee Lawrence talks to Lindsay Johns - The Colour of Injustice

28/03/2026

Sunday 29th of March at 12:00, booker-winning author Yann Martel launches publication of his new novel at the festival, Son of Nobody, which connects the life of a foot soldier in the Trojan War with a scholar struggling to make sense of life in modern-day Oxford.

Classicist Harlow Donne discovers a lost account of the Trojan War in the depths of the Bodleian Library. He names the epic poem The Psoad after its protagonist, Greek commoner Psoas of Midea known to all as ‘son of nobody’. The text sends echoes of Ancient Greece into the present day, and a personal message to Harlow’s beloved daughter Helen appears. The novel explores themes of homesickness, regret, ambition, love and grief across the ages.

Martel is author of the international bestseller Life of Pi, winner of the Booker Prize. The book was turned into a film that gained four Oscars. He is also author of Self, Beatrice & Virgil and The High Mountains of Portugal. Martel also ran a guerilla book club with Stephen Harper, sending the prime minister of Canada a book every two weeks for four years. Here he talks to Ben Lawrence, arts editor at The Telegraph.

Yann Martel talks to Ben Lawrence - Son of Nobody

28/03/2026

Today, Saturday the 28th of March, writer and parish priest Father Michael Collins and Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb explain how a little-known and softspoken cardinal from the United States became the new Pope.

Collins has written several papal biographies and books on history, travel, the history of publishing and the papacy, including The Vatican: Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City. His new biography of the North American pope brings the reader from Chicago to Peru and hence to Rome. After the whirlwind pontificate of Pope Francis, Leo’s approach is one of stability, while building on the achievements of his predecessor. Collins explains the manoeuvres that excluded the favourite cardinal to bring a little-known missionary to the Chair of Peter.

Lamb is CNN’s Vatican correspondent and a former Daily Telegraph (The Telegraph) and The Tablet journalist. In American Hope: What Pope Leo XIV Means for the Church and World he looks at what the election of a peacemaker and determined reformer means for both the Catholic church and the world. He says Leo will act as a spiritual counterweight to Donald Trump, challenge MAGA populism and give greater roles to women.

Discussions are chaired by journalist Nick Higham, who was the BBC’s first ever media correspondent and is a former presenter of Meet the Author on the BBC news channel.

Michael Collins and Christopher Lamb Chaired by Nick Higham - American Hope: Leo XIV Builder of Bridges

25/03/2026

On Saturday, 28th March, US journalist and author Rod Dreher talks about his latest book exploring the mystery and meaning of the supernatural world and about his belief that the British have lost respect for their history, traditions and values and what he describes as an acceleration of ‘soft totalitarianism’.

Dreher says the world has become closed to the idea that the universe contains the supernatural or metaphysical. However, he argues that people are still searching for the divine. He explains how to encounter and embrace wonder in the world and how to reconnect with the natural world and the tradition of Christianity. Dreher will also talk about his view that British people now have contempt for their values, institutions, history and identity. And he will also address themes in his book Live Not by Lies, which argues there is an acceleration of ‘soft totalitarianism’ in our societies, including cancel culture, marginalising of conservative opinions and unprecedented restriction of civil liberties in responses to things such as Covid-19.

Here he talks to historian and leader writer for the Telegraph, Tim Stanley. News, National Review, the American Conservative and the European Conservative. He is author of six books, including The Benedict Option and Live Not by Lies. Here he talks to historian and leader writer for the Telegraph, Tim Stanley.

Here he talks to historian and leader writer for The Telegraph, Tim Stanley.

Rod Dreher talks to Tim Stanley - Living in Wonder: Finding Mystery and Meaning in a Secular Age

24/03/2026

On Wednesday, the 25th, social and cultural historian Professor Matt Cook and historian Professor Rebecca Jennings discuss a collection of LGBTIQ+ histories from the last 80 years and explain how they show how communities have fought against injustice and for equal rights.

Cook and Jennings are two of the four editors behind the collection, A Q***r Scrapbook, which brings together materials from interviews, newspaper articles, photographs and flyers published since 1945. The collection reflects the changing q***r landscape in urban and rural areas. It focuses on broad themes of home and family, s*x and socialising, arts and culture, and politics and activism.

Cook is Jonathan Cooper Professor of the History of S*xuality at the University of Oxford and author of books including A Gay History of Britain. Jennings is associate professor of modern gender history at University College London and author of books including A Le***an History of Britain: Love and S*x between Women since 1500.

Discussions are chaired by writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns, who contributes to The Telegraph on books and theatre.

Matt Cook and Rebecca Jennings Chaired by Lindsay Johns - A Q***r Scrapbook: Britain and Ireland Since 1945

19/03/2026

On Sunday, 22 March, Professor Catherine Clarke tells the history of Britain through 25 poems written between the eighth century and today and explains how they connect us with the emotions and imaginations of those who lived them.

Clarke shows how the poems take readers to battlefields, into royal courts and down coal mines and invite us to an immersive encounter with the time. Their creators witnessed events from the Great Fire of London to the Miners’ Strike. Clarke says these poems offer new perspectives on how the nation dreamed itself into existence and on who gets to tell the story.

Clarke is a professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and director of the Victoria County History of England. Here she talks to Lucy Thynne, deputy literary editor of The Telegraph , who writes the Poem of the Week column.
Daily Telegraph

Catherine Clarke talks to Lucy Thynne - A History of England in 25 Poems

18/03/2026

On Thursday, 26 March, award-winning writer Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst reflects on more than 20 years’ teaching English literature and offers some simple techniques to help readers get more from their reading.

Douglas-Fairhurst says reading is more relevant today than it ever was. He explains how to slow down, take note and bring a text to life. Douglas-Fairhurst shows how great writing can change a person’s life. He celebrates the simple joy of reading and says becoming more attentive readers can open worlds and bring us closer to ourselves in delightful and unexpected ways.

Douglas-Fairhurst is a professor of English literature at the University of Oxford. He is author of Becoming Dickens, winner of the Duff Cooper Prize, The Story of Alice and Metamorphosis. He has acted as a consultant on TV dramatisations of literary classics and has been a judge for the Booker prize and Baillie Gifford Prize. Here he talks to the literary editor of The Telegraph Cal Revely-Calder.
Daily Telegraph

Robert Douglas-Fairhurst talks to Cal Revely-Calder - Look Closer: How to Get More out of Reading

18/03/2026

"It's about finding joy in the midst of loss and choosing hope."

This Saturday, I'll be speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival. I sat down with Ox In A Box to talk about Grief...a Comedy: