Salman Rushdie joins Hay Festival 2025 programme to preview new work

Renowned writer, free speech advocate and Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie will appear at Hay Festival 2025 this spring in a new event announced today.

In this exclusive session on Sunday 1 June, he will talk to literary editor Erica Wagner about his recent books Knife and Victory City.

Rushdie is the author of 22 works of fiction and non-fiction, including Midnight’s Children(for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), The Satanic Verses, and  Quichotte (which were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize). A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen’s last Birthday Honours list in 2022.

Anniversary

His appearance follows his Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias event earlier this year, where he led celebrations for the Festival’s 20th anniversary in Colombia.

Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said: “We are honoured to welcome Salman Rushdie back in person to our Town of Books this spring. In a very special event, we’ll explore his recent work and the power of storytelling
to change the world. We know how much this appearance will mean to readers here; a chance to speak with one of our greatest living writers. Join us!”

Salman Rushdie said: “I’m delighted to be returning to Hay Festival after too long and greatly looking forward to
talking with Erica Wagner. Let’s hope the weather gods are kind.”

Worldwide acclaim

Hay Festival runs its 38th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, with more than 600 events over 11 days, 22 May–1 June 2025.

Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction books, while sharing insights around the biggest global issues, the programme sees more than 600 artists, policymakers, pioneers and innovators take part from around the world.

Events offer something for all, beginning with the free Schools Programme, 22–23 May, and including a vibrant strand for families throughout.

Special projects and new initiatives in the programme include:

• The Platform spotlights young creative talent
• Hay Festival Green proposes innovative solutions to the climate crisis
• The new MUBI Cinema showcases storytelling on screen
• The News Review engages with the day’s top stories
• Hay Festival Sports Day returns on Wednesday 28 May
• South to North Conversations explores issues facing the Global South
• Debut Discoveries showcases new writing talent
• Matters of Taste demos spotlight great food writers and local produce
• Creative Industry Insights sessions engage budding young creatives

Nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances will amaze audiences between sessions.

Events take place across eight stages in the free-to-enter Festival site – which offers a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés and restaurants, and the Family Garden where young readers can kick-start their creative journeys – plus immersive performances all week at St Mary’s Church.

Collaborations with Arts Council England, Black British Book Festival, Pen to Print, Living Knowledge Network, Reaching Wider, and Inclusive Books for Children make this one of the most accessible Festival editions yet. And it continues online with a selection of sessions streamed live throughout the 2025 event, continuing the Festival’s commitment to digital accessibility

Tickets are on sale now at hayfestival.org/hay-on-wye.