Joanna Lumley and Moby for Hay Festival line-up
- Published
The festival attracts book lovers from all over every year
Maxine Peake, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry and Moby are among the stars who will appear at this year's Hay Festival in Powys.
The full line-up has been unveiled ahead of the event opening in Hay-on-Wye at the end of May.
Actors and novelists mix with politicians and historians at the annual 10-day festival.
Festival director Peter Florence said the event was "a space to think, and to think again".
Stephen Fry, who is also the festival's president, will discuss his books Mythos and Heroes.
Moby and Joanna Lumley are in the Hay festival line-up
Novelist Ian McEwan is set to talk about his forthcoming book Machines Like Me, and Jeanette Winterson returns to Hay in the same month as her new novel Frankissstein: A Love Story reaches bookshops.
Also attending are actress Joanna Lumley, musician Moby with his autobiography, award-winning journalist Carole Cadwalladr and comedians Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey.
The politics of national identity in Wales will be debated by Welsh language minister Eluned Morgan and Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price.
The event, which launched in 1987, takes place in a tented village erected on farmland on the edge of the town.
It is one of the world's leading book festivals, and its programme includes stand-up comedy and music alongside traditional talks by authors.
Jeanette Winterson (left) will be attending and Maxine Peake will give a poetry performance
Mr Florence said: "Hay Festival is a space to think, and to think again, and to put the great issues of the day in a context of global history.
"Empires fall, technology empowers and enslaves us, faiths are shaken, orthodoxies disrupted and still we come together and talk and sing and dance, break bread and tell stories."
Major anniversaries will be marked at the festival this year, including 500 years since the death of Leonardo Da Vinci, 30 years since Tiananmen Square, and the 50th anniversary of the formation of LGBT rights organisation Stonewall.
There are also milestones of note in children's books, with 20 years of The Gruffalo marked with an appearance by author Julia Donaldson.
The writer of The Tiger who Came to Tea, Judith Kerr, will discuss her career and there will also be events for children to celebrate 50 years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and 30 years of Elmer.
The BBC Tent will host a series of live broadcasts and recordings of flagship shows across BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4 and BBC Two.
The Hay Festival runs from 23 May to 2 June.
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