Hay Festival Forum Dallas 2026

Hay Festival Forum Dallas brings three days of literature, journalism, music and ideas to Bishop Arts, October 16–18. The festival unfolds across The Wild Detectives, the Texas Theatre, Whose Books, Oak Cliff Cultural Center and other neighborhood spaces. Explore Saturday’s programme below; select any event title for full details and tickets.Saturday, October 17 · Program12:00 PM · NBF Presents: The Heart of NonfictionKelly Lytle Hernández and Nilo Tabrizy, in conversation with Ruth Dickey The Wild Detectives — Ideas · FreePresented by the National Book Foundation (NBF), this conversation brings Kelly Lytle Hernández and Nilo Tabrizy together to explore the stories behind today’s headlines. Their work explores immigration, identity and the women-led uprising in Iran, asking whose experiences shape the public record.12:30 PM · Dallas: A City in TransitionStephanie Drenka, Veletta Forsythe Lill and Mark Lamster The Wild Detectives — Stories · FreeWhat does Dallas keep as it grows, and what does it leave behind? Presented alongside Deep Vellum, three local voices consider architecture, preservation and the changing identity of the city we share.1:00 PM · Claudia Piñeiro: Cathedrals and BeyondClaudia Piñeiro, in conversation with Lori Feathers Texas Theatre — Upstairs · $5Acclaimed Argentine writer Claudia Piñeiro discusses Cathedrals and a body of work that moves between fiction, theatre and the screen. Her stories probe family, faith, gender and power with the tension of a thriller.2:00 PM · The Atlantic Across America: DallasThe Atlantic journalists and guests Texas Theatre — Downstairs · FreeThe Atlantic brings its national conversation to Dallas. Journalists and guests look at the forces shaping the United States through the perspectives, questions and stories of Texas.2:30 PM · Writers & the Archive of the IndiesLiliana Colanzi, Edmundo Paz Soldán and Yásnaya Elena A. Gil, in conversation with María Ramos Pacheco The Wild Detectives — Stories · FreeThree writers revisit the Archive of the Indies and the histories it holds. Through fiction and reflection, they examine colonial memory, the power of archives and the stories that can be told beyond them.3:00 PM · Living with Difficult EmotionsMariana Alessandri and Anna Pazos, in conversation with Katherine Davies Texas Theatre — Upstairs · $5Philosopher Mariana Alessandri and writer and filmmaker Anna Pazos consider what anxiety, grief and uncertainty can teach us. Together they question the pressure to be happy all the time and make room for more complicated feelings.4:00 PM · A Filipino Story of Family, Migration & BelongingAdrian De Leon, in conversation with Rowena Pedrena The Wild Detectives — Stories · FreeIn Notes from a Wayward Son, Adrian De Leon traces family, migration and the complicated bonds between fathers and sons. This conversation follows the Filipino experience across borders and generations.4:00 PM · Reframing the American StoryNikole Hannah-Jones, in conversation with Dr. Michael J. Sorrell Texas Theatre — Downstairs · $10Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project, joins Dr. Michael J. Sorrell. They discuss history, race, education and how the stories we tell about America shape its future.5:00 PM · The Great RememberingJune Cohen, in conversation with Jenny Bhatt Texas Theatre — Upstairs · $10June Cohen explores the ideas behind The Great Remembering: community, ritual and older ways of living that still speak to the present. A conversation about belonging and connection in an increasingly lonely world.5:00 PM · Writing from Our LivesRodrigo Hasbún and Brenda Navarro, in conversation with John Bradley The Wild Detectives — Ideas · FreeRodrigo Hasbún and Brenda Navarro discuss how lived experience becomes fiction. They explore family, memory and displacement, and the choices that turn intimate histories into stories others can inhabit.6:00 PM · Menp këtäkp: Ayuujk FuturismYásnaya Elena A. Gil and Kumantukxuxpë Texas Theatre — Downstairs · $10Language, music and imagination meet in an evening of Ayuujk futurism. Yásnaya Elena A. Gil and Kumantukxuxpë bring Indigenous expression into a conversation about memory, creativity and possible futures.6:00–7:00 PM · Bar PoliticsJosh Kumler The Wild Detectives — Stories · FreeStay for an informal conversation about politics at the bar with Josh Kumler. A chance to keep the day’s questions going over a drink and in good company.Explore the full Hay Festival Forum Dallas programme. Don’t miss out and sign up to our newsletter

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Hay Festival Forum Dallas brings three days of literature, journalism, music and ideas to Bishop Arts, October 16–18. The festival unfolds across The Wild Detectives, the Texas Theatre, Whose Books, Oak Cliff Cultural Center and other neighborhood spaces. Explore Saturday’s programme below; select any event title for full details and tickets.Saturday, October 17 · Program12:00 PM · NBF Presents: The Heart of NonfictionKelly Lytle Hernández and Nilo Tabrizy, in conversation with Ruth Dickey The Wild Detectives — Ideas · FreePresented by the National Book Foundation (NBF), this conversation brings Kelly Lytle Hernández and Nilo Tabrizy together to explore the stories behind today’s headlines. Their work explores immigration, identity and the w