Hay Festival Podcast

S6, Ep1 Cressida Cowell on finding dragons, Shakespeare, and the urge to explore

Hay Festival Podcast

Show Notes

Poppy Evans talks to bestselling author and illustrator Cressida Cowell about the influences behind her writing, from childhood adventures on an island to Shakespeare’s ambiguity, with a sneak peek of her new book series, Which Way to Anywhere.

Watch the full event

Full-length Festival events can be watched over at hayfestival.org/hayplayer. Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @hayfestival #ImagineTheWorld

More from Hay Festival Podcast

Oct 17, 2025

Bienvenidos al pódcast Constelaciones Hay Festival, un espacio para imaginar otro mundo.

Dec 1, 2022

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas became an instant classic when he recorded it on vinyl in 1952. Snow falls gently, anticipation fills the air, and Thomas' lyrical account of his childhood Christmases in a small Welsh town comes to life with humour and wit. Seventy years on and with the support of Literature Wales, Hay Festival has commissioned Wales’ National Poet Hanan Issa to offer her own contemporary response to the famous work. Enjoy...

Oct 6, 2022

Broadcaster and historian Janina Ramirez talks to Kavita Puri about reappraising women’s roles in medieval history with her new book Femina. She then joins Poppy Evans for a chat about life outside of work, including an elaborate burial plan to confuse future archaeologists.

Sep 29, 2022

Children’s author and activist Onjali Q Raúf talks about the inspirations behind her bestselling books and her work with refugees as well as reminiscing about childhood with Poppy Evans.

Sep 22, 2022

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili discusses his guide to leading a more rational life The Joy of Science with Glyn Morgan, before chatting to Poppy Evans about teaching, technology and his everyday life.

See all episodes →