Hillary Rodham Clinton will appear at this year’s Hay festival, the organisers have said. The former New York senator and secretary of state is a late addition to the literary festival’s lineup, which was announced at the beginning of April.
She will be in conversation with lawyer Helena Kennedy on 2 June as part of the festival’s “Women & Power” series, which also includes events with Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, Labour MP Jess Phillips and former president of the supreme court Lady Hale.
Hay festival’s international director Cristina Fuentes La Roche said she and her colleagues felt “honoured” to welcome the former first lady to the event. Clinton joins “a vibrant programme” that will allow audiences “to imagine the world anew”, Fuentes La Roche added.
Clinton was the first woman in US history to become the presidential nominee of a major political party. She has written 10 books, most recently her first novel, State of Terror, a thriller co-written with Louise Penny.
Kennedy is a barrister and an expert in human rights law. She is a member of the House of Lords and former president of Soas University of London.
The 35th Hay festival will run from 26 May to 5 June 2022, and will feature more than 600 writers, thinkers and performers.
Tickets to the event featuring Clinton and Kennedy are on sale now to friends of Hay festival, and public booking will open on 22 April.
