This year’s Hay Forum Dallas is slated for September 9-10, offering an array of literary events and more.
Now in its sixth year, Hay Forum Dallas is a two-day festival packed with animated panels, compelling book reveals, and spirited dance parties at The Wild Detectives.
This is a bookstore and bar venue located at 314 W. Eighth St. in Oak Cliff’s Bishop Arts District.
Unlike traditional book readings, the free festival fosters in-depth conversations about modern literary, social, and political affairs, focusing on the Americas.
“After all the work we’ve poured into the sixth edition of Hay Forum Dallas, it’s crystal clear how essential this city is for an event like ours,” Javier García del Moral, co-owner of The Wild Detectives, said, according to The Dallas Morning News. “We see cultures from Latin America and North America mingling here every day, and this festival aims to capture the essence of our daily experiences that shape us while living in Texas.”
While it costs nothing to join in the fun starting Saturday at 5 p.m., guests are invited to RSVP here.
This year’s festival will showcase 11 distinguished authors from countries including Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and the U.S.
Noteworthy participants include Argentinian-born Pulitzer Prize winner Hernan Diaz, known for Trust and In the Distance; Dallas-based novelist Ben Fountain, known for Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and Juan Cárdenas, a Colombian art critic and writer.
Moreover, Hay Forum Dallas is gearing up to extend its offerings into a three-day event in various Oak Cliff venues in 2024.
This is an important development considering Hay Festival began 35 years ago as a small-town affair in Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
While still drawing crowds to Wales each summer, Hay Festival evolved into a global phenomenon, with book lovers and promoters across Europe, Latin America, and now the U.S. endeavoring to bring the festival to their cities and towns.
“Our aspiration is for Dallas to become the Hay Festival’s counterpart in the U.S.,” García del Moral said.
Next year, The Wild Detectives will be joined by other venues to host Hay Forum Dallas, which will be renamed Hay Festival Dallas in 2024.
While more Oak Cliff bookstores and art spaces will be invited to host, so far, the Texas Theatre and Sketches of Spain, a pincho restaurant owned by García del Moral and his business partner Paco Vique, are slated to join the action.