october, 2026
Event Details
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 Sunday’s programme below; select an underlined event title for full details and tickets.
Sunday, October 18 · Program
12:00 PM · Toni at Random
Dana A. Williams, in conversation with Janelle Gray
The Wild Detectives — Ideas · Free
Dana A. Williams reveals Toni Morrison’s transformative years as an editor at Random House. Drawing on her new book, she explores the Black writers Morrison championed and editing as both creative and political work.
12:00–1:30 PM · The Real William Shakespeare… As Told by Christopher Marlowe
Screening and workshop with playwright Shaul Ezer
Texas Theatre — Downstairs · Free
A screening of Shaul Ezer’s imaginative play about authorship, espionage and the stories history remembers, followed by an interactive writing and adaptation workshop with the playwright.
12:30 PM · Republic of Consciousness Prize presents: Hothouse Bloom
Austyn Wohlers, in conversation with Richard Bailey
Texas Theatre — Upstairs · Free
Presented by the Republic of Consciousness Prize, Austyn Wohlers discusses her debut novel Hothouse Bloom, a story of art, solitude and the natural world. She will also perform several songs.
1:00 PM · Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II
A.J. Eversole and P.C. Verrone, in conversation with Gretchen VanWormer
The Wild Detectives — Stories · Free
Two contributors to the Indigenous horror anthology discuss folklore, history and the growing presence of Indigenous voices in contemporary horror.
2:00 PM · Music, Memory & the Stories We Inherit
Sama’an Ashrawi, Bun B, Hanif Abdurraqib and Baba
Texas Theatre — Downstairs · $10
Beginning with Sama’an Ashrawi’s Baba Was a Rolling Stone, this conversation explores family, mentorship and the way music carries memory across generations and places.
2:00 PM · The Life of Frank Bascombe
Richard Ford
Texas Theatre — Upstairs · $5
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford looks back on five decades of fiction and the evolving American life he has traced through his enduring character Frank Bascombe.
2:30 PM · LiterNatura: Writing the Natural World
Jorge Comensal, Yásnaya Elena A. Gil and Gabi Martínez
The Wild Detectives — Stories · Free
Presented by LiterNatura, three writers consider how fiction, essays and Indigenous thought can change our relationship with land, biodiversity and the climate.
3:30 PM · P FKN R: Bad Bunny and Music as Resistance
Vanessa Díaz and Petra R. Rivera-Rideau
Texas Theatre — Upstairs · $5
The authors of P FKN R and the Bad Bunny Syllabus explore Puerto Rican identity, colonialism and music as a form of cultural resistance. This conversation will be in English and Spanish.
3:30 PM · The Four Spent the Day Together
Chris Kraus
The Wild Detectives — Ideas · Free
Chris Kraus discusses her new novel, where autofiction and true crime meet stories of family, class and a changing America.
4:00 PM · Rasputin Swims the Potomac
Ben Fountain
The Wild Detectives — Stories · Free
Dallas writer Ben Fountain discusses his new political satire and the challenge of turning the strangeness of contemporary public life into fiction.
5:00 PM · From Records to Books: Music, Literature & Independent Publishing
Michael Zilkha, Nina Hervé and Will Burns
The Wild Detectives — Ideas · Free
The minds behind ZE Books and Rough Trade Books consider what independent music culture brings to publishing, from creative collaboration and design to the physical book.
