Following on from her experience as “The Ethical Carnivore”, when she ate only what she killed or found over the span of two years and authored a book of the same title, Louise Gray has now shifted her attention to fruit and veg. At the Festival, she will discuss her new book Avocado Anxiety and reveal the results of her investigations into some of our favourite fruits and vegetables – the agricultural and commercial systems behind them and how these impact their carbon footprint and nutritiousness. If like me you love swifts, this one is for you, but its scope and appeal takes in a far wider range of summer wildlife, too * Bird Watching, *Book of the Month* * Luke Harding, the Guardian’s front-line correspondent covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will share some of the experiences and impressions captured in his new book, Invasion: Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival, in addition to giving us an update on the conflict. As both the Moscow bureau chief of the newspaper and someone who has found himself directly in the cross-hairs of Putin, Luke is uniquely well positioned to analyse and report on the war.

An outright classic of his genre... If you thrill to the swifts' arrival (and mourn their annual too-soon departure), this book will enchant as they do... A nature classic for the new century -- Jim Perrin, author of SNOWDON A wonderful book that weaves half a century of natural history expertise around a vanishing bird. Informative, personal, universal and thrilling Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Across a Waking Land Lyrical and startling by turn, he reveals the extraordinary in the apparently ordinary... A jewel of a book Caroline Lucas MP They also ascend to extraordinary heights. Over ordinary ground they have been sighted at 4,400m, and sometimes collide with aircraft; above the Himalayas, “common swifts routinely feed up to 5,730m”.Anna Mathias and Cullen Murphy delve into the life of Anna’s father, Milton Gendel, the celebrated photographer who lived in Rome for 70 years. Just Passing Through, Gendel’s diaries painstakingly edited by Cullen, are a window thrown open on to the who’s who of artists, writers, and socialites who inhabited la dolce vita and include Mark Rothko, Princess Margaret, Alexander Calder, Anaïs Nin, Gore Vidal and Muriel Spark. His longtime home on the Isola Tiberina was a nerve centre of this glamorous and creative generation, whose comings and goings he immortalised in both words and images. A rich and elegant exploration that takes us to unexpected places. With the swift as our lift, we leave the garden on an extraordinary tour that takes in the moon, amongst many other wonderful destinations -- Tristan Gooley, author of HOW TO READ A TREE

The winner of the 2022 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Shunta Morimoto, will dazzle us with a solo recital of Mozart, Brahms and Rameau. Drawing deeply on science, history, literature and a lifetime of close observation, One Midsummer's Day is a dazzling and wide-ranging celebration of all life on Earth by one of our greatest nature writers. What is even more amazing than what we learn about swifts is how little we know about them, still. Until 1943, when hunters in a Peruvian rainforest flushed out 13 ringed birds from a hollow tree, observers north and south of the equator had no idea where swifts went for half of the year, and we’re still not much the wiser. The birds’ scientific name, Apus apus, comes from a Greek root word meaning “footless” because of an ancient belief that they never landed; in the 17th century, British swift watchers thought they flew to the moon in winter. Now, thanks to a recent Swedish study, we know that in the non-breeding season, many birds spend 99% of their time flying, eating and sleeping on the wing, and some never land at all. Sir Mark Prescott is literally a racing legend without peer. At the Festival, he will chat with John Lloyd about his love of animal sports, his biggest triumphs and disappointments, the secrets of his enduring success, his books and much much more. (To those of you know little or nothing about horse racing: If there’s one thing that Sir Mark does as well as training horses, it’s story-telling.) A beautiful, brilliant, mind-stretching and soul-flying book. Genius Horatio Clare, author of A Single SwallowA rich and elegant exploration that takes us to unexpected places. With the swift as our lift, we leave the garden on an extraordinary tour that takes in the moon, amongst many other wonderful destinations Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree

If like me you love swifts, this one is for you, but its scope and appeal takes in a far wider range of summer wildlife, too Bird Watching, *Book of the Month* A wonderful book that weaves half a century of natural history expertise around a vanishing bird. Informative, personal, universal and thrilling" An outright classic of his genre [...] If you thrill to the swifts' arrival (and mourn their annual too-soon departure), this book will enchant as they do [...] A nature classic for the new century"This is underpinned by a structure based on a notional day of watching Common Swifts from Mark's garden. This device is effective because Mark has put the time in with his screaming summer visitors and it shines through in his knowledge of their behaviour, augmented by extensive research including personal discussion with a number of authorities on these birds. If like me you love swifts, this one is for you, but its scope and appeal takes in a far wider range of summer wildlife, too" Lyrical and startling by turn, he reveals the extraordinary in the apparently ordinary [...] A jewel of a book"

An outright classic of his genre... If you thrill to the swifts' arrival (and mourn their annual too-soon departure), this book will enchant as they do... A nature classic for the new century Jim Perrin, author of Snowdon Besides leading one of the top museums in the world, Tristram Hunt is an accomplished historian with several acclaimed books under his belt. At the Festival, he will talk about The Radical Potter, his biography about Josiah Wedgwood who, on top of creating the iconic blue and white jasperware bearing his name, was a pioneering forerunner of manufacturing efficiencies that permanently shaped Britain’s industrial development. Tristram will also talk about what lies ahead for the V&A and what it’s like to captain the world’s most international museum brand.Magnificent ... One Midsummer's Day situates both swifts and humans in the universe in a way that I've not seen done for any species... a beautifully poised book -- Charles Foster, author of BEING A BEAST Magnificent [...] One Midsummer's Day situates both swifts and humans in the universe in a way that I've not seen done for any species [...] a beautifully poised book" The bestselling author of Crow Country and writer of The Guardian's Counrtry Diary tells the story of all life on Earth through a single day spent in the company of swifts. In this closing session of EA Festival 2023, festival founder Joanne Ooi posed 5 questions to legendary TV producer John Lloyd, leading to some ridiculous anecdotes and absurd pranks.