ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS PRESENTS

“THE CONVERSATION”

COMING TOGETHER TO TALK ABOUT THE WORLD

The Conversation looks to answer the biggest questions of the day from social justice to the climate crisis and from what it means to be human to our role in society, aiming to challenge assumptions and narratives outside of the mainstream political news agenda. The Conversation brings together audiences to engage with ideas and opinions from across the academic, political and cultural spectrum, with the world’s leading thinkers, historians, environmentalists, scientists and authors.

IAN McEWAN | ARMISTEAD MAUPIN | GARY YOUNGE |SARAH CHURCHWELL | HALLIE RUBENHOLD | CAROLE CADWALLADR | MYA-ROSE CRAIG | KATE BOWLER |DANIEL M. DAVIS

Running from 27^th January to 28^th April 2026, The Conversation 2026  will tackle topics including gay rights with legendary gay author Armistead Maupin, the role of AI and state power with journalist Carole Cadwalladr, climate change and the state of the nation with novelist Ian McEwan, invisible women in history with Hallie Rubenhold, faith, religion and what it means to be human with Kate Bowler, race and social justice in the USA and UK with Gary Younge, the battle for modern America with historian Sarah Churchwell, decoding the science of gut health with world-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis and fighting for the environment with “Birdgirl” Mya-Rose Craig. 

TUESDAYS AT 6.30PM  | 27^TH JANUARY – 28^th APRIL 2026 | ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS

Challenging the narrative around some of the biggest political, social, and environmental challenges of our time, The Conversation will explore the themes of social injustice, culture, gender, inequality, power and the climate crisis. The first half of the evening is an hour-long interview with a leading thinker, followed by a second hour where the guest speaker joins the audience for an intimate Q&A followed by the opportunity to get the speaker’s book signed.

The Conversation is programmed by Hay Festival founder Peter Florence and takes place at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday nights with tickets from £10. Uniquely for an event of this kind, The Conversation invites members of the audience to carry on the conversation and engage directly with the speaker following each event. The talks are also available to be live streamed and watched from anywhere in the world.

Full information on The Conversation is available here: St Martins-in-the-Field

 “Each of these writers sets you off on adventures of imagination and action. Themes and experiences resonate through the season – of wonder as well as of deep crisis. And I love the idea of extending the familiar interview format into a wider conversation. It’s wonderful to see what happens when the audience takes up the thoughts and storylines. Trust the room.” 

Peter Florence Director of The Conversation

Peter Florence is a festival director and climate action producer. He directs The Conversation at St Martin in the Fields in London and in 2020 he co-founded the European Festivals Forest, a carbon-capture project in partnership with the Icelandic Government. He directed the Hay Festivals from 1988-2020, and ran the Word, the London Festival of Literature from 1999-2004 on Shaftesbury Avenue and at The British Library. He has established and consulted for 18 literary festivals around the world from Brazil to Bangladesh and in Europe from Mantova to Budapest. 

He is a Trustee of the Baillie Gifford Prize and has served as a Trustee of the Deborah Rogers Foundation and the National Library of Wales. He chairs the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic fiction and has chaired the juries of the Dylan Thomas Prize, Wales Book of the Year and the Booker Prize. He is a mentor and advisor for the European Festivals Association, a jury member of EFFEA, an assessor for Perform Europe, and has served on government advisory boards and task forces. He is a Friend of Oxfam, for whom he co-edited three best-selling story anthologies OxTales, OxTravels and OxCrimes. He was awarded a CBE for services to Literature and Charity, and is a “Colombiano de Corazon”. He was educated at Cambridge and the Sorbonne. He lectures on creative industries, digital transformation and cultural regeneration. 

St Martin-in-the-Fields

St Martin in the Fields has revealed the first names on it’s 2026 line up for it’s London series of literary talks The Conversation programmed by Peter Florence (Founder and Director of Hay Festival 1988 – 2020). 

27 January – Ian McEwan

3 February – Gary Younge

10 February – Armistead Maupin

24 February – Sarah Churchwell

24 March – Hallie Rubenhold

7 April – Daniel M. Davis

21 April – Mya-Rose Craig

28 April – Kate Bowler

A further nine new names will be announced in February 2026, when The Conversation will continue from May – July 2026.

“St Martin in the Fields has always been a beacon of social justice campaigning and action. We hope The Conversation will continue and extend that tradition of questioning and challenging assumptions and narratives, and will celebrate all our many, welcome visitors.” 

Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields since 2012

St Martin-in-the-Fields is a landmark church and concert venue on London’s Trafalgar Square. It is a friendly and forward-thinking community, famous for its important work with homeless and vulnerable people. St Martin’s offers a huge annual programme of services, concerts and lectures in the Church. In the Crypt you can find our award winning Café, Gift Shop, our Brass Rubbing Centre and a number of excellent spaces available to hire for meetings, celebrations and corporate events. St Martin’s Welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year who help generate an income that supports the important work of the church and its community.

STMARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS.ORG 

“THE CONVERSATION” – January to April 2026 LINE UP

27^th January: Britain’s leading living novelist Ian McEwan will discuss the moral consequences of global climate catastrophe, a theme in his new speculative fiction novel What We Can Know, set in a future England devastated by the aftermath of AI-led nuclear wars between world powers, that leads to climate devastation.  

3^rd February: Winner of the Orwell Prize for Journalism in 2023, professor of sociology at University of Manchester and Formerly Editor at Large at The Guardian Gary Younge, one of Britain’s leading experts on race in America, will discuss his new book Pigeonholed a powerful reflection on race, racism and creativity in the UK today. In the first of several conversations marking the 250th anniversary of America Independence, the writer and journalist analyses the state of the union and the question of race in USA 2026. 

10^th February: Iconic LGBTQ+ author Armistead Maupin will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his legendary book Tales of the City the first book (and later a TV series) that addressed homophobia and transphobia with wit and compassion, helping to dismantle barriers and bring the LGBTQ+ experience into mainstream dialogue. The character of Anna Madrigal, the transgender landlady, was an early trans icon in popular fiction. The series provided millions of mainstream readers their first exposure to gay and straight characters coexisting as equals, dealing with universal themes of love, loneliness, and friendship. Named as one of the BBC’s 100 Most Inspiring Novels, a PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick and Britain’s favourite gay/lesbian novel from The Big Gay Read. Following on from the talk, The Conversation will also host a unique supper with the author and a signed copy of Maupin’s memoir Logical Family. 

24^th February: Author and Professor of American Literature, Sarah Churchwell discusses her Smithsonian book of the year, Behold, America: A History of America First and the American Dream, which overturns everything we thought we knew about the American dream, America First and the battle for the identity of modern America.

10^th March: Multi-award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of The Nerve, Carole Cadwalladr analyses the opaque and unaccountable Silicon Valley companies that are accelerating the global axis of autocracy in the How to Survive The Broligarchy Substack. 

24^th March: The #1 Sunday Times bestselling and Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of The Five, the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, Hallie Rubenhold is a renowned social historian whose expertise lies in revealing stories of previously unknown women in history. Hallie will talk about re-balancing the narratives about gender and social justice in 19th century and 20^th century London and her new book Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen.

7^th April: Does orange juice help ward off colds? How does age, sleep and stress affect our immune health system? Is anything we’re sold as healthy actually true? What can we do to live a happier and healthier life? The world-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis sorts the facts from the fictions in his book Self-Defence: A Myth-busting Guide to Immune Health. Davis is Head of Life Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College, London. 

21^st April: Mya-Rose Craig known as BirdGirl shares her incredible journey as an activist, environmentalist, and keen birdwatcher. She also speaks passionately about founding her charity, Black2Nature, and her work to make the environmental sector more inclusive and representative for everyone. Mya-Rose’s story shows how personal passion can drive real change, and how young voices are shaping the future of green careers. Her 2023 Book BirdGirl was winner of a Somerset Maugham Award.  

28^th April: New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and Professor of Religious History at Duke University, American Kate Bowler will talk about her new book Joyful Anyway (out April 2026) and about her experience battling stage IV cancer and how her outlook on pretty much everything she thought she knew about life was turned upside down. 

Ticket Info

Location: St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ.

Dates: 27^th January – 28^th April 

Time: Tuesdays from 6.30pm – 8.30pm 

Price: £15 for in person tickets. £10 for online tickets 

Tickets: The Conversation

Box Office: 020 7766 1100 | BoxOffice@smitf.org