Galgut and Pinker provide Hay Winter Warmer events

Ahead of Hay Festival Winter Weekend, organisers have released five free “Winter Warmer” events online, featuring Booker Prize winner Damon Galgut, novelist Matt Haig, cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, environmentalist Bill McKibben and writer Siri Hustvedt.

In the new events, Haig discusses The Comfort Book (Canongate) with broadcaster Emma Gannon, while Hustvedt talks to journalist Razia Iqbal about her new essay collection Mothers, Fathers and Others (S&S).

McKibben talks to fellow environmentalist Fatima Ibrahim about his book The End of Nature (Bloomsbury), Pinker speaks to FT journalist Gillian Tett about Rationality (Allen Lane) and Galgut presents his Booker Prize-winning The Promise (Chatto) in conversation with Canongate editor-at-large Ellah P Wakatama.

The new films, available to watch for free online, act as appetisers for the full Hay Festival Winter Weekend, the organisation's first ticketed, in-person events in the UK for two years, bringing writers and readers together from 24th–28th November.

Hay Festival international director Cristina Fuentes la Roche said: “Here are five special online-only events available free to everyone. This is a festival of inspiration and optimism to entertain curious minds of all ages. As the nights draw in, join us for a dose of storytelling, debate and laughter with some of the world’s most engaging writers and thinkers.”