Philippe Sands at literary festivals

Last checked: 28 October 2026

Philippe Sands writes about law through people, places and the consequences of history. His books connect family memory with international justice, wartime violence and the lives affected by colonial rule. His 2026 Hay appearances included both a discussion of Europe’s international position and a conversation about the relationship between private lives and political events.

Quick facts

Best known for: East West Street and international justice
Genre or subject: Narrative non-fiction, history and international law
Latest book: 38 Londres Street (2025)
2026 festivals: Hay Festival

About Philippe Sands

Sands is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at University College London, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a practising barrister at 11KBW. His professional work has involved international cases concerning places and issues including Pinochet, Chagos and the Rohingya. He has served as president of English PEN and as a member of Hay Festival’s board.

His books offer several ways into those interests. Some begin with a family history or a person; others follow a legal campaign and the lives surrounding it. They give a festival conversation several possible centres of attention: the work of a writer, the recovery of a history, or the development and limits of international institutions.

Check whether an appearance is a book conversation, a lecture, a discussion of current affairs or a session he is chairing. A programme centred on 38 Londres Street will have a different focus from a panel about Europe.

The guest list can help you choose. A conversation with another writer and a translator may concentrate on storytelling and memory; a panel including political and philosophical speakers has room for different questions. Read the subject alongside the names, and decide which part of his work you want to hear about before adding other events around it.

When reading, notice how a place or personal memory opens into a wider historical and political account. That movement offers a way to ask about writing and structure without expecting a festival interview to resolve every legal or political question the books raise.

Where to start with their books

38 Londres Street

Published in 2025, 38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England and a Nazi in Patagonia examines accountability through connected histories. It brings together Pinochet’s arrest in London and the story of Nazi fugitive Walther Rauff. Start here for the book behind the 2026 discussion of family, memory and political violence. The 2026 paperback is another edition of the same work.

East West Street

This 2016 book connects Sands’s family history with the origins of the concepts of genocide and crimes against humanity. It places individual lives alongside the formation of legal ideas. Choose it if your interest is how the language of international justice developed, and how the experiences behind those ideas can be recovered through a personal narrative.

The Ratline

The Ratline, published in 2020, follows Nazi official Otto Wächter’s flight after the war and investigates the circumstances around his death. Family letters and the responses of later relatives form part of the account. It offers a reading route through postwar escape, memory and the difficulty of confronting responsibility within a family story.

The Last Colony

Published in 2022 and illustrated by Martin Rowson, this book connects Chagossian displacement and Liseby Elysé’s experience with the history of decolonisation and international legal proceedings. It is a separate route into Sands’s work, centred on exile and the efforts to challenge it. Read current reporting separately for subsequent developments affecting Chagos.

The Fifth Crime

The publisher announced this book about the campaign to recognise ecocide as an international crime for April 2027. It connects Sands’s experience of environmental law with a wider public legal idea. Check the publisher for the current edition and release details. A publication announcement and an individual live event have separate dates and conditions.

Festival appearances

For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.

2026

Philippe Sands: featured events in 2026
Festival	Date	Event and venue	Official source
Hay Festival	24 May 2026	Family, Memory and History Spring Stage; consecutive Spanish-English interpretation	Official listing
Hay Festival	24 May 2026	Where Does Europe Fit in the New World Order? Global Stage	Official listing

What their events are like

On Sunday 24 May 2026 at Hay, Sands joined David Miliband and Susan Neiman for Where Does Europe Fit in the New World Order? Misha Glenny chaired the 10am panel on the Global Stage. The programme brought political, philosophical and legal perspectives to questions about Europe’s position in a changing international landscape.

At 7pm that day, Sands and Peruvian writer Renato Cisneros spoke with translator Sophie Hughes on the Spring Stage. Family, Memory and History considered how individual lives are shaped by political forces and how writers approach inheritance, silence and belonging. The organiser specified consecutive interpretation from Spanish into English.

These conversations have finished. Someone interested in Sands’s books could explore the literary discussion, while the morning panel offered a broader exchange between several disciplines.

Where to see them next

The University of Washington has announced On Impunity: An Evening with Philippe Sands for Wednesday 17 February 2027 at Town Hall Seattle, with livestreaming. The published start is 6.30pm local time. The university announced a registration opening date of 9 December 2026; use its event page for current registration and viewing information.

This is a lecture in the United States. No individual 2027 Hay appearance has been announced yet. The publisher has also announced The Fifth Crime: On Ecocide, Justice and Hope for April 2027. Follow each organiser for further book conversations.

Plan your trip

For another Hay visit, use the festival guide to compare the dates, programme and practical journey before choosing a stay. A writer can take part in several sessions with different partners, so identify the one that matters most to you.

If a conversation includes interpretation, allow the full published session time when planning the next booking. Leave space to exit, cross the site and find your next seat. A full day of demanding subjects may also benefit from a longer interval for food or reading.

Compare your accommodation with the final event and the journey back afterwards. A room chosen mainly for the morning arrival may fit the evening differently. For Seattle or an online lecture, begin with the university’s registration information and the event’s stated local time.

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History festivals

Your questions about Philippe Sands

Are the books a fictional series?

They are works of non-fiction. East West Street, The Ratline and 38 Londres Street have linked interests and are described together as a trilogy, but each follows its own historical investigation.

Which book should I read before a talk?

Match it to the programme. An event about impunity may centre on 38 Londres Street, while one about ecocide may discuss The Fifth Crime. You can also attend for the wider subject.

Is a 2027 Hay appearance confirmed?

No individual 2027 Hay appearance has been announced yet. Seattle is a separate lecture. Watch the festival’s programme for its own speakers before booking a trip around an assumed return.

Was the Hay literary conversation in English?

The organiser specified consecutive interpretation from Spanish into English for Family, Memory and History. Read each new event’s language and format information before booking.