Hay preview: Barbara Trapido, Peter Florence, festival highlights

As the countdown to this year's Hay festival begins, our panelists look for the patterns behind the programme. Guardian leader writer Tom Clark tips the best of the political events - with participants including the rising parliamentary stars Ed Milliband and Jesse Norman. Sarah Crown looks out the literary big-hitters, and the children's writers who are the festival's most dynamic performers. And we also hear from director Peter Florence, who explains the challenge of programming a festival that starts weeks after from a general election. Reading list Sex and Stravinksy by Barbara Trapido For all other Hay reading, see the full festival programme at hayfestival.com . To see a full list of the authors we'll be interviewing in this year's Haycasts, and to find out how to submit your questions, click here .