Francesca Stavrakopoulou and Adam Kay announced for 2020 Rosalind Franklin and Voltaire Lectures

12 November, 2019

Humanists UK today announced that tickets for its Rosalind Franklin Lecture and Voltaire Lecture are now on sale.

The organisation plans to announce its Darwin Day Lecture very soon. At that time, tickets for all three events will also sell as part of a combined ‘multi-lecture pass’, allowing attendees to purchase one ticket for all three events at a lower price.

Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou will deliver the Rosalind Franklin Lecture 2020 on Thursday 5 March. The title of Stavrakopoulou’s talk is Made in Man’s image? How God’s body haunts us today. Following the lecture, Stavrakopoulou will take questions and discuss with lecture with series chair Samira Ahmed.

Dr Adam Kay will deliver the Voltaire Lecture 2020, This is going to hurt, on Wednesday 6 May. The lecture will be chaired, as always, by the President of Humanists UK, Professor Alice Roberts.

Francesca Stavrakopoulou is a theologian, broadcaster, and Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion. She is interested in biblical traditions and religious practices most at odds with Western cultural values. Francesca presented a three-part BBC documentary series about the Bible and archaeology, The Bible’s Buried Secrets, in March 2011. Her first non-academic book, God: an anatomy, will be published in April 2020.

Adam Kay is an award-winning comedian and writer for TV and film. He previously worked for many years as a junior doctor. His book This Is Going to Hurt was a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year, breaking all records, and has sold over 1.5 million copies. It has been translated into 36 languages and is the winner of four National Book Awards, including Book of the Year.

The Darwin Day Lecturer will be announced soon with tickets and the ‘multi-lecture pass’ released immediately thereafter.

Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson said,

‘Looking ahead to 2020, we have never been more excited about the fantastic line-up for our annual lecture series. Francesca and Adam are both fantastic speakers who will both bring unique insight and humour to next year’s lectures. Our members and supporters are in for a treat.’

Tickets for the Voltaire and Franklin Lectures are on sale now. A special multi-lecture pass, including attendance at those lectures, as well as the Darwin Day Lecture, will go on sale soon.