A life-changing opportunity for Welsh students, The Beacons Project is two four-day creative residencies offered to twenty 16-18 year-olds every year at Hay Festival.
As guests of the festival, the students get to meet and work with professional writers, broadcasters and journalists to develop their writing skills. There is also workshops, discussions and events exploring everything from environment to art, poetry to politics.
The Beacons Project is supported by Welsh Government. Accommodation, food and all activities are free. We can also offer a £30 bursary to cover travel to and from Hay-on-Wye. Students will be supported by a mentor throughout the project and will spend four days and three nights attending events, participating in workshops, writing blogs and reviews and immersing themselves in everything that Hay Festival has to offer.
Many of our former participants have gone on to careers in creative writing, publishing and the media, including the award- winning poet and playwright Owen Sheers.
“The Beacons Project was crucial for me. It not only provided me with the aspiration to be a writer but also put me in contact with a range of authors and literature that I'd have been hard pushed to find anywhere else. The Beacons Project is a must if Wales is at all serious about fostering young talent in the arts.” Owen Sheers
The project will give students the following opportunities:
- First-hand experience of a world-class Festival
- Contact with professional writers through Festival events and workshops
- Reflect on their own writing, which will also be critically evaluated by peers and published authors
- Meet with top journalists to learn about reporting at the Festival
- Create links with young writers and the wider world of literature and the arts
- Write a blog on the Hay Festival website recording their experiences and achievements
- Explore careers in writing and journalism
More on The Beacons Project and how to sign up here.
For more on what is on offer for young people at Hay Festival - including free tickets for students, work experience opportunities in the creative industries and free access to Hay Player and Hay Levels - packed with audio and film of the world’s great writers - sign up to Compass online.
More about education at Hay Festival here.
For further information or queries, please contact Education Manager Aine Venables on aine@hayfestival.org.