Sometimes we get lucky – like finding a 14-year old poet called Owen Sheers in a schools competition – but most of the time, we are building on the work of brilliant agents, publishers, publicists and sometimes booksellers, who all build on the real brilliance of the writers themselves.

One of the most exciting things about Hay is that because people schlep here from all over the country, all over the world, when they return home the reach of that word of mouth is huge. Hay festival readers can make a book a success, and we’d love to help make that easier.

For our 21st birthday, we’d like to propose 21 writers appearing at Hay who may not be so familiar, but who we think are remarkable. Some are first time writers, some are huge stars in other languages. They’re all cracking reads.

Hay 21 is presented in association with our pen partners at Cross, manufacturers of quality writing instruments for over 160 years. Limited edition Hay Festival 21 Century Classic ball-pens will be available to buy in the Festival Shop.