Hay Festival Book of the Year 2025
After hundreds had their say, we're delighted to reveal our Hay Festival Book of the Year 2025 is... A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland.
A tender and resonant love story, the novel unfolds in South Wales against the backdrop of Section 28, the age of consent debate and the HIV and AIDS crisis, as two quiet men form a tentative connection neither knows where it might lead.
A Room Above a Shop was one of the most talked about books at Hay Festival 2025 – a novel that shines a light on one of Wales’ hidden histories from an immensely talented storyteller.
Anthony Shapland grew up in Bargoed, South Wales. He is a writer and artist, and founder of g39, an artist-led space in Cardiff. His short story Foolscap was shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Award and he was selected for the Hay Festival Writers at Work programme in 2023. This is his debut novel.
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