Fiction

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA-nominated actor John Hannah’s narration of John Buchan’s First World War classic.

Hannah gives a thrilling reading performance, bringing to life the threat of murder, conspiracy and espionage that are the thrilling themes of Buchan’s gripping adventure novel set in London and Scotland against the backdrop of war.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

A tantalising opportunity to hear from a writer at the top of his game. Jack Thorne won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for writing Netflix’s global hit, Adolescence, and changed the national conversation about social media and toxic masculinity in the process. His work across TV, film and the stage – most recently Lord of the Flies for the BBC – is bold, brilliant and fearless. Hear first-hand from a writer shaping the stories of our time, in conversation with ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham.

Dive into Glasgow in the 1970s, as Frances Crawford introduces her debut novel. Speaking to legendary crime writer Val McDermid, Crawford talks about graduating aged 60 with a degree in creative writing, getting her big break later in life, and the journey of her book.

A Bad, Bad Place follows 12-year-old Janey, who finds a murdered woman on an abandoned railway, and her grandmother Maggie, trying to protect her from the local hardman, whose daughter is the murder victim.

Crawford won Bloody Scotland/Glencairn Crime Short Story Competition and the first chapters of A Bad, Bad Place were Highly Commended by the Moniack Mohr Emerging Writer Awards 2024.

Gary Raymond previews the best of the Welsh contemporary arts scene.

Two authors: licensed to thrill. Bond fans Vaseem Khan and Kim Sherwood discuss their reimaginings of the world of James Bond, bringing new and old characters to life. Both authors are working on books from the James Bond universe, at the invitation of the Ian Fleming Estate. They talk to Ava Glass, spy fiction writer and former investigative journalist.

Khan’s Quantum of Menace follows Q as he returns to his sleepy hometown. As he begins investigating the death of his childhood friend, a renowned quantum computer scientist, he soon finds danger closing in. Sherwood’s Hurricane Room is the latest in a series of Double O novels she is writing. When Agent 003 finds James Bond in Russia after years of searching, she just needs to get him out. But a mistrustful Bond only wants revenge on the head of a terrorist organisation with links to his past.

Three brilliant speakers, all with something completely different to say. Enjoy the range and variety of Hay Festival packaged into one entertaining session. This evening mathematician Marcus du Sautoy will debate how maths shapes our creativity, geneticist Adam Rutherford will prove that everyone in the audience is of royal descent, and author Sophia Smith Galer talks about how to kill a language. Chaired by former BBC and Sky News correspondent Robert Nisbet.

A must-attend event for Classics lovers with a world-class expert in Greek mythology. Daniel Mendelsohn has produced a brand new translation of The Odyssey, poised to become the authoritative English-language version of this magnificent, endlessly enjoyable masterpiece. He talks about the joys and challenges of translating such an iconic piece of work and why the story still appeals to modern audiences.

Mendelsohn is editor-at-large of the New York Review of Books, and author of An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.

Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2026 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg. See these rising stars at Hay Festival first!

Print: Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2026 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg. See these rising stars at Hay Festival first!

Chef, businesswoman and Great British Bake Off presenter Dame Prue Leith opens up about her extraordinary life via the pages of her favourite books. Leith’s CV is impressive to say the least. She started her first business at the age of 20. By 30, she’d opened Leiths, the Michelin-starred restaurant that made her name. She’s been a director of companies including British Rail, Woolworths and the Halifax Bank, and chair of the Royal Society of Arts. And still she finds time to read. Here she shares the books which have held a particular resonance for her through her life. Expect straight-talking and strong opinions and, of course, a fabulous pair of glasses.

Hay Festival is proud to support the National Year of Reading

Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2026 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg. See these rising stars at Hay Festival first!

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout introduces her new book. It tells the story of Artie Dam, who looks like he’s got life sorted. He’s a teacher, he’s been married for 30 years, he has friends and a great life. But inside he doesn’t feel he fits. Then he uncovers a secret that’s been kept from him – and it changes his entire world. Strout talks to Guardian literary critic Chris Power about the art of writing characters we can all identify with.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of Boiling Point actor Vinette Robinson’s narration of Emily Brontë’s groundbreaking classic.

Robinson gives a spellbinding reading performance, bringing to life the intense and destructive love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw in this passionate rendering of the timeless novel, set against the haunting backdrop of the Yorkshire moors.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

Have I Got News For You team captain and editor of Private Eye Ian Hislop comes to Hay Festival for a special session on his love of reading. He shares the stories that kept him company during a childhood spent living abroad, and talks about the books that have inspired him and – as reportedly the most sued man in Britain – helped him to switch off after a busy day holding the powerful to account. Hosted by Decca Aitkenhead, chief interviewer for the Sunday Times.

Can humour help us understand our family histories? Stop-motion animator and writer Astrid Goldsmith talks to Donut Squad cartoonist Neill Cameron about family feuds, buried secrets and the unavoidable life admin after death, as explored in her debut graphic memoir, The Crystal Vase. Already an award-winning graphic storyteller, Goldsmith has an extraordinary talent for turning the heaviest moments in life into something funny, beautiful and bittersweet.

When her grandmother dies, it’s down to Goldsmith and her father to hire a van, drive to Germany and sort through her belongings. Family demands clash with a lifetime of clutter as they sort the heirlooms from the odds and ends, finding hidden histories and stories of survival among it all – from Nazi Germany to colonial Africa.

As a celebration of the books we’ll be reading in summer 2026, Steve Jones talks to two authors about their remarkable new novels, which are already attracting huge attention. One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction, Maria Semple – author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette – discusses Go Gentle, an eargerly anticipated novel this summer: the thrilling story of one woman’s mid-life transformation. Alongside her, Ana Kinsella introduces the epic and unforgettable story of how two people can shape and define each other’s lives, the subject of her hotly tipped Frida Slattery As Herself.

The authors discuss what makes these books so irresistible – is it the pull of the writing, characters or plot, or something else entirely? And what do they themselves love to read? Join us for a lively conversation and a joyful celebration of the pleasure of reading, including a few recommended summer reads from the authors themselves.

Feel the power of two stories from South America as award-winning Mexican author Brenda Navarro and acclaimed Ecuadorian storyteller Mónica Ojeda discuss kinship, memory and survival in the face of collective trauma. Navarro’s Eating Ashes, which is set to receive a film adaptation releasing in Autumn 2026, follows the experience of a woman caught between rage and heartbreak in the wake of her teenage brother’s suicide. In Ojeda’s psychedelic novel Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun, a wild tale of two women attending an underground music festival high in the Andes gives way to a heartfelt meditation on love, family and kinship.

Navarro and Ojeda speak to Guardian literary critic Chris Power, exploring themes of violence, displacement and loss in tandem with courage and hope.

Come and celebrate Wales, land of legend and song, known for its stories that span countless generations – and a place where, out of this rich heritage, new tales are always being told.

In this unique and immersive evening of stories and song illuminating work steeped in Welsh culture and history, writers Tom Bullough, Lucie McKnight Hardy and Sadia Pineda Hameed tell new stories from Wales, including specially commissioned work from the latest issue of Folding Rock magazine. They are stories inspired by folklore, and salute today’s blooming creative landscape.

Featuring music by folk singer-songwriter Martha O’Brien, the evening is hosted by Folding Rock’s editor and co-founder Kathryn Tann. Folding Rock was founded in 2024 to help put Wales and Welsh writing on the UK map.

The past comes back to life in this new book about a secret kept for decades. In 1960s Italy, Edith is to support her sister Lydia through the final weeks of her pregnancy. Once the baby is born, she makes a phone call that will change their lives forever. Years later, Edith’s best friend receives an email from a stranger claiming to be her brother and Edith must face the truth of her past to help her friend.

Acclaimed author Sarah Moss is assistant professor of creative writing at University College Dublin. Her previous novels include Ghost Wall and Night Waking. She talks to the Guardian literary critic, Chris Power.

Celebrate the best of Scottish writing with two giants from the country’s literary scene. This rare and exciting conversation between Jenni Fagan and Irvine Welsh will see them explore their own writing, discuss creativity and reflect on modern Scottish literature. They talk to writer and presenter Jude Rogers.

Fagan won the Gordon Burn Prize for her memoir Ootlin. Her new novel The Delusions is about Edi, who has spent almost 50 years processing the newly dead and waiting to be reunited with her son when he dies. Irvine Welsh has described the story as “1984 for the afterlife”.

Welsh’s latest novel Men in Love sees him revisit the beloved characters – Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie – from his era-defining novel Trainspotting at the end of the 1980s and the dawn of the 1990s, as they wonder if love is the answer to their dreams.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA-winning actor and writer Steve Pemberton’s narration of Kazuo Ishiguro’s contemporary classic.

The Remains of the Day is Ishiguro’s beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a great English house. Heartbreak and longing take centre stage as Pemberton embodies the stoic head butler, Stevens.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

Join acclaimed novelist and poet Ben Okri for an exclusive look at his new novel Waking the Warriors, ahead of its publication.

In Waking the Warriors, Tanas has risen to become the modern dictator of a great western nation, and is now sweeping across the world, subjugating all in his wake. His reign seems unstoppable, until he meets a small band of people that form a resistance.

Okri discusses his inspirations with broadcaster Francine Stock, the legacy of storytelling he writes within, and his long career. Okri is author of a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Famished Road, which won the Man Booker Prize in 1991.

Podcaster and best-selling author Elizabeth Day delves into politics, power and privilege in this timely discussion of her new novel One of Us with fellow podcaster Jamie Laing. This compelling thriller is the sequel to her 2017 best-seller, The Party (soon to be an ITV drama starring Luke Evans), and we rejoin the characters at a huge moment for the entire nation.

Ben is now a cabinet minister and being touted as the next Prime Minister. But when his excommunicated friend Martin receives a surprise invitation back into the inner sanctum of Ben’s family after seven years of silence, he can’t resist the chance to get his revenge. In unfolding the story of Martin, Ben and his family, Day also writes about a country unravelling under the weight of its secrets.

Day is also host of the hugely successful podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, where guests share three personal failures and discuss the lessons learned from them.

Poet Stephanie Sy-Quia discusses her debut novel, a look at the space between public identity and private self, with author Sarah Moss. A Private Man moves between the 1960s, where Margaret finds unexpected love with Catholic priest David, and the 2010s, where Adrian cares for his ageing grandmother Margaret.

Sy-Quia’s debut poetry collection Amnion won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, and received a Somerset Maugham Award. Moss is assistant professor of creative writing at University College Dublin. Her most recent book is Ripeness.

Do you have real-life experiences that you’d like to turn into a book? This workshop with Dr Lily Dunn will give you both direction and inspiration. Where do you start and how do you discover a story’s momentum? Dunn will help you identify key moments, how to characterise yourself, capture place and run dual timelines, as well as navigate the ethics of writing about real people. You’ll come away from the session with new tools and techniques to bring your true stories to life on the page.

Dunn is author of Into Being: The Radical Craft of Memoir and Its Power to Transform. She teaches narrative non-fiction and memoir at Bath Spa University and co-runs London Lit Lab.

Arvon is the UK’s leading creative writing charity. Founded in 1968, it is known for its diverse creative writing courses and events led by leading authors. Its online programme offers writing weeks, writing days, masterclasses and a Saturday Writing Club. Residential courses are set in historic writing houses in inspiring countryside locations. Courses cover a range of genres including fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, theatre, screenwriting and more.

We’re thrilled to welcome back the brilliant screenwriter, actor, novelist and unforgettable star of Gavin and Stacey, Ruth Jones. She captured the heart and soul of the nation with her portrayal of Nessa and won countless awards for the family of characters she created with her co-writer, James Corden. Here she chats to author and broadcaster Hannah Beckerman about her incredible career, and her most recent novel By Your Side. Join the conversation to find out what’s next for one of the best writers of our times.

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event

Poet, performer and recording artist Kae Tempest is one of the most electrifying voices in British culture. With his albums, poetry and plays, he’s captured the pulse of a generation. Here, Kae introduces his long-awaited new novel, Having Spent Life Seeking, a moving story about family, forgiveness and belonging. This event offers an unmissable opportunity to hear one of our most vital creative voices as he reflects on a life spent seeking meaning through art. He talks to Guardian literary critic Chris Power.

Are you obsessed with romantasy yet? Book sales are growing faster than in any other genre – it’s a booming market and its fan base is passionate and loyal. Here a panel of experts explain why it’s so successful and consider what we should learn about the huge appeal of worlds where women are in control. Imani Erriu is author of the Heavenly Bodies romance fantasy series, Hazel McBride writes the Bonded to Beasts series, and Rachel Winterbottom is publishing director for bespoke romantasy imprint Wayward TxF.

Erriu’s latest book Fallen Stars continues the story of Elara and Enzo, first introduced in Heavenly Bodies. A third book, Holy Monsters, is expected next year. McBride’s A Queen Crowned in Flames is the searing conclusion to her Celtic-inspired duology that began with A Fate Forged in Fire. Winterbottom and Wayward TxF have published Sable Sorenson’s Direbound, among others.

Award-winning author Claire Fuller takes us into the addictively propulsive plot of her new novel Hunger and Thirst, sharing her talent for making the ordinary extraordinary, with literary journalist Alex Clark. Decades after a tumultuous experience living in a squat with wild-child Sue, reclusive sculptor Ursula is living under a pseudonym when a true-crime documentary-maker begins digging into an unsolved disappearance. As her past catches up to her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.

A must-attend event for literature lovers, this is a chance to hear Fuller talk about fictionalising everyday horrors and creating unsettling narratives. Fuller’s novels include the Costa Novel Award-winner Unsettled Ground, and the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning Swimming Lessons.

One of literature’s most exciting names, Ocean Vuong, comes to Hay Festival for the first time to discuss his achingly beautiful novel The Emperor of Gladness. Exploring chosen family and unexpected friendship, the novel tells the story of 19-year-old Hai, who’s stopped from jumping off a bridge by the voice of Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia. The pair form a life-altering bond, and each find ways to heal through their extraordinary friendship. Join an unmissable conversation with the author who set the literary world alight with his best-selling novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. Vuong talks to Keshia Hannam, global editor-in-chief of Service95.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of BAFTA award-winning actor and writer Reece Shearsmith’s narration of Robert Louis Stevenson’s defining Gothic horror.

Who is the real monster? Shearsmith explores alter-egos, drawing us into the strange and eerie world of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde with a captivating narration that reimagines the nineteenth-century classic.

The Read is a series of outstanding performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature.

Community, culture and compassion are at the heart of this discussion between Colombian writer Cristina Bendek and British author Shon Faye, in conversation with broadcaster Georgina Godwin. They convene as part of the Literary Pairs series from Hay Festival and the British Council, which brings together writers to discuss creativity, partnerships and their latest work.

In Salt Crystals, Bendek explores the histories and diasporas that bind together the island of San Andrés and its cultures, and proposes new ways of understanding the Indigenous Raizal people. Faye’s Love in Exile explores our collective ideas of love and worthiness, the boundaries of consumer capitalism, and how to love in more compassionate, healthy ways.

Prepare to be transported into the looming Welsh mountains with this major new literary voice. Liam Higginson, who was born and raised in rural North Wales, speaks to award-winning writer Claire Fuller about his debut novel The Hill in the Dark Grove.

Embedded in Welsh folklore, the book tells the story of Carwyn and Rhian, the last in a long family line of sheep farmers. When Carwyn stumbles across a stone circle and some sort of burial mound in one of the fields on their land, he quickly develops an obsession, while his wife, Rhian, is confronted with the growing realisation that the man with whom she shares her life and home is slowly becoming a frightening stranger.

In this exclusive and magical event, two titans of fantasy fiction dive into the rise of the genre, its huge popularity on TikTok, and the power of otherworldly narratives. Best-selling author of The Bone Season Samantha Shannon discusses her latest book – from a series inspired by the legend of George and the Dragon. She’s joined by fantasy novelist Saara El-Arifi (Faebound), whose newest book is a groundbreaking exploration of Cleopatra in her own words. Together they celebrate fantasy fiction and interrogate what fantasy reveals about us all. No dragons here, but this event will be fire.

A gripping discussion with the winner of the Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writer’s Award, Jarred McGinnis. McGinnis talks about his memoir There is No Meant to Be, a family epic of love, masculinity and secrets, with British author and historian Colin Grant, who has written extensively about families in the aftermath of Empire.

In the memoir, McGinnis takes us on a journey to unearth the legends surrounding his Irish ancestors, his mother’s gift of foresight, and life as a survivor of the near-fatal accident that left him in a wheelchair. McGinnis was named one of the British Council and National Centre for Writing’s 10 best emerging writers in 2021.

Grab your garlic and prepare your pitchfork for this encounter with modern-day Gothic authors Charlotte Cross and Mairi Kidd. They discuss retelling horror classics to place women at the centre, taking the iconic stories of Dracula and Frankenstein and reimagining them from a feminist perspective.

Cross’s The Brides brings to life the three women who became the brides of Dracula – and the fourth who managed to escape. Kidd’s Poor Creatures follows a young Mary Godwin – who would go on to become Mary Shelley – as a troubled girl with a mysterious ailment.

Join musician, actor and author Joey Batey for an evening of music and eerie folklore, diving into his new novel It’s Not a Cult before taking to the stage with his band The Amazing Devil for a special acoustic performance – their first live show in ten years.

In conversation with fellow musician, actor and artist Madeleine Hyland and framed by the Gothic arches of St Mary’s Church, Joey takes us into the darkly comic Northumbrian folk‑horror tale. We follow the story of a hopeless band who find their gigs taking on a terrifying new significance when they start to sing about Northern gods of mishap and mayhem.

After a brief interval, The Amazing Devil will sweep us into an exclusive set, bringing their lyrical alt‑folk sound and emotionally charged storytelling to the stage. Atmospheric and otherworldly, spend your Friday night with the creative forces of Joey Batey and Madeleine Hyland.

With whip-smart wit and a cavalcade of cads, dashing gents and fierce heroines, this is a legendary comedy experience for Austen fans and newcomers alike!

Austentatious is the improvised Jane Austen novel which has become a West End institution. An all-star cast in full costume takes an audience suggestion for an unknown Jane Austen book, and then you watch it unfold before your eyes. Previous suggestions have included Mansfield Shark, Double O Darcy, Bend It Like Bennet and The Taking of Pemberley 123.

Come and listen to this year’s celebrated Hay Festival Writers at Work. This thrilling 2026 group of ten Welsh writers will share new fiction and poetry, in English and Cymraeg. See these rising stars at Hay Festival first!

A provocative new story of contemporary immigration, hostility and politics. In A Better Life, divorced mother-of-three Gloria signs up to take in a migrant as a lodger. Most of the family welcomes the new arrival. But Gloria’s son, Nico – resenting having to move back into his childhood bedroom at the age of 26 – is more sceptical. He grows increasingly hostile to his mother’s altruism and the ‘migrant crisis’ in general.

Shriver is the award-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin and the National Book Award finalist for So Much for That. She talks to journalist Nicola Cutcher.

Ever thought about the story behind the story? From a fragment of an idea to a hard copy in your hands, the journey of an award-winning book can have as many twists and turns as the tale between the pages itself. In this special salon series, The British Book Awards (aka ‘The Nibbies’) bring you authors in conversation with members of their publishing teams, shining a light on the creative process behind the best-loved books.

Join The Bookseller’s Katie Fraser as she unpicks the publishing process with Natasha Bardon, publisher at HarperVoyager, and award-winning author Saara El-Arifi, whose 2026 novel Cleopatra reimagines the story of the iconic Egyptian queen.

From Sappho to Virginia Woolf and James Baldwin, LGBTQ+ writers have told their stories throughout history – excavating the queer experience and laying a foundation for the writers of today. Santanu Bhattacharya, Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Joelle Taylor talk to actor and writer Carys Eleri about the stories that shaped them, finding (or not finding) themselves in the characters they came across growing up, and their journeys to writing.

Bhattacharya’s Deviants is about three generations of men from the same family, all dealing with social taboos and laws criminalising homosexuality, and the legacy they leave. Millwood-Hargrave’s Almost Life is about a couple whose love story spans decades and time together and apart. Taylor’s new poetry collection Maryville explores dyke counterculture through a cast of characters who meet in a butch bar.

The best-selling author of An American Marriage returns to Hay Festival to talk about her luminous and deeply moving new novel about mothers, daughters and friendship. She talks to Tanya Burr, who runs monthly bookclub Chapter, a space for readers to celebrate literature and connect through thoughtful discussion.

In Kin, Vernice and Annie are inseparable, brought together by the shared absence of their mothers. Growing up in the segregated America of the 1950s and 1960s, the women are led down different paths. A treat for fans of literary fiction, this event is a chance to hear from Jones – the author of five novels – about her work and inspirations. An American Marriage won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and was one of President Barack Obama’s summer reading lists.

Enjoy an afternoon with award-winning stage, screen and voice actor Richard Armitage, best known for his roles in North & South, The Hobbit trilogy and Oceans 8. Armitage turned author with his first novel Geneva in 2023, and now comes to introduce his second – psychological thriller The Cut.

The book is set in a village where, 30 years previously, one of Ben Knott’s school friends was murdered and another was convicted of the crime. The village has tried to move on, but as a movie is filmed in the area, Ben begins to recognise the storyline from his own past, and it becomes clear the killer is back.

Armitage discusses writing the book with literary journalist Alex Clark, revealing which film experiences he used as inspiration, and shares the difference between writing and acting.

Experience evocative storytelling that bridges page and screen, in this screening of Luke Thompson’s narration of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, a dark, glittering masterpiece that explores the seductive power of beauty and the ruin of the soul.

The Bridgerton actor delivers a spellbinding performance of Wilde’s haunting tale of beauty, vanity and moral corruption, where eternal youth comes at a terrible price, in this mesmerising film production.

The Read is a series of outstanding on screen performance readings of iconic British novels. Each episode offers a richly immersive celebration of literature

An unmissable opportunity for literature lovers to hear from one of this generation’s most celebrated writers. Colm Tóibín talks about his new short story collection, The News from Dublin, with the Times Literary Supplement’s politics and fiction editor Toby Lichtig.

Transporting us across continents and eras, the collection captures the complexities of family dynamics, the pull of the past and the quiet revelations that define ordinary lives. Tóibín is author of many novels, including Long Island, an Oprah’s Book Club Pick, and Brooklyn, which won the Costa Book Award and was adapted for a BAFTA-winning film starring Saoirse Ronan.

Be part of a powerful and inspiring discussion about dramatic climate stories that don’t just sound the alarm but help us imagine what it means to live, adapt and dream in a fast-changing world, driving us towards hope for the future.

Judge Simon Savidge welcomes the winner of the second Climate Fiction Prize to celebrate and examine why their novel has earned this prestigious award. Tracing climate fiction’s rapid emergence as one of the most vibrant and necessary spaces in contemporary storytelling, they’ll delve into the role fiction can play in helping us change climate futures by forging new cultural narratives. If creatives are the antennae of society, the winning novel and its themes tell us something profound about this moment in time.

Experience a live recording of The Working Class Library, a podcast that explores and reclaims working class people’s contribution to literature. Join hosts Richard Benson, author of The Valley and editor of The Bee, and Claire Malcolm, CEO of New Writing North, in their quest to establish a new catalogue of working-class books that tell a different story to the established British literary traditions.

For this live edition of the podcast they will be joined by special guest, Mid Wales-based Maya Jordan, author of Chopsy: Resistance Tales of a Working Class Woman. Together they’ll discuss the Welsh classic Queen of the Rushes by writer Allen Raine, which celebrates its hundredth birthday this year.

The Working Class Library podcast is a venture of The Bee, a new magazine of writing by working class writers, published by New Writing North.

Meet Gab Torr, who discusses their debut novel with acclaimed poet Joelle Taylor. Hard Place is the story of Billy, whose new flatmates Sid and Rhoda are the kind of people who talk very seriously about taking accountability, adhering to the flat’s community guidelines and holding space for one another. Slowly Billy becomes enmeshed in their radical, vulnerable world, but as her past catches up with her, all must reckon with what they truly stand for.

Torr discusses writing about activism and queer experiences, and their writing journey so far. They are a 2021 London Writers Awardee, and their writing was longlisted for the 2023 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize.