Kells 2014

Anxiety can affect the way you think, feel and behave, but what if there was a way to make it work for you? Broadcaster and psychologist Dr Sian Williams takes a warm and accessible look at anxiety, talking to journalist Kirsty Lang. She shares stories from her counselling career and her book The Power of Anxiety, and urges us to see sensitivity as a strength and anxiety as a tool.

Williams is an award-winning broadcast journalist and chartered counselling psychologist, who has worked in the NHS and privately. She hosted BBC Breakfast for 11 years, and currently presents on BBC Radio 3 and 4.

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event

Celebrate Art Day at Hay Festival with art historian Katy Hessel, as she shows how art can best be represented on film. Watch Hessel’s curated film before hearing her illuminating take in an in-depth discussion connecting the work’s themes to wider questions of art, storytelling and whose voices shape cultural history. Part screening, part live essay, the broadcaster and author of The Story of Art without Men offers a reflective and richly contextual experience for curious, art-loving minds.

Calling all pet fans! Join Pia’s Pet Club with Serena Patel, author of the award-winning Anisha, Accidental Detective. Serena will introduce you to Pia, a girl who loves pets, but isn’t allowed one of her own (maybe like you)! But Pia doesn’t give up easily and forms Pet Club with her friend Hari.

Serena will tell you about her own pets, kittens Arlo and Bean and a brand-new puppy. She’ll test your pet-based knowledge with a PAWesome quiz (do you know what percentage of the time cats spend sleeping?) and help you create your own pet story character.

The latest in the Pia’s Pet Club series is Pia’s Pet Club: Secret Kitten, and there’s an official World Book Day book coming up in 2026 – Pia’s Pet Club: Iguana Escape.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Is Labour about to lose power in Wales for the first time in over a hundred years? Broadcaster and former Downing Street director of communications Guto Harri talks to guests including the political journalist and author Will Hayward (Who Cares About Wales?) and the BBC Cymru Wales journalist and presenter, Bethan Rhys Roberts. They'll discuss the impact of the results in Wales, and reveal what the political parties are really saying behind closed doors.

Former A&E doctor and leading mental health advocate, Dr Alex George, joins comedian Sara Pascoe to explore the perennial question: Am I normal? Together, they tackle the uncertainties and anxieties so many of us share about our bodies, minds, and emotions – from self-image and relationships to mental wellbeing in a digital age. Blending humour, honesty and empathy, this very personal conversation offers practical wisdom and reassurance in a world obsessed with comparison. This event is for anyone feeling the pressures of modern life, seeking inspiration and laughter in equal measure.

There will be a BSL interpreter at this event

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.

A middle-aged woman obsessed with pickling, body painting and taxidermy is an unlikely star, but thanks to a BAFTA-winning animated film, Beryl is just that. Film director, animator and Beryl’s co-creator Joanna Quinn takes us behind the scenes of the 2021 film Affairs of the Art, and explains the creative process behind animation.

Joanna will give an entertaining insight into her creative process including a range of sketches, storyboards and final artwork for Beryl’s creation. She will also illustrate live in this event, bringing her dynamic and vivacious character to life before your eyes.

Internationally-celebrated choreographer and director Sir Wayne McGregor tells us how and why we should master our physical intelligence, in conversation with Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East.

In We Are Movement, McGregor draws on research with elite performers, athletes and cognitive neuroscientists to argue that our intelligence lies not only in our brains, but our bodies too. By learning to use it properly, we can become better communicators, more creative thinkers and live fuller lives. Filled with practical advice and inspiration, this event will have you appreciating your body in a new way.

Abandon your Biro and learn all about the world’s oldest writing, invented in Mesopotamia five thousand years ago. Mesopotamia expert Dr Selena Wisnom will demonstrate how simple pictograms evolved into a complex writing system with nearly a thousand signs, and how it was deciphered after two millennia of silence. She’ll show you how to make your own cuneiform tablet out of plasticine and impress the signs into it just like the Mesopotamians did. You can write your name in this ancient script, and take home a piece of history.

A screening of Argentine auteur Lucrecia Martel’s ingenious adaptation of the existentialist novel Zama. Frenzied first-person narration transforms to become a cinematic fugue state in this singular and stupefying period drama, and Martel inserts her own incisive commentary on colonialism and masculinity.

An 18th-century Spanish magistrate is eternally languishing in anticipation for a transfer from the outpost to which he has been relegated. When his last hope of departure comes to naught, he joins an expedition to track down Vicuña Porto, a legendary outlaw who may or may not exist.

Charlie Mackesy’s original story of four unlikely friends became a global phenomenon and the best-selling adult non-fiction book of all time. Now he returns to Hay Festival to introduce the book’s sequel. Talking to broadcaster Francine Stock, he explores why his creations have offered so much comfort and hope to readers.

Mackesy is an artist, illustrator and author who began his career as a cartoonist. The short animated film of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse won both an Oscar and a BAFTA.

An exclusive opportunity to see two creative icons in conversation. Dexy’s Midnight Runners frontman, Kevin Rowland, speaks to best-selling novelist, Irvine Welsh, about his astonishing memoir. Rowland takes readers from the juvenile courts of his troubled teenage years to the success of Dexy’s Midnight Runners in the 1980s. With searing honesty, he also recounts the lows – including a serious cocaine addiction that left him bankrupt. Rowland and Welsh discuss resilience after adversity, iconic moments in British music, and how it feels to have had a major impact on our culture. For music lovers and pop culture buffs, as well as those who want a ring-side seat to lively and candid conversation.

A candid, funny and relatable look at what it means to be the ‘default parent’. Lou Beckett, wife of comedian Rob Beckett, enjoys a no-holds-barred chat with comedian and mother Sara Pascoe about the emotional and logistical burdens of being the parent who plans, pre-empts, organises and remembers, and offers community to others in the same position.

Beckett’s book Lessons From a Default Parent contains advice and reflections on parenting, and provides comfort to the people depended on the most and appreciated the least. Beckett is a mother of two and ex-secondary school teacher, as well as a mostly silent participant on her husband’s podcast Parenting Hell.

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.

Kenyan social entrepreneur Linda Kamau and BBC technology and social science writer and presenter Aleks Krotoski discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women carving careers in technology across Africa.

Kamau is a pioneer in the inclusion of women in technology. Co-founder of AkiraChix, she has trained hundreds of young women in programming, providing them with the tools to transform their lives and communities. She has been recognised by initiatives such as the Obama Foundation’s Leaders Africa programme, and is a member of the Segal Family Foundation, a trust supporting social justice in East Africa. Krotoski has written and presented landmark technology and social science series for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World.

They speak to Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.

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.

Experience a powerful 20-minute one-woman play in the open air. Don’t Harm the Animals tells the story of a woman isolated at the top of a mountain, and deals with issues of PTSD in the aftermath of sexual assault. It shines a light on the lack of understanding given to victims and addresses the impact of secondary revictimisation. The play premiered at the Chain Theatre, New York, and has been described as “Scorching writing” and “A powerhouse of a performance”.

Joanna Pickering is a multi-award-winning British actress and playwright whose work focuses on strong female narrative and advocacy for women’s rights. Her play Lara’s Journey recently live-streamed from New York City to over one million viewers to raise awareness for Ukrainian refugees. Pickering recently secured a three-play deal for 2026, to be produced by a Broadway award-winning team. These initmate shows at Hay Festival will be directed by the award-winning Welsh writer and director, Philip John.

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.

Welsh writer Jan Morris was once the most famous journalist in the world: she joined the 1953 Everest expedition and was first to get news of Hilary and Tensing’s successful climb back to London. Morris’ glittering career included interviewing Che Guevara and scooping the story of the Suez collusion. When she transitioned in the early 1970s, she documented the experience in her book Conundrum. Writer and broadcaster Sara Wheeler discusses her biography of Morris with author Oliver Bullough.

Take a joyful and illuminating look at why we’re so deeply wired to respond to the human voice, especially when performing and listening live. Neuroscientist Professor Catherine Loveday reveals how singing actually works in the brain (did you know you’re more likely to remember vocal over instrumental music?); vocal coach Juliet Russell shares her insights on how singing aligns the body and mind; and psychologist Dr Sian Williams examines the relationship between voice, breath and emotional regulation.

Known to calm anxiety, sharpen memory and bring people together, the science behind singing is as intriguing as it is powerful. Combining psychology, performance and lived experience, this event explores how singing creates connection, improves memory and fosters wellbeing.

A celebration of the life and work of the quietly radical Welsh painter Gwen John on the 150th anniversary of her birth. John’s art has been an inspiration for the work and creative lives of many others, from Dior’s creative director to the Manic Street Preachers.

Leading Welsh poet and author Gwyneth Lewis, conservator Fiona McLees and curator Lucy Wood discuss the lasting impact of John’s work, which is currently on display in an exhibition at Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.

This landmark retrospective brings together John’s most celebrated pieces alongside rarely seen paintings, drawings and letters. Two accompanying books, Unseen Gwen John and Gwen John: Strange Beauties, reveal extraordinary discoveries from her studio and offer fresh insight into her quiet and strikingly modern vision.

In Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, the character Kaufman is a confused LA screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt the latest book by Susan Orlean, Kaufman’s life spins from pathetic to bizarre.

As a screenwriter, Kaufman’s style of reality-bending comedy made him a superstar. With Adaptation, he turned a case of writer’s block into a brilliantly weird and weirdly touching comic tribute to living life as a movie – and earned an Oscar nod for both himself and his imaginary twin!

In her fantastic new show, Sara Pascoe explores the joys and absurdities of being human – from the chaos of motherhood to the contradictions of fame and the unanswerable question: why won't my kitchen clean itself?

With her trademark mix of sharp observation and surreal humour, Pascoe turns everyday anxieties into pure comic gold. You've seen her on Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo and The Great British Sewing Bee. Now enjoy her company in person at a special show for Hay Festival. Clever, curious and joyfully offbeat – this is Sara Pascoe at her brilliant best.

Three brilliant speakers, all with something completely different to say about how we see ourselves – past, present and future. Historian Peter Jones reveals how self-help worked in the Middle Ages. Podcaster and entrepreneur Jamie Laing shares how he’s trying to work out how to be the kind of man he’s proud of instead of the kind society expects him to be. And journalist Aleks Krotoski talks about her investigation into the moguls and tech bros who are trying to defy death so they can live forever. Hosted by Decca Aitkenhead, chief interviewer for the Sunday Times.

Join renowned cellist-singer and environmental activist Sarah Smout for a unique evening of visceral storytelling, making the Gothic arches and austere stonework of St Mary’s Church shimmer with atmosphere. Smout sailed among frozen sea, icebergs and glaciers during a 2025 expeditionary residency around Svalbard in Norway, collecting their sounds and performing improvisations amid the rapidly melting Arctic.

This experience inspires her entrancing and transportive solo show, which invites us to listen more deeply to the fragile beauty of polar regions, inspiring hope, awe and wonder, and highlighting the profound impacts of climate change. Smout creates atmosphere with live-looped cello, haunting melodies and poetry that is never too far from the sea. This is a truly special evening of performance in a unique setting.

A blissful night of songs that make you sing and tunes that make you dance, as cosmic shape-shifters The Poozies take to the stage. The pioneering Scottish trad band formed in 1990, originally with an all-female line-up, and were at the forefront of a wave that revolutionised traditional Scots and Gaelic music.

They’re known for their eclectic choice of material and a seductive energy – expect unusual and exciting arrangements, notable vocal harmonies and a dose of sass and irreverence as the group performs new music and old hits.

The band are anchored by founding member Mary Macmaster on electro-harp, with the irrepressible riotousness of Eilidh Shaw and Sarah McFadyen on twin fiddles and the shimmering joyfulness of Mike Bryan on guitar.

An hour of movement and breathwork, led by a highly-skilled Hay-on-Wye practitioner, to start your day at Hay Festival with open heart and mind. Whether you need grounding and recharging before a busy day at the Festival, an opportunity to stretch and move your body, or simply an hour to focus on your breathing, this yoga class is open and accessible to all. The class leader will adapt to different levels of experience, so that each student takes what they need from the practice.

Begin the day with a guided tour of Hay Castle led by its director, art historian Tom True. Explore the castle’s layered history, meet some of the characters who once shaped it and hear how it is being reimagined today as a place for ideas, art and thoughtful encounters. The tour includes time to experience the castle’s new interactive interpretation on the second floor, followed by coffee and pastries.

Coffee and pastry included in the ticket price. Meet in the Great Hall.

Amol Rajan kicks off a bold campaign to get young people talking. Improving a child’s speaking skills is proven to directly improve their life chances, and the biggest transformations can be seen in children from the poorest backgrounds. Rajan reveals his own oracy experiment and is joined by some surprise guests in his mission to help those from the toughest beginnings find a better life through the power of speaking.

Explore the hidden history of Britain’s coast-to-coast web of walkways with geographer and travel writer Nicholas Crane as he chats to nature journalist Nicola Cutcher. This event takes you from the prehistoric routeways walked by European migrants 12,000 years ago to the Hadrian’s Wall Path and the banks of the Severn, via our national parks and long-distance trails, which emerged from the ashes of two world wars.

Crane, who is a presenter on the BAFTA-winning series Coast, talks about the routes he took for his new book The Path More Travelled, the discoveries he made along the way, and offers up a passionate ode to walking, urging us all to rediscover and protect our landscapes.

Explore poetic encounters between Vietnam and Wales with an hour of visceral performance and poetry. Led by Vietnamese poet Nha Thuyên, this event showcases an artistic exploration of two rivers – the Red River, which runs through Vietnam, and the River Wye, which runs through Wales.

Thuyên is joined by duo MontenegroFisher, inspired by classical female poet Ho Xuân Hương, for a performance resonating with resilience, sensuality and nature’s force. Two emerging artists from Wales also join to present their collaboration interpreting landscape, language and sound through the lens of ecology. Dr Wanda O’Connor is an academic and writer working in contemporary poetry and poetics; Lowri Hedd Vaughan is a regenerative practitioner concerned with the restoration of natural living systems.

Watch a selection of short films, curated by MUBI, throughout the morning. The day’s schedule will be listed each morning at the venue – pop along and take a look.

Step into the magical world of Bird & Blend Tea Co., discover the secrets of tea mixology and create your own perfect blend in an immersive and interactive Tea Mixology Experience led by an expert mixologist. This hands-on workshop invites you to taste up to six unique blends and test your tea knowledge with an engaging and fun tea matching game.

With expert guidance, you’ll get to craft two custom tea blends to take home and pair with your next fave book! You’ll also learn about different tea types and brewing tips to enhance your tea-making ritual at home. There’ll be an opportunity to ask questions, plus you’ll get a goody bag with free samples. Visit the Bird & Blend Tea Co. stand afterwards for a free gift with purchase (find a special token in your goody bag). Book now – it’s going to be TEArrific!

Come on a walk through the beautiful surrounds of Hay-on-Wye, led by guides from the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, and learn more about the area’s iconic ancient and veteran trees.

Hay-on-Wye is located within 520 square miles of beautiful countryside that makes up the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The National Park is driving change to bring about a sustainable future, meeting our needs within planetary boundaries. Their Hay Festival series of walks take you into the town’s local environment while offering the opportunity to learn more about the Park’s work and its treasured landscape.

Award-winning author and illustrator David Litchfield is bringing his Bear Band to Hay Festival on a 10th anniversary concert tour! David will read his book The Bear and the Piano, (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016) accompanied by live music, with David on guitar, Rebecca De Winter on piano and lots of audience participation.

After this very special story time, stick around to help David create a piece of animal-related artwork. You can even join David’s Merry Band of Bears as they perform a live music concert. There’ll be plenty of fun for both Little Bears and Big Bears.

Don’t miss some far-out fun with Olaf Falafel! Join the award-winning comedian, author and illustrator for a fun, interactive session inspired by his new graphic novel The Far-Out Five: Snot Jelly Island. Olaf will be telling jokes, sharing tips on creating funny comics and guiding you through drawing one of his wonderfully weird characters. Warning: this event will contain art, farts and bum-faced woodlice!

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. The theme for today is rivers, with support from The Rivers Trust. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.

Step inside Hay Castle – a border stronghold shaped by myth, power and reinvention. Visit the current BorderLands exhibition delivered in partnership with Meadow Arts, and enjoy full access to the castle, from cellar to rooftop. Explore rooms layered with stories, including Matilda’s room, the Richard Booth space, historic costumes and the castle cellar.

Experience the new, interactive exhibit on the second floor, then climb to the viewing platform for wide views across the Wye Valley. Your ticket also includes unlimited return visits for a full year, so you can come back as the seasons – and the castle – change.

This ticket allows you to visit the castle at a time of your choice on the day selected, and also gives you entry into the Meadow Arts BorderLands exhibition.

Step away from the Festival site and into the rich border landscape that surrounds Hay-on-Wye on this gentle circular guided walk of around four miles, led by local professional walking guide Sarah Price. The route takes in the border-defining Dulas Brook and the hamlet of Cusop, encompassing St Mary’s Church and the ancient Cusop Castle mound, as well as a section of Offa’s Dyke Path.

Throughout the walk, Sarah brings the landscape to life with stories drawn from local history, lived experience, and years of guiding in the area. This is an ideal walk for anyone who enjoys history, place and thoughtful walking — a chance to explore the wider landscape that has long inspired writers, thinkers and wanderers.

Step inside Hay Castle during Hay Festival 2026 and explore a place shaped by power, survival and reinvention. Led by an expert volunteer guide, this tour traces 800 years of life inside the castle – from medieval plots and royal whispers to its rescue, restoration and reimagining as a place for ideas today. You’ll move through rooms, stairways and towers, hearing stories of the people who lived, schemed, dreamed and partied here. Along the way, take in sweeping views across the Wye Valley – a reminder that this is a border castle, built to watch and be watched.

Guided tours run daily at 11am and 2pm. Tour price includes entry into the Castle for a year including the current exhibition: BorderLands.

Discover the miraculous and often misunderstood world of hormones in this lively and engaging conversation. Leading endocrinologist Dr Saira Hameed, author of Signals, speaks to comedian Sara Pascoe about how hormones write life’s masterplan, as well as control our minute-to-minute experiences, from appetite to mood.

Combining science, history and patient stories, this informative and accessible event will have you thinking differently about hormones, and provide a deeper understanding of how health and happiness depends on their power. Hameed is a consultant endocrinologist for the NHS, a senior tutor and an honorary clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London.

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.

In this entertaining event for absolutely everyone, we’re celebrating inclusivity in reading in an interactive storytelling session for all the family.

We are delighted to welcome some of the winners of the 2026 IBC Awards winners: The Beautiful Layers of Me by Sophia Payne and Ruchi Mhasane; Supa Nova by Chanté Timothy; and Cloud Boy by Greg Stobbs.

Inclusive Books for Children (IBC) is a charity with a free website for families, schools and libraries to help easily choose books for a more inclusive bookshelf. IBC showcases stories that represent all types of family, featuring books with a variety of ethnicities, positive images of disabilities and different identities.

The IBC Awards celebrate the talent behind the best new inclusive children’s books published in the UK across three categories: baby and toddler books (1–3 years), picture books (3–7 years) and highly illustrated children’s fiction (5–9 years). This year IBC celebrated the inaugural IBC Children's Choice Awards, with winners chosen by children across the country.

The Hay Festival bookshop features a dedicated Inclusive Books for Children section showcasing IBC’s top-reviewed books of the year. Come along and get your books signed after the event.

Enter the dangerous, magical world of the Geomancer, as Kiran Millwood Hargrave leads us through a quest with the future of the whole world at stake. In The Ship of Strays, the thrilling third book in her epic fantasy trilogy, heroine Ysolda has unlocked the earth magic, and its powers are rising within her. With a rebel princess by her side, she is racing against the fearsome wolf queen. But they’re in for a stormy journey…

In this inspiring mixed media workshop, you’ll explore the legendary Persian bird, the Simurgh, and the folklore that surrounds it. The Simurgh is a mythical creature and an ancient symbol that appears across time and cultures and in different legends, often with varying roles, qualities and names. It is sometimes depicted with a head of a dog, lion’s claws and a peacock’s body. All materials and equipment provided – just bring your imagination!

University of Worcester staff and students from the Department of Illustration and the International Centre for the Picture Book in Society (ICPBS) return to Hay Festival with their engaging workshops to inspire all young creatives.

An opportunity to get crafting! Activities differ every day, including everything from print-making to junk modelling with recycled materials. The theme for today is rivers, with support from The Rivers Trust. Get messy and creative in these interactive sessions delivered by artists and discover that your imagination is the only limit.

Book for the session and you can drop in at any point during the 1.5 hour duration. Accompanying adults: please stay in attendance at all times, but you do not require a ticket.