Hay Festival Medals
Awarded annually since Britain’s Olympic year (2012), and crafted locally by silversmith Christopher Hamilton, the Hay Festival Medals draw inspiration from the original Olympic medal given for poetry.
Hay Festival medals in 2025 are awarded to three world-changing storytellers, honouring exceptional work in fiction, drama and prose:
Ruth Jones (Medal for Drama) is a Welsh actress, comedian, writer and producer. She co-created and co-starred in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey. Appearing on the Hay Festival 2025 to discuss the legacy of Gavin & Stacey and to present her new novel, By Your Side, a story about finding joy in the most unlikely connections, and the importance of holding on to friendship, love and community – especially when life gets messy.
Michael Morpurgo (Medal for Fiction) is one of Britain’s best loved children’s authors, having written over 150 books, he has served as Children’s Laureate and won many awards, including the Smarties Prize, the Writers Guild Award, the Whitbread Award, the Blue Peter Book Award, and the Eleanor Fareon Lifetime Achievement Award. Watch his medal event here. Morpurgo was Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and is currently President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity.
Elif Shafak (Medal for Prose) is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist and the most widely read female author in Turkey. Her books include The Island of Missing Trees, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and most recently There Are Rivers in the Sky. Her works have been translated into 57 languages and have been nominated for several literary awards.
HAY FESTIVAL MEDAL RECIPIENTS
2024 |
Medal for Music – Huw Stephens Medal for Drama – Judi Dench Medal for Poetry – Lemn Sissay Medal for Broadcasting and Sports – Gary Lineker Medal for Non-fiction – Laura Bates |
2023 |
Medal for Fiction – Alice Oseman Medal for Poetry – Mererid Hopwood Medal for Prose – Salman Rushdie Medal for Songwriting – Serhiy Zhadan |
2022 |
Medal for Drama – David Harewood Medal for Journalism – Lyse Doucet Medal for Poetry – Robert Minhinnick Medal for Prose – Jacqueline Wilson |
2021 | Medal for Drama – Emerald Fennell Medal for Journalism – George Monbiot Medal for Poetry – Benjamin Zephaniah Medal for Prose – Ali Smith |
2020 | Medal for Journalism – Lydia Cacho Medal for Poetry – Inua Ellams Medal for Prose – Hilary Mantel |
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2019 | Medal for Journalism – Carole Cadwalladr Medal for Poetry – Julia Donaldson Medal for Illustration – Axel Scheffler Medal for Fiction – Eric Vuillard
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2018 | Medal for Prose – Margaret Atwood Medal for Poetry – Evelyn Schlag Medal for Illustration – Jackie Morris
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2017 | Medal for Drama – Daniel Morden Medal for Prose – Philippe Sands Medal for Fiction – Cressida Cowell Medal for Festivals – Ahdaf Soueif
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2016 | Medal for Drama – Gregory Doran Medal for Poetry – Gillian Clarke Medal for Prose – Janine di Giovanni Medal for Song – Laura Marling
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2015 | Medal for Drama – Alan Bennett Medal for Education – Germaine Greer Medal for Illustration – Chris Riddell Medal for Prose – Robert MacFarlane |
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2014 | Medal for Drama – Hans Rosenfeldt Medal for Prose – Karl Ove Knausgaard Medal for Illustration – Oliver Jeffers |
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2013 | Medal for Fiction – John le Carre Medal for Poetry – Owen Sheers Medal for Drama – Miranda Hart |
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2012 | Medal for Drama – Abi Morgan Medal for Poetry – Simon Armitage Medal for Prose – Jeanette Winterson |
Hay Festival medals being made