Hay Festival has announced a partnership with Folding Rock to spotlight emerging Welsh creatives on its Writers at Work programme in Hay-on-Wye, 22 May–1 June 2025.
Founded this year, Folding Rock is a new English-language literary journal seeking to promote and support Welsh writing. It will publish the best new creative prose: fiction, non-fiction, and everything in between, showcasing exciting, original work from writers both emerging and established. The first print issue is out next month.
Hay Festival Writers at Work is a creative development programme for emerging Welsh talent, run in partnership with Literature Wales and funded by Arts Council Wales. The project sees successful applicants enjoy a curated programme of masterclasses, workshops, and to networking opportunities at Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye.
Through the new partnership, Folding Rock will profile the participating writers, showcasing their work to a wider audience online.
Applications for the 2025 programme are open now at https://www.hayfestival.com/hay-on-wye/writers-at-work.
Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:
“As a charity, we work hard to create new pathways into the world of ideas. Our Writers at Work programme is a key arm of our talent development programme and we are delighted to be partnering Folding Rock in expanding its reach further, offering a broad range of Welsh writers new creative opportunities and platforms to reach new audiences.”
Folding Rock co-founder Kathryn Tann said:
“Folding Rock are chuffed to be part of Writers at Work and Hay Festival this year. As a magazine dedicated to the best new writing and most exciting emerging talent from Wales, this partnership is a bit of a match made in heaven. Already our first issue is home to the brilliant words of the programme’s alumni – including Anthony Shapland, Joshua Jones and Rachel Dawson – and we can’t wait to see which Writers at Work grace our pages in the future.”
Issue 001 of Folding Rock will be published on March 6, featuring authors including Sophie Mackintosh, Jay Griffiths and Joe Dunthorne. You can find out more, pre-order or subscribe to the magazine at foldingrock.com.
Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2025 takes place 22 May–1 June in the world’s first booktown, Hay-on-Wye in Wales. Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction, the 2025 Festival will offer insights and conversation around big global issues along with a diverse programme of entertainment.
A handful of earlybird events are out now, including appearances from writers Fflur Dafydd, Matt Haig, Susie Dent and Elif Shafak; explorer Levison Wood, Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, historian Tom Holland, actor Tuppence Middleton, R&B legend Billy Ocean, songwriter Tim Rice; and comedians Al Murray and Katherine Ryan.
Events will take place across eight stages in the free-to-enter Festival site at Dairy Meadows in the Bannau Bryncheiniog National Park, offering a range of spaces for audiences to explore and enjoy, including the Bookshop, BBC Marquee, Wild Garden, Make & Take Tent, a host of exhibitors and market stalls, cafés, and the Family Garden – as well as venues around Hay-on-Wye, including St Mary’s Church and Hay Castle.
Projects and themes woven through the programme will include the News Review each morning; the return of the Hay Festival Sports Day on Wednesday 28 May; South-to-South conversations; Hay Festival Green, prompting innovative solutions to the climate crisis; celebrations of 250 years of Jane Austen and 20 years of Hay Festival’s work abroad; global collaborations with NBO Litfest in Kenya and Lviv BookForum in Ukraine; and a vibrant programme for families and young people, beginning with the free Schools Programme, 22–23 May, and including events throughout the half-term week.
Late nights at the Festival are given over to great music, comedy and entertainment, while a host of free pop-up activities and performances around the site keeps audience entertained between sessions.
The full programme of 600+ events will be released in March 2025.