Artists Lizzie Lomax has been announced as this year’s Hay Festival Illustrator in Residence with her cover, out today, designed to mark 100 days until the Festival.
Offering an emerging artist the opportunity to take part in Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2025, 22 May–1 June, the residency facilitates and inspires visual storytelling, supporting artists in reaching a larger audience while emphasising the vital role artists play in storytelling.
Based in Brighton and working from her shared studio at the Phoenix Arts Centre, Lomax’s work is created through made and found textures, drawing and collage, to create playful, bright and accessible illustrations. She graduated from Kingston University studying Illustration Animation and is co-founder and co-editor of Seed Magazeen, a publication for kids who care about the environment.
As the Hay Festival 2025 Illustrator in Residence, Lomax’s illustrations will be showcased on the programme as well as via the Festival’s digital platforms throughout the live event.
Hay Festival Global CEO Julie Finch said:
“Marking one hundred days to Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye 2025, we are delighted to announce this year’s Illustrator in Residence and share our programme cover. Lizzie Lomax is an emerging star of illustration, working innovatively to make thought-provoking and sustainable work. We are delighted to showcase her talents on this year’s programme, inside and out, and look forward to offering audiences even more creative inspiration at the Festival in May.”
Lizzie Lomax said:
“It feels amazing to be a part of Hay Festival this year, alongside an incredible line-up of people involved. I’ve had a lot of fun making the illustrations and I hope the visitors feel the artwork reflects their time spent exploring the Festival. I can’t wait to soak up the atmosphere in the beautiful surroundings, and as a big reader myself, I have a very strong feeling I’ll be leaving with arms full of books, too!”
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 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 throughthe 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.