Hay Festival Scribblers Tour 2024
Hay Festival Scribblers Tour returns with a series of workshops in Welsh universities in January/February 2024, thanks to Welsh Government funding.
In interactive events pupils will build stories, ask questions and express themselves through the power of writing. Authors and compères spend time with the pupils, on and off the stage, to encourage creative conversations throughout the Tour.
You can apply for a travel bursary from the Arts Council of Wales Go and See Fund. You must apply before Christmas to allow time for the Arts Council of Wales to process your application.
Book Your School – Week 1 – Years 7 & 8
Book Your School – Week 2 – Years 9 & 10
Week 1 / Event 1: Emma Carroll
Join queen of historical fiction Emma Carroll, who will be introducing her latest time-travelling adventure, The Tale of Truthwater Lake, which imagines the before and after of global warming. She'll also be sharing some of her top tips for researching and writing your own incredible stories. Expect to be inspired by strange old objects, dogs in top hats, maps and monsters, as well as thinking about what makes YOU tick as a writer. Emma has been nominated for and the winner of numerous national, regional and schools awards – including the Books Are My Bag Readers' Award, Branford Boase, CILIP Carnegie Medal, Young Quills, Teach Primary and the Waterstones Book Prize.
Week 1 / Event 2: Karl Nova
Join award-winning wordsmith, Hip Hop artist and poet Karl Nova, who will perform pieces from his new book The Curious Case of Karl Nova. His energetic freestyle performance tells stories that are humorous, personal and inspirational. Karl won the CLiPPA poetry award in 2018 and the Ruth Rendell Award for services to literacy in 2020.
Week 2 / Event 1: Laura Bates
What if the tales we thought we knew really happened differently? What if some people have been left out of the picture? What if we've only been told half the story? In her workshop, bestselling author Laura Bates will discuss the power of storytelling, brave writing and changing the narrative. We'll look at different ways to flip the script, from rewriting sexist headlines to creating female Arthurian knights, with powerful and sometimes hilarious results. And together we'll ask the question: what if changing the story could change the world? As well as an author, Laura is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project; she works closely with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organisations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations to tackle gender inequality.
Week 2 / Event 2: Nikesh Shukla
Get creative, find your voice and dream big with author Nikesh Shukla as he chats about his funny and poignant new comedy novel Stand Up. For Nikesh, tragedy + time = comedy. He’ll explore his lifelong love of comedy, how humour got him in and out of tight spots growing up, all those times we laugh when otherwise we might probably cry, and how standing up for what you believe in can really change your life. Nikesh Shukla is an author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays The Good Immigrant.
Scribblers Tour 2024 Host – Jenny Valentine
Award-winning YA author and teen champion Jenny Valentine will be compèring the Scribblers Tour and encouraging pupils to find their own words to express ideas and creativity throughout the tour.
Day at a glance
| 10am | Schools arrive |
| 10.15am–10.30am | Introduction |
| 10.30am–11.15am | Event 1 – Emma Carroll (week 1) / Laura Bates (week 2) |
| 11.15am–11.30am | Break and book signing |
| 11.30am–12.15pm | Event 2 – Karl Nova (week 1) / Nikesh Shukla (week 2) |
| 12.15pm–1pm | Lunch and book signing |
| 1pm–1.45pm | Event 3 – University session |
| 1.45pm–2pm | Pupil and teacher evaluation |
| 2pm | End |
