Hay Festival will take five award-winning Young Adult writers direct to thousands of Year 7–10 pupils across Wales next year with the free Scribblers Tour, 3–14 February.
Now in its fourteenth year, Hay Festival Scribblers Tour aims to engage and encourage the next generation in storytelling and conversation, inspiring empathy and creativity.
Compèred by Young Adult author Jenny Valentine, sessions for Year 7–8 pupils will feature interactive activities with spoken word artist Steven Camden aka Polarbear and author Liz Hyder.
Year 9–10 sessions will be compèred by Hay Festival learning and engagement co-ordinator Sarah KilBride with Jenny Valentine and novelist Ashley Hickson-Lovence.
Five leading Welsh universities will host the events – University of South Wales, Swansea University, Aberystwyth University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Wrexham University – offering pupils a chance to experience a taste of life on campus.
In addition, a special Hay Festival Scribblers Tour event will take place for adult learners at University of South Wales with programming details to be announced soon.
The announcement follows last week’s Scribblers Cymraeg, which saw 1,089 pupils take part in Welsh language events all over Wales, led by broadcaster and actor Anni Llŷn, presenter and author Siôn Tomos Owen, and stand-up comedian Leila Navab.
Hay Festival, one of the world’s leading cultural charities, was founded in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1987, providing audiences with dynamic platforms to come together to share ideas, different perspectives and provoke conversations that can create a better world.
Julie Finch, Hay Festival CEO, said: “We believe access to culture is essential to develop the world-changers of the future. Hay Festival Scribblers Tour offers thousands of young people a free chance to experience creative inspiration, meeting their writing heroes and getting involved with workshops all over Wales.
“We are excited to spotlight this inspiring line-up of writers on our 2025 programme: Sarah KilBride, Jenny Valentine, Steven Camden aka Polarbear, Liz Hyder and Ashley Hickson-Lovence are a dream team to take Hay Festival on the road.”
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, said: “I am pleased the Hay Festival Scribblers Tour is giving young people the opportunity to participate in workshops with writers and poets, and to get to know their local universities. Reading, writing and storytelling are vital elements of education.”
Hay Festival Education’s Scribblers Cymraeg 2024 and Scribblers Tour 2025 are funded by the Welsh Government and part of Hay Festival’s wider outreach and education work that includes the free schools programmes at Festivals, and Hay Festival Academy in the UK, plus Hay Festival Joven and Hay Festival Communitario internationally. Last year, more than 15,000 school pupils enjoyed free access to Festival events globally.
For more information visit hayfestival.org/scribblers/the-scribblers-tour.aspx. And to support Hay Festival’s continued work to reach new audiences, become a Hay Festival Member, Patron or Benefactor today at hayfestival.org/support-us.