Folding Rock are joining forces with Hay Festival to spotlight emerging Welsh creatives in this year’s Writers at Work programme in Hay-on-Wye, 22 May – 1 June.

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 networking opportunities at Hay Festival.

As the official Media Partner for 2025, Folding Rock will profile participating writers, showcasing their work to a wider audience online.

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.”

Applications for the 2025 programme are open now, closing Friday 28 February 2025

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.

The full programme of 600+ events will be released in March 2025. Find out more at hayfestival.org.