Hay Festival has announced the participants of Writers at Work 2026, a creative development programme for Welsh writers at Hay Festival this spring (21–31 May) with the support of Literature Wales and Folding Rock, funded by Arts Council of Wales.
Offering a fullyprogrammed ten days of creative development opportunities, Hay Festival Writers at Work allows the selected writers to engage in Festival events, attend workshops with publishers, agents and, crucially, with established international artists.
Open to writers working in English and Welsh across genres – fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry – this year’s 10 successful applicants are:
- Sophie Calon
- Ben Huxley
- Steffan Wilson-Jones
- Holly Müller
- Naomi Pearce
- Silvia Rose
- Emily Paradice-Ruan
- Carys Shannon
- Stacey Taylor
- Rolant Tomos
Writers at Work is a Hay Festival project supported by Literature Wales – the national company for the development of literature – and run by writer Tiffany Murray.
Many participants to date have enjoyed global publishing success after the experience and achieved a spread of award wins and shortlistings, including the International Dylan Thomas Prize, Wales Book of the Year, Waterstones Welsh Book of the Year, The New Welsh Writing Award, the Wasafiri New Writing Prize, Wales Media Award, Welsh Rising Star Award, the Guardian’s Best New Novelists, and Creative Wales Award.
Established in 2016 to nurture Welsh talent writing in both languages, Writers at Work was paused during the Covid-19 pandemic. 2026 will mark its eighth year.
Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said:
“We are delighted to unveil our 2026 Hay Festival Writers at Work participants: a snapshot of Wales’ writing talent, pushing the boundaries of fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. Over the 11 days of the Festival, this group will enjoy a programme of workshops and events tailored to their needs, guarding and growing our creative community for the future.
“As a charity Hay Festival exists to open access to creative inspiration around every corner. In this spirit, our spring Festival is a great convener of writers, curious readers and – crucially – creative opportunities. Join us.”
Sophie Calon said:
“It still feels brilliantly surreal that I’ll be part of the Writers at Work 2026 cohort. Try telling that to seven-year-old me in the Festival line for Jacqueline Wilson’s signing! I am so grateful for this incredible opportunity to learn from others, share experiences, and grow as a writer. Hay Festival is a magical place, and I can’t wait to immerse myself in the programme. Diolch!”
Steffan Jones said:
“I feel both honoured and excited to join this year’s cohort of Writers at Work at Hay Festival 2026 and hopefully follow in the footsteps of the successful authors that have taken part in previous years. Hay Festival is a genuinely global event, and the doors it opens are truly endless. I can’t wait to get started!”
Literature Wales Artistic Director Leusa Llewelyn said:
“Llenyddiaeth Cymru | Literature Wales is a charity dedicated to supporting writers at every stage of their journey, and we are delighted once again this year to be supporting Hay Festival’s Writers at Work development programme. There is no other programme like it on earth where Welsh writers can be trained, inspired and mentored by such a high calibre and eclectic range of writers, agents and publishers, and we look forward to seeing what our talented cohort will gain from this once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Hay Festival runs its 39th spring edition in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with more than 600 events over 11 days, 21–31 May 2026.
