HAY FESTIVAL 2021 REPORT - Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye - 2021 Report
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HAY FESTIVAL 2021 REPORT
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 3
Photographs throughout by Billie Charity
Grace Blakeley
CONTENTS
Over view 5
The programme in detail 9
The Festival in numbers 13
Festival bestsellers 15
The Festival in the media 17
The Festival in quotes 19
With thanks to... 23
About Hay Festival 25
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 3
Caitlin Moran Ed Miliband
Ray Mears Hafsa Zayyan
Simon Armitage Mya-Rose Craig Yvonne Witter
OVERVIEW
H
ay Festival 2021 brought writers Many thousands of book lovers tuned in
and readers together from from 135 countries to hear from guests
24 May-6 June for a for tnight of live including novelists Ali Smith, Lisa McInerney,
and online conversations, debates and Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk, Colm Toíbín,
performances, and an inspiring, free Ethan Hawke, Jojo Moyes, Sjón, Maggie
Programme for Schools. Shipstead, Val McDermid, Raven Leilani, Brit
Bennett, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Marian
Broadcast from temporar y studios in Richard
Keyes and Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas
Booth’s Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye, within strict
Llosa; artist David Hockney; poets Simon
health and safety protocols, the 34th Hay
Armitage, Hollie McNish, Lemn Sissay and
Festival Wales shared the work of more than
Mererid Hopwood; economists Daniel
300 acclaimed writers, global policy-makers,
Kahneman and former Bank of England
poets, historians, scientists, environmentalists
governor Mark Carney; activist Gina Miller ;
and innovators. The Festival launched the
journalists and commentators Anne
best new fiction and non-fiction books while
Applebaum, Gar y Younge, Laura Bates,
interrogating some of the biggest issues
Caitlin Moran, Bonnie Greer and Ash
of our time, from climate catastrophe and
Sarkar ; rapper Guvna B; scientists Suzanne
global inequality to the future of the ar ts
Simard, Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz,
and world leadership.
Pragya Agarwal, Alice Rober ts, Heidi Larson
This year’s edition was the most accessible and the world’s first human cyborg Peter
and inclusive yet. All events were Scott-Morgan; historians Natalie Haynes,
closed-captioned, free to view, and available Malcom Gladwell, Sathnam Sanghera, Simon
to watch for 24 hours after the initial Schama and Kehinde Andrews; philosopher
broadcast. They then moved to Hay Player, Noam Chomsky; former Australian PM Julia
our subscription archive platform, which Gillard, former British PMs Tony Blair and
now holds more than 8,000 Hay Festival Gordon Brown, and COP26 president Alok
events dating back to 1995. Sharma; comedians Mel Giedroyc, Rober t
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 5
Benjamin Zephaniah
Ali Smith
Webb, Frank Skinner and Graham Nor ton;
actors Russell Tovey, Michael Sheen, Dafne
Keen and Amir Wilson; Reverend Richard
Coles; children’s writers and illustrators
Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Patience Agbabi,
Cressida Cowell, David Walliams and
Radzi Chinyanganya; while star line-ups for
the two Festival galas included HRH The
Duchess of Cornwall, Kate Winslet, Vanessa
Redgrave, Romola Garai, Theresa Lola, Juliet
Stephenson, Skin, Guvna B, Jessica Raine,
Louise Brealey, Charly Arrowsmith, Rob
Br ydon and Margaret Busby.
While the Festival could not host ticketed
audiences in person, the booktown of
Hay-on-Wye embraced the Festival spirit,
providing a free WIFI network throughout
the town centre to offer unlimited event
streaming for visitors.
A free digital Programme for Schools,
captioned in English and Welsh, ran from
24-28 May for KS2-4 pupils, broadcasting
stor ytelling and live performances to schools
throughout the UK to inspire reading for
pleasure. Par tnerships with the Living
Knowledge Network, Calibre Audio, LitHub
and Monocle24 brought event highlights to
thousands more.
This was the third Hay Festival under
Covid-19 restrictions, so we were tasked
with re-designing the festival online
and re-thinking ways of engaging ar tists,
audiences, sponsors and par tners. It has set
the course for an exciting hybrid future.
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 7
Joeli Brearley, Pragya Agarwal, Caitlin Moran, Laura Bates
THE PROGRAMME
IN DETAIL
T
wo headline galas bookended the aimed at engaging and inspiring audiences.
programme. Main stage events got Additional teaching materials were provided
underway on Wednesday 26 May to suppor t learning before, during and after
with the inaugural Opening Night Gala: a the Festival.
night celebrating the power of words to
The HayDays and HayYA strands were
offer hope in dark times, with a selection
centred on contemporar y issues and the
of readings hosted by Natalie Haynes. On
value of reading for pleasure, broadcasting
Saturday 5 June, ‘From Women to the World’
high-impact events with charismatic speakers
saw women writers, thinkers and performers
from the UK and international authors
reading excerpts from The Penguin Book
beamed in to engage with young readers.
of Feminist Writing and From Women to the
World: Letters for the Female Centur y. Thought leaders delivered headline lectures
throughout the Festival, tackling some of
Author and poet Lemn Sissay curated a
the biggest questions of our times. These
three-par t Festival series, George Floyd:
comprised Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
One Year On, to mark the anniversar y
Anne Applebaum (Christopher Hitchens
of the killing in Minneapolis, while
Lecture), Gar y Younge (Aneurin Bevan
writers, campaigners, politicians and
Lecture), Gordon Brown (Raymond Williams
historians explored the crisis in racial
Lecture), former Bank of England governor
inequalities globally.
Mark Carney (The Friends Lecture), Welsh
The Festival launched some of the best poet Gillian Clarke (Anthea Bell Lecture),
fiction, non-fiction and poetr y, including Jojo Moyes (The Reading Agency Lecture),
major prize-winners, while a daily 10@10 Heidi Larson (John Maddox Lecture), Jini
New Voices session (at 10pm each night) Reddy (the inaugural Jan Morris Lecture),
introduced many new writers tipped to and Margaret McMillan (British Pugwash
become the next generation of Festival stars. Lecture), while leading universities shared
their latest research in the Festival’s new
This year’s free digital Programme for
Lunchtime Lectures series.
Schools featured authors out on location,
interactive workshops and varied content
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 9
Looking ahead to COP26, to be held in world were centre-stage in a series
November 2021 in Glasgow, a 22-par t of conversations with scientists, nature
Hay-on-Earth series explored the latest writers and innovators, featuring events
environmental science, sustainable policies with The Royal Society and the The British
and creative responses to the climate Academy.
crisis, while Festivalgoers were encouraged
Collaborations with global Hay Festivals
to share their creative responses via the
showcased international prizewinners such
Festival’s new Write for Change project.
as Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa and
Our post-Covid future was highlighted with Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol
discussions on the impacts of the pandemic Hay Festival/Creative Wales Hay Festival
and the potential for a new green recover y. International Fellow Mererid Hopwood.
Ever yday Sexism founder Laura Bates led Book Aid International hosted a session
a series of discussions around the ways on librar y activism, and we marked 100
Covid-19 has impacted the gender divide years of English PEN in a discussion
and its effect on mothers in par ticular. around free speech, chaired by its
president Philippe Sands.
To mark 300 years since the UK first
appointed a Prime Minister, the Festival Enter tainment was provided by leading
encouraged contributors to draw on lessons comics and musicians including Mel
from the past to inform solutions to the Giedroyc, Graham Nor ton and rapper
global crisis in democracy. Par ticipating in Guvna B, who performed to evening
PM300 were former PMs Tony Blair and audiences, while a special series of
Gordon Brown, and historian Anthony workshops encouraged audiences to get
Seldon, author of political biographies of six creative themselves.
former British Prime Ministers.
The past was reimagined by historians
sharing their insights that included a
showcase of the Wolfson Histor y Prize
shor tlist. Developments in tech and
our understanding of the natural
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 11THE FESTIVAL IN NUMBERS
1,570
press mentions
generated an
208 estimated OTS
(opportunity to
events
see/hear)
of 802m
23
million impressions
generated by
@hayfestival across
Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram
302,138
event views
91%
of teachers agreed
that watching the
Programme for
Schools had enriched
and supported
393 creative learning
during the pandemic
writers and
artists
198,490
estimated
Programme
for Schools
attendees
135 58%
countries new audiences
tuned in reached
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 13FESTIVAL
BESTSELLERS
Isabel Allende The Soul of a Woman
Alice Roberts Ancestors
Simon Armitage Magnetic Field
Jonathan Drori Around the World in 80 Plants
Michael Morpurgo The Puffin Keeper
Gillian Clarke The Gododdin
Raymond Williams Who Speaks for Wales?
Frank Skinner A Comedian’s Prayer Book
Benjamin Zephaniah Windrush Child
Natalie Haynes Pandora’s Jar
O
ur audience selected books of Hay Player gives you access to the world’s
the highest quality – intelligent, great thinkers and writers on film and audio.
well-written, imaginative and
Authors from our Programme for Schools
intellectually curious. The range of authors
filmed over the past four years can be
shows a gender balance and a diversity
watched free of charge.
of cultural influences: Anglo-Saxon, Celtic,
Caribbean and Hispanic. There are books Our series of podcasts give audiences a
for children, novels, poetr y, histor y, feminism, snapshot of all the incredible content that
politics, religion and nature all represented. can be found in long form on Hay Player.
In addition to the Book of the Month live
events, there are many ways to enjoy the
festival year-round.
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 15THE FESTIVAL
IN THE MEDIA
P
ress mentions created an estimated On social media, 23 million impressions
OTS (oppor tunities to see/hear) of were generated on Festival feeds, while
802m (Gorkana, June 2021). There 12,834 users posted about the event on
were news pieces, features and inter views public feeds for a total reach of 121 million.
across BBC Ar ts, BBC World, BBC Radio 2,
In the UK book trade, 51 libraries and
BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 6Music, BBC Wales,
bookshops suppor ted the event with
BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, ITV
point-of-sale displays, while our Bookshop.
Wales, LBC, Absolute Radio, TalkRadio, Times
org par tnership reached 195k book lovers
Radio, Press Association, The Guardian, The i,
with the Festival’s curation of new titles.
Metro, The Independent, The Times, FT, Daily
Twenty-one wider event par tnerships
Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Sun, Daily Express,
were created to reach the largest possible
Western Mail, Evening Standard, Hereford
audience, including co-streaming with The
Times, B&R Express, British GQ, Waitrose
British Librar y’s Living Knowledge Network
Weekend, House & Garden, Lodestars, Countr y
and Estuar y Festival, plus post-event content
Living, The English Garden, Cosmopolitan,
packaging with Calibre Audio, Graham
Tatler, The Big Issue, New Statesman, Histor y
Norton’s Book Club Podcast, Vince Cable’s
Revealed, National Geographic, Mslexia,
Podcast, Countr y and Town House magazine,
Countr yfile, The Week Junior, The School
Literar y Hub and Monocle24.
Librarian, School Travel Organiser, and
with media par tners LitHub, The TLS,
Countr y & Town House, Monocle24,
The Bookseller and Happiful.
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 17Vanessa Kisuule David Hockney Tahmima Anam
THE FESTIVAL
IN QUOTES
“ Hay Festival stays
ahead of the literar y “ After a tumultuous
year, Hay’s programme
cur ve... this annual literar y is reassuringly stellar,
extravaganza has been with the world’s leading
identifying subjects that writers, speakers and
matter, and tracking thinkers lined up for a
down top writers and free, digital festival. With
authorities to talk about events addressing the
them, since it was climate crisis and Black
founded in 1987.” Lives Matter, as well as
Waitrose Weekend, readings, debates, film
May 2021 screenings and inter views
with novelists, poets
and journalists, the
“ Hay Festival is one for
all seasons, balm in a calm,
Welsh Borders are set
to become a literar y
paradise this spring.”
a mainstay in a storm.”
novelist Ali Smith British GQ , April 2021
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 19“ Thank you for
providing such a diverse “ I so appreciate this
Festival and all the
and engaging programme. celebrating of work
It really helped my that they’re doing”
children recapture a love actor/writer/director
of learning following the Ethan Hawke
recent lockdowns.
Diolch yn fawr!”
Teacher, Llangorse
Primar y School
“ The combination of
book-browsing heaven
and cafés, all of them
independent, as well as
“ We loved it! So easy
to follow and it was great
the surrounding natural
landscape, and welcoming
having such talented locals, means I’ll definitely
authors in the classroom. be returning to
Ver y well organised. Hay-on-Wye, and likely
Diolch yn fawr.” not only during
Teacher, Ysgol Gymraeg the Festival.”
Cwmbrân author Jini Reddy“ Having a worldwide
stage like Hay Festival
where you can speak
“ I’m over the moon
to receive this medal,
and ver y grateful to Hay
so candidly about the Festival not only for
most intimate issues is the award but for all its
extraordinar y.” brilliant work over the
Reverend Richard Coles years. Anyone working on
environmental and social
“ I’ve lost count of how justice must swim against
many years I’ve been going the prevailing currents:
to Hay Festival as a poet, though these are the
novelist, musician, as an most impor tant issues
audience member, and on Ear th, they are all too
now digitally. So, when I often marginalised and
say that receiving the Hay neglected. So it’s a lovely
Festival Medal for Poetr y surprise to be recognised
is a great moment for me, for my work in these
you must understand, I areas. Thank you.”
really mean it. I love the
George Monbiot on
Festival, I love the people
receiving the Hay Festival
who work on the Festival,
2021 medal for journalism
and I love the town. For
me, this medal is all about
love. Thank you.”
Benjamin Zephaniah on
receiving the Hay Festival
2021 medal for poetr y
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 21Michael Rosen, Jim Down and Rachel Clarke
WITH THANKS TO...
S
ponsorship, grant funding and Starr y Meadow Camping, Ewemoo, Hill
donations to Hay Festival Foundation and Dale Caravan Park, Gabbs Solicitors,
all contributed to this year’s successful Mostlymaps, Randan Stables Galler y and
Hay Festival. With a Cultural Recover y Shepherds Parlour.
Grant from the Ar ts Council of England,
In addition, we would like to thank the
major sponsorship from Visit Wales and
following for their invaluable suppor t: the
Baillie Gifford, and Hay Festival Foundation
Welsh Government’s Depar tment for
donations, we sustained our creative
Education and Skills, British Pugwash, English
programming and wider operations to
PEN, Estuar y, Hachette, TooFar Media,
produce the Festival and offer access free
Vir tual Writers Weekend, Prospect magazine,
of charge.
Scottish Mor tgage Investment Trust, Scottish
Project sponsorship from Keystone Positive American Investment Company, British
Change Trust suppor ted our work to Council, Acción Cultural Espanola, Embassy
measure the carbon footprint of our digital of Colombia and media par tners Countr y &
content, while consultancy suppor t from Town House, Happiful, Monocle24, Lit Hub,
Accenture has informed our development The Bookseller, The TLS and VCA.
and marketing strategies, suppor ting us in
Par tnerships with disability charities
reaching new audiences.
Calibre Audio and Leonard Cheshire helped
Sharing academic research is a fundamental us to reach new, diverse audiences, while
aspect of our work through collaboration collaborations with The Reading Agency,
with our university par tners (Aber ystwyth, Bookshop.org and independent bookshops
Swansea, Birmingham, Worcester), national encouraged wider national engagement.
institutions The Royal Society, Royal Botanic
Donations and memberships (Friends,
Gardens, Kew, The British Academy, The
Patrons, Benefactors) contributing to
British Librar y, Eccles Centre for American
Hay Festival Foundation have given us
Studies, The National Librar y of Wales, and
enormous moral and financial suppor t
the science journal, Nature.
throughout the pandemic.
We are incredibly grateful to all our local
Special thanks to the team at Richard
sponsors who help to create a ver y special
Booth’s Bookshop for hosting the Festival
sense of place: Farmers’ Welsh Lavender,
and making us so welcome.
The Haymakers Galler y, Bar trums Stationer y,
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 23Carolyn Dunster and Arthur Parkinson
ABOUT HAY
FESTIVAL
H
ay Festival is a not-for-profit now reaches a global audience of millions
organisation that brings readers and each year and continues to grow and
writers together to share stories and innovate, building par tnerships and initiatives
ideas in sustainable events live and online. alongside some of the leading bodies in ar ts
The Festivals inspire, examine and enter tain and the media. Hay Festival was awarded
globally, inviting par ticipants to imagine the Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award in
world as it is and as it might be. Communication and Humanities in 2020.
Nobel Prize-winners and novelists, scientists In 2020, the Festival launched a series of
and politicians, environmentalists, historians new digital initiatives to expand its global
and musicians take par t in the Festival’s audience, including the Hay Festival Podcast
global conversation, sharing the latest in English and Spanish, the Imagina el Mundo
thinking in the ar ts and sciences with curious film series, and Book of the Month Live
audiences. A wide programme of education Q&As. Meanwhile, thousands of audio and
and outreach work runs alongside all of film recordings from the Hay Festival archive
the festival’s events, suppor ting coming can be enjoyed on Hay Player (hayfestival.
generations of writers and culturally org/hayplayer).
hungr y audiences.
Coming up... Hay Festival Querétaro, Mexico
In 1987, the Festival was dreamt up (1-5 September 2021); Hay Festival Segovia,
around a kitchen table in the booktown of Spain (16-19 September 2021); Hay Festival
Hay-on-Wye, Wales. Thir ty-four years later, Arequipa, Peru (28 October-8 November
the unique marriage of exacting conver- 2021); Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye Winter
sations and enter tainment for all ages has Weekend, Wales (24-28 November 2021);
travelled to editions in 30 locations, from Hay Festival Medellín, Colombia (Januar y
the historic town of Car tagena in Colombia 2022); Hay Festival Car tagena de Indias,
to the hear t of cities in Peru, Mexico, Spain, Colombia (Januar y 2022); Hay Festival
and this year to Croatia. The organisation Hay-on-Wye, Wales (26 May-5 June 2022).
Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye – 2021 Report 25You can also read
