Carroll and Wheatle sign up to Hay Festival Scribblers Tour

Children’s and YA authors including Emma Carroll and Alex Wheatle will speak to school pupils in Wales next February as part of Hay Festival’s Scribblers Tour.

Carroll and Wheatle, along with Jenny Valentine, Karl Nova and Sue Turton, will take part at events for children in years 7, 8, 9 and 10 at five Welsh universities: University of South Wales, Swansea University, Aberystwyth University, Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Wrexham Glyndwr University.

Valentine will compère the events and run writing events. Pupils in years 7 and 8 will take part in sessions with Carroll, who writes historical fiction, and Nova, a poet and hip hop artist, whilst those in years 9 and 10 will attend sessions run by Wheatle and Turton.

Aine Venables, education manager at Hay Festival, said: “Every May in Hay-on-Wye thousands of young people join us to meet their favourite writers, and now we’re bringing Hay to them. In these free festival days we will be sharing stories, debating questions and celebrating the power of writing and reading for pleasure. We want to start conversations with young people, hear their voices and inspire their creative identities.”

Hay Festival Scribblers Tour is funded by the Welsh Government and is part of Hay Festival Foundation’s wider outreach and education work. The tour is now in its eighth year.