Issa awarded Hay Festival International Fellowship

Writer, poet and spoken word artist Hanan Issa has been awarded this year’s Hay Festival International Fellowship. 

The fellowship supports a writer in Wales to attend festival editions in Mexico, Spain, Peru and Colombia while developing a writing or research project. It is funded by Arts Council of Wales.  

Hanan was a participant of the Hay Festival Writers at Work development programme. Her debut pamphlet, My Body can House two Hearts, was published by Burning Eye Books in 2019 and her work has been performed and published in a variety of places including BBC Wales, ITV Wales, Huffington Post, StAnza festival and Poetry Wales. She is the co-founder of the Where I’m Coming From open mic collective and was named National Poet of Wales earlier this year. 

Previous recipients of the fellowship include acclaimed Welsh writers, poets and journalists Mererid Hopwood, Alys Conran, Dylan Moore, Jon Gower, Tiffany Murray, Fflur Dafydd, Owen Sheers, Eurig Salisbury, Jay Griffiths and Jenny Valentine. 

Issa said: “I am unbelievably excited by this opportunity to explore such incredible places and connect with international writers. I am hoping to understand more about the literary traditions of folklore, fairy tales and poetry from countries I visit and gain a deeper insight of tales from my own heritage in Wales and Iraq.” 

Cristina Fuentes La Roche, Hay Festival international director, added: “We are delighted to welcome Hanan Issa into the Hay Festival International Fellowship. Hay Festival offers a unique space for writers, thinkers and audiences from across the world to share ideas in free, open conversations. From our booktown in Wales, the festival has now travelled to more than 30 locations, from the historic town of Cartagena in Colombia to the heart of cities in Peru, Mexico, Spain and the USA, and we look forward to sharing Hanan’s work with this international audience over the next 12 months.” 

Eluned Haf, head of Wales Arts International at Arts Council of Wales, said: “We have been delighted to support the Hay Festival International Fellowship over the past decade. It is a fellowship that has opened up important international connections for a range of brilliant writers from Wales and introduced their work to new international audiences.  

“Hanan Issa is a fantastic choice as the next Hay Festival International Fellow. As recently appointed National Poet of Wales, Hanan is a dynamic ambassador for the literature, people and values of Wales and we know that, with the support of the generous network of Hay Festival, she will bring back and share her experiences here.”