Alys Conran, author of Pigeon, has been named recipient of the Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol Gwyl y Gelli / Hay Festival Creative Wales International Fellowship for 2019-2020.
A programme funded by Arts Council of Wales, the Fellowship provides an opportunity for a writer from Wales to participate in Hay Festival editions throughout the year in Wales, Mexico, Spain, Peru, Colombia and Croatia. It is open to exceptional, ambitious and imaginative creative individuals, working
within the literature art form, providing a unique opportunity for career development, while increasing Wales’s artistic profile internationally. This is an incredible opportunity for Alys, and we couldn't be happier for her.
Cristina Fuentes de la Roche, Hay Festival international director, said: “Alys Conran is one of the most exciting contemporary writers around. We’ve enjoyed celebrating her work at Hay Festival Wales over the past few years and are honoured to do so internationally, introducing new readers to her vibrant writing in Mexico, Spain, Peru, Colombia and Croatia. They’re in for a treat.”
Last year's recipient was another esteemed Parthian author, Dylan Moore, whose debut collection of travel writing Driving Home Both Ways is out now.
Conran said: “I’m so honoured and delighted to be Hay International Fellow this year, and looking forward to having multilingual conversations, developing cross-cultural creative ideas and sharing inspiration at these wonderful festivals. I’ll not be forgetting where I’m from, though, and will be taking a piece of Welsh writing slate to each place, to honour the role that slate once had in supporting writing and literacy throughout the world.”
We look forward to seeing where this fellowship will take Alys, and the all-important literary friendships she'll be helping to forge with other countries. Next stop, Mexico!
