The competition is now closed, but you can still test your skill and knowledge in our cryptic quiz.

Fresh from the fray, Daniel Lee explains what it's like to be an author launching a book at Hay for the first time.

Spring is giving way to summer. Tents have sprouted around a little Welsh border town. On several continents, writers have joined a great migration.

Hay is now the largest literary festival in the world. It has grown every year since its launch in 1988. Staging a total of 359 events, the festival runs for 10 days and more than 80,000 visitors are expected.

This website brings you a sample of what's on offer. Hot writers such as Dave Eggers, Ali Smith and David Mitchell are hawking their wares. Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry are preparing for a vigorous debate on blasphemy. Biographers discuss their art and the sometimes hair-raising lives of their subjects.

Looking for something different? Try our selection of tasters and our guide to Welsh writers.

You can find details of all the books featured in the site, plus links to the full festival programme, in Find out more.

Top of page

There are three elements to Channel 4's coverage of the festival this year:

From 23 May at 7.55pm
3 Minute Wonder: Hay Fever is a series of short films to whet the appetite in the run-up to the festival.

30 May at 7.05pm
Kazuo Ishiguro, Julian Barnes and Jonathan Coe debate the future of the British novel.

4 June at 5.40pm
The channel covers one of the most eagerly awaited events of the festival: the launch of Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's biography of Mao Zedong.

This year, for the first time, the Hay Festival features film events, with the help of sponsorship from FilmFour.