Real Hay-on-Wye

Famously the ‘town of books’ and home to the Hay Literature Festival, Hay-on-Wye is a unique rural town in Wales, UK. Noakes uncovers the many quirks of this quirky place and explores its rural hinterland: the Black Mountains to the south, Herefordshire to the east, Brecon to the west, and Kilvert’s Clyro to the north. A book full of unexpected discoveries.

Kate Noakes was born in Guildford but has a longstanding relationship to Hay-on-Wye and the surrounding area. She has lived in Australia, California and Paris, experiences which provide some contrasting contexts to the border country. Noakes has degrees in geography and English from Reading University and an MPhil in Creative Writing from the University of Glamorgan. She is the author of two collections of poetry, and has read at numerous literary and musical festivals, including Hay.