WritersMosaic are delighted to return to HAY Festival in Wales, May 21–31 2026, to host another series of literary events, celebrating and showcasing writers of the global majority.
Across the 11-day literature and arts festival, WritersMosaic will host two new events bringing together underrepresented voices in the literary landscape for timely conversations – covering migration to the UK, and Iranian women’s fight for freedom – featuring poetry, film, and photography.
On Friday 29 May, Colin Grant, Editorial Director of WritersMosaic, will be joined by writer Suzanne Harrington, poet Eric Ngalle Charles, and artist Amanda Vilanova for a candid and moving discussion of migration stories to Britain – hearing their own stories of migration in their own words. The event, What We Leave We Carry: Voices of Migration to Britain, is a chance to listen to true-life stories of migration, exploring its emotional cost, hearing foundational tales of arrival, along with rarely spoken tales of love and loss. The panel will delve into what they and their families have left behind, and what they carry with them – those physical and emotional objects – wherever they land. In a dominant climate hostile to immigration, this is a chance to listen to Britain in all its richness and complexity.
This event expands on contributions to Talismans of Migration, a new publication from WritersMosaic, which shares its premise with What We Leave We Carry, an oral history of migration to Britain (published in June 2026), from Colin Grant.
Iranian Women’s Voices, taking place on Saturday 30 May, will explore the present and imagined future of Iran from creative women in Iran and the diaspora. Expanding on their contributions to Iranian Women’s Voices, a new publication from WritersMosaic inspired by the ‘The Rebel Poet of Iran’, filmmaker Forough Farrokhzad (1934–1967), writers Shara Atashi, Marjorie Lotfi, and Sana Nassari will reflect on the present day situation in Iran, and explore dreams for the future; covering themes of migration, war, repression, and the enduring struggle for resistance. For generations and with great courage, Iranian women have protested against the restrictions imposed on them. The chants of ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ have never diminished.
Iranian Women’s Voices expands on contributions to Iranian Women’s Voices, a publication from WritersMosaic.
Colin Grant will introduce the event, which will also feature music from Iranian musician, Roya Arab, as well as the extraordinary photography of Hengameh Golestan, which documents women protesting the oppression of the Iranian authorities.