'Raised in a council house, I never saw writing as a career'

Hanan Issa has just surpassed the halfway milestone in her five-year stint as National Poet for Wales.

Growing up, she said she never saw writing as a viable career: "I'm working class, raised in a council house and to me, it wasn't considered an option."

But as the 11-day Hay Festival draws to a close on Sunday, she has praised organisers for providing a space for people from marginalised backgrounds in what she said had traditionally been a "very white, middle class space".

Hay Festival Global describes itself as "the antidote to polarisation", bringing together "diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create", tackling some of the "biggest political, social and environmental challenges of our time".