A unique literature festival celebrating the natural world is set to return to Llandovery, with organisers expanding the event into a full weekend following the success of its inaugural year.

Reading the Wild / Darllen y Gwyllt will take place on May 9 and 10, transforming the small Carmarthenshire market town into a hub for nature writing, environmental discussion and creative inspiration.

Billed as “where nature, science and magic meet”, the festival is the only literary event in Wales dedicated entirely to nature and the pressing issues facing the natural world, particularly climate change.

Last year's inaugural festival proved a big success
Last year's inaugural festival proved a big success (Image supplied)

The main venue will be the Castle Hotel, with the town embracing the festival through free parking over the weekend, a Saturday farmers’ market, and reduced accommodation rates offered by many local providers.

A major highlight this year will be the Welsh launch of Book of Birds, with acclaimed author and illustrator Jackie Morris in conversation with broadcaster Jon Gower. The book, seven years in the making, features artwork created largely in Morris’s studio in Tyddewi.

“I have been rooted in Cymru now for 34 years, though I wish I had wings to take to the skies,” said Ms Morris.

“My home is by the sea, so I am lucky enough to experience both the migration of the land birds and the sea birds, and Pembrokeshire is as rich in bird life as a place can be these days. As I was working on the book it seemed that I was making it in collaboration with the species.

"It is a book of love and loss. When I came here lapwings still nested in Pembrokeshire and small flocks of curlew were not infrequent. We still have harriers, and I hope they will not face the persecution many of our raptors face, but the flocks have thinned.

“Our books aim is to celebrate the lives of these birds, all birds.”

The festival programme also features a wide range of writers and speakers exploring nature, landscape and environmental themes. Among them are farmer-turned-rewilding advocate Derek Gow, known for his role in the reintroduction of beavers to Britain, and author Carwyn Graves, who will present Cynefin: A Thousand Years of Welsh Nature Poetry.

Other guests include Archie Miles, discussing Heritage Trees of Wales, Alys Fowler on Peatlands, poet and disability activist Bethany Handley with My Body is a Meadow, and Adele Nozedar, who will launch Foraging for Healing Herbs.

For younger audiences, the festival will welcome children’s author and Welsh Children’s Laureate Nicola Davies, alongside award-winning writers Helen and Thomas Docherty, and Emily Gravett.

Alongside talks and book launches, the festival offers guided wildflower identification walks, foraging for nettles, forest bathing sessions and nature journalling workshops.

Local artist Amanda Rose has created the festival’s tickets, which are made from scrap materials and designed to double as reusable bookmarks.

The festival is organised by Mandy Thomas, owner of Books at The Dragon’s Garden in Llandovery, a specialist bookshop focusing on nature writing and environmental issues.