Eight women dressed as handmaids from The Handmaid’s Tale made an appearance in Hay-on-Wye on bank holiday Monday to mark Margaret Atwood’s appearance at Hay Festival.
Organised by publisher Vintage and Hay Festival, the handmaids walked through the streets of Hay on Wye before arriving at the festival site in time to greet audiences before the talk.
Atwood was appearing at Hay to talk about her book, which she wrote in 1985 and which has been turned into an award-winning TV series currently being screened on Channel 4.
The story of Offred, a handmaid in the republic of Gilead, whose only job is to breed, shot back up the bestseller charts following Donald Trump’s election as US President in 2016 and again when the award-winning Hulu/MGM TV series began in 2017.
Ms Attwood was talking about her book as a cultural phenomenon and her fear that it might one day be turned into "an instruction manual to oppress people".
Hay Festival, which runs until Sunday, June 3, is hosting over 600 writers, policy makers and performers in 800 events across 11 days.
For a round-up and pictures of who’s at Hay see this week’s Brecon and Radnor Express. For details of all the speakers visit hayfestival.org.