ABERGAVENNY has hosted its first writing festival.

Abergavenny Writing Festival (AWF), held between Thursday and Saturday, showcased a range of workshops, talks and events at the Kings Arms Hotel on Nevill Street.

Top writers and educators were said to have been among those to visit the festival, set up with the aim of building up a grass-roots hub of creativity in the area, across the three days.

Final day workshops included children creating “imaginary monsters” with rhymes and imagination, to a poetry open mic with the Young Peoples’ Poet Laureate for Wales, Sophie Mckeand.

Lucie Parkin, of AWF, was thrilled at amount of positivity from attendees and said the festival's success had “exceeded all expectations”.

Reflecting on the response, she said: “It has been amazing and we hope that its success will serve as a catalyst for other things to happen here.

“Everyone has been so positive and it’s all about trying to reach out and make connections. That is our message, to reach out and involve more people.”

The festival closed with a explosive evening of performance reading and dialogue from several poets and was compered by writer and broadcaster Robert Penn.

Ms Parkin added: “Since I moved to Abergavenny there just seemed to be so many creative people in the area. I just felt that something extra needed to be done.

“We want to give a massive thank you to the Kings Arms Hotel who let us use the venue for free. Several people have commented that it is the ‘perfect space to be in.'”

“The festival is about writing for all and we hope to grow it year on year. There is a huge appetite for it,” she added.

For more information visit: www.abergavennywritingfestival.com