Internationallyacclaimed storyteller and author Daniel Morden had the surprise of his life when he was awarded the Hay Festival Medal for Storytelling on Friday, presented by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

Daniel, who lives in Abergavenny, had just performed a story to more than a thousand high school students when he was asked if he could go over to the Marquee to tell a short story to an important visitor.

“When I got there I discovered the VIP was the Duchess,” he said.

“I duly related a Hindu myth to an audience of about fifty people. I still had no idea what was going on.

“They told me it was the Festival’s 30th birthday and a special cake was produced and then they explained there that was an annual award for a writer who had made an outstanding contribution to literature ‘and this year it’s you!’

“It came as a complete surprise and I’m over the moon about it.

“Suddenly, with the great and the good of the festival gathered before me, I was being presented with a beautiful medal by a member of the royal family!”

The medals, created by Christopher Hamilton, a silversmith local to the festival site, have been awarded annually since Britain’s Olympic year (2012), drawing inspiration from the original Olympic medal given for poetry.

The sterling silver medals are struck by hand, using the traditional ‘drop hammer’ method, engraved with an image of Athena’s owl and the recipient’s name.

All the letter engraving (of winners’ names and categories) is done entirely by hand by Birmingham engraver Peta Greenwood.

Daniel Morden is one of the leading exponents in the art of storytelling. He has delighted audiences all over the world with his performances including the Vancouver, Oslo and Yukon story-telling festivals, Hay, Beyond The Border, Bath and Cheltenham festivals and at venues such as The Barbican, The National Theatre and The British Museum.

He has also worked on television and radio, and has published six children’s books.

In 2006 together with Hugh Lupton he won The Classical Association Award for ‘the most significant contribution to the public understanding of the classics’.

Daniel’s interest in performing started with Gwent Young People’s Theatre.

He went on to study for a degree in Drama and English then set up his own company modelled on GYPT.

“I had been devising plays with other people and touring around schools then I had this revelation after meeting another storyteller and thought maybe I could make the pictures in the mind’s eye - and I’ve been storytelling for a living for more than 25 years.”

Whether performing something ideally suited to a group of schoolchildren or offering something a little more subtle and thought-provoking to those who have ‘lived a little’, the enjoyment for Daniel is in the absence of any barrier between storyteller and listener.

On Tuesday at the Hay Festival, Daniel launched his latest collection of stories entitled ‘Secret Tales from Wales’.

“Hay Festival have supported my work in so many ways for many years,” he said. “I am profoundly grateful to them.”