Posting regular blog updates has never been the main focus of Writing Wales; the premise behind the website was that the blog would be used when I had something specific to say, beyond event notification and other literary news. Yet the absence of a fresh blog post in these last couple of months has little to do with a lack of things to say and everything with becoming wholly absorbed in editing my PhD thesis. I’m conscious of how much I have overlooked in this time, but sometimes the internet is just too much of a distraction.
Having finally managed to raise my head above the horrors of the editing process, I have been busy trying to catch up on everything I’ve missed over the intervening period. Arguably most significant from a Welsh literary perspective was the shortlist for the Wales Book of the Year Awards which was announced early in May and features some exciting entries. Short-listed entries in this year’s categories were:
Roland Mathias Poetry Award
Barkin! - Mike Jenkins
The Shape of a Forrest – Jemma L. King
Pink Mist – Owen Sheers
Fiction
Clever Girl – Tessa Hadley
The Drive – Tyler Keevil
The Rice Paper Diaries – Francesca Rhydderch
Creative Non-Fiction
Rhys Davies: A Writer’s Life – Meic Stephens
R. S. Thomas: Serial Obsessive – M. Wynn Thomas
And Neither Have I Wings to Fly – Thelma Wheatley
More detail is available through the Wales Book of the Year website and it’s worth taking a look at the series being run by Wales Online which features authors discussing the inspiration behind their shortlisted entry. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Caernarfon on Thursday 10th July.
Having spent so much time recently cocooned in my own research it’s been great to get back out and start engaging again. As a Library Assistant at Cardiff University I was able to attend yesterday’s Away Day training event at Chapter Arts Centre. The purpose of the Away Day is to draw together staff from across the University’s Library Service to discuss fresh ideas and enjoy inspiration from outside speakers. Among a whistle-stop tour through digital repositories and the use of technology to provide an interactive library service, the day also had a distinctly Welsh literary feel to it. Seren’s Mick Felton provided an interesting talk about the history of Seren Books and its evolution since the 1980s, followed by a typically lively and engaging reading from Peter Finch. To complete the line-up author and script-writer Mark Williams came along to read from and discuss his novel Sleepless Knights.
The day was rounded off with a visit to the newly refurbished Canton Library. Light, spaciously arranged and clearly designed with community needs in mind, it was lovely to visit such an accessible library. Particularly appealing was the snug reading den which occupied the centre of the children’s section, complete with cushions and throws. Given half a chance I would have been more than happy to grab an armful of books and sneak inside for a reading session. If I disappear for a while again it will be because I’ve managed to find a quiet corner in which to construct a similar reading escape of my own.
Having finally managed to raise my head above the horrors of the editing process, I have been busy trying to catch up on everything I’ve missed over the intervening period. Arguably most significant from a Welsh literary perspective was the shortlist for the Wales Book of the Year Awards which was announced early in May and features some exciting entries. Short-listed entries in this year’s categories were:
Roland Mathias Poetry Award
Barkin! - Mike Jenkins
The Shape of a Forrest – Jemma L. King
Pink Mist – Owen Sheers
Fiction
Clever Girl – Tessa Hadley
The Drive – Tyler Keevil
The Rice Paper Diaries – Francesca Rhydderch
Creative Non-Fiction
Rhys Davies: A Writer’s Life – Meic Stephens
R. S. Thomas: Serial Obsessive – M. Wynn Thomas
And Neither Have I Wings to Fly – Thelma Wheatley
More detail is available through the Wales Book of the Year website and it’s worth taking a look at the series being run by Wales Online which features authors discussing the inspiration behind their shortlisted entry. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Caernarfon on Thursday 10th July.
Having spent so much time recently cocooned in my own research it’s been great to get back out and start engaging again. As a Library Assistant at Cardiff University I was able to attend yesterday’s Away Day training event at Chapter Arts Centre. The purpose of the Away Day is to draw together staff from across the University’s Library Service to discuss fresh ideas and enjoy inspiration from outside speakers. Among a whistle-stop tour through digital repositories and the use of technology to provide an interactive library service, the day also had a distinctly Welsh literary feel to it. Seren’s Mick Felton provided an interesting talk about the history of Seren Books and its evolution since the 1980s, followed by a typically lively and engaging reading from Peter Finch. To complete the line-up author and script-writer Mark Williams came along to read from and discuss his novel Sleepless Knights.
The day was rounded off with a visit to the newly refurbished Canton Library. Light, spaciously arranged and clearly designed with community needs in mind, it was lovely to visit such an accessible library. Particularly appealing was the snug reading den which occupied the centre of the children’s section, complete with cushions and throws. Given half a chance I would have been more than happy to grab an armful of books and sneak inside for a reading session. If I disappear for a while again it will be because I’ve managed to find a quiet corner in which to construct a similar reading escape of my own.