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Dec 21 Happy Short Story Day 0 Comments Posted by  Susie Wild  in  creativity ,  events ,  short stories It is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and, best of all, short story day. Another chance to celebrate the brilliant short form fiction. I am not going to wax lyrical for ages about how good short stories are today, mainly because I already did that back in  Short Story Week  but I would recommend that you take a look at the  Short Story Day website  for events across the UK, short story recommendations by authors, links, tips, apps and much much more. I am reading at  the Cardiff Short Story Day event tonight  with Rachel Trezise, Rob Lewis, Mab Jones and many more. The event takes place is Gwdihw from 7pm and includes a short story book stall and a short, short story open mic. So don’t let the snow stop you enjoying a festive drink with us, come along and read, or listen appreciatively. I have got a new/old short...

Literary Christmas events in Cardiff The festive season is upon us. Let guest blogger  Susie Wild  help you to enjoy a Literary Christmas with her guide to the best of the seasonal spoken word events in Cardiff [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/cardiff/2010/dec/17/literary-christmas-events-cardiff?INTCMP=SRCH ] If last week's literary extravaganza wasn't enough, Christmas week brings another host of festive reasons to be jolly. Monday 20 December  sees  Cardiff Arts Institute's Alternative Christmas Carol Service  featuring poets from Cardiff's Jam Bones and the Red Poets. Don your Christmas apparel and join them for some Yuletide fun, or as they say: "Indulge your love of all things festive: warm songs, fuzzy beards, mince pies, mulled wine and rocking around the Christmas tree. This is a sing-a-long event and it essential that you bring your vocal cords!" Go along and be merry with them. Tuesday 21 December  is Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year...

In Chapters, Christmas - review Guest blogger  Susie Wild  goes to the In Chapters Christmas event to hear fresh work from writers Rachel Trezise, Rob Lewis and David Oprava Share Comments ( 0 ) In Chapters has acquired a strong following of fans. The music and spoken word regular is hosted by the people behind the Laugharne Weekend, novelist John Williams and musician Richard James, and takes place at Chapter Arts Centre. In Chapters - Christmas Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Until 14 December Chapter's website While past sessions have featured unique collaborations between writers and musicians, asking Cardiff's finest to create new work on themes including birds, cafes, and murder, this week's event was a more festive affair with a Christmas theme and free mulled wine and Christmas biscuits helping to spread the cheer. The literary cast of readers for the night boasted new Cardiff resident Rob Lewis, Rachel Trezise, and David Oprava. Crime writer Lewis, who had...

Elyse Fenton with her Prize-winning collection So, a few nights ago I donned a frock and went along to the award dinner for the announcement of the third Dylan Thomas Prize, the international award recognises young literary talent and is awarded to a writer under the age of 30. The award ceremony took place in the newly-renovated Patti Pavilion in Swansea. There was a champagne reception followed by dinner seated around tables of ten or twelve. The hoi polloi were out in their dickie bows and their floor-sweeping evening dresses – the crowd included funders, judges (Peter Florence, Cerys Matthews), former winner Rachel Trezise (in a stunningly sleek new dress) and five of the six shortlisted writers (Caroline Bird, Emily Mackie, Elyse Fenton, Eleanor Catton, and Karan Mahajan).  Nadifa Mohamed  had skipped the party to attend the announcement of the Guardian First Book Award for which she was also shortlisted, but unfortunately for her, for which she also did not win. Dinner...

Dylan Thomas Prize 2010 2008     Elyse Fenton is a 29-year-old American poet. Her debut collection of war poetry  Clamor  sees a woman reflect on her lover fighting in Afghanistan. The personal collection charts Fenton’s experiences of her husband serving as a medic in the War on Iraq, the long stretches of distance between the couple, and the contrast between the harsh realities of his day-to-day and her life writing and working on organic farms on the homefront. The accomplished collection impressed a panel of judges chaired by Hay Festival Guru Peter Florence and went on to scoop the £30,000 Dylan Thomas Prize 2010 following in the footsteps of short story writers Nam Le (2008) and Rachel Trezise (2006).  Commenting on the announcement, Peter Florence said: ‘It’s a great winner. It’s an astonishing, fully accomplished book of huge ambition and spectacular delivery. For this Prize of all prizes it’s great to have a poet.’ Gwyneth Lewis, poet and member of the...