Wildlife

AKA What I am doing over the next 6 months... http://www.wai.org.uk/news/4683 Successful Participants Announcement Wales Arts International is working in partnership with Visiting Arts to deliver a development programme for Welsh Arts Critics. Designed to develop coverage and critical discussion of Welsh arts, the intensive workshop and subsequent bespoke programme, will provide an opportunity to critique work together and explore the role of the art critic. The course will be led by Linda Christmas, a former arts journalist and experienced teacher of journalism. The programme was launched in April 2011 with an open call announcement and 34 applications were received. The successful candidates have now been selected as follows: • Lowri Hâf Cooke – a regular reviewer on bbc.co.uk/cymru/cylchgrawn/ffilm; Red Handed Magazine, Barn, Tu Chwith, Y Twll, Radio Cymru and Golwg • Amelia Forsbrook - a stage editor, theatre critic, freelance arts correspondent and co- founder of art.IS blog. A...

Oooh, short story feast for me today. Read the Guardian's Summer Short Story Special . Enjoyed Jennifer Egan's and David Mitchell's most, and Teresa Stenson's ' Things Which Are Not True ' from the competition entries, not surprised to learn she is a fellow big fan of Ali Smith, also tinges of Jenn Ashworth's A Kind of Intimacy present.  Read Teresa's blog  where there are links to more of her short stories. :)

Bright Young Things mentioned in passing in   @ GuardianBooks   blog: http://t.co/wX4aQtU   @ briteyungthing   # books   http://t.co/7emHxId   # literature Interesting point made on why small and regional indies often miss out on making the lists: 'A major stumbling block, it turns out, was the entrance fee of £150 a book. This may not seem much, but it's a lot to a small publisher.' If all four of the Bright Young Things debuts had been entered last year that would have cost £600... and yet elsewhere Tyler Keevil's excellent Fireball took the Readers Choice Award at Wales Book of the Year and I managed a long-listing for the Edge Hill Prize . Should special consideration and lower entrance fees be given to the small presses for such prizes? It seems something needs to change. More:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/jul/18/first-book-award-missing-list

" So: very pleased to say that The Explorer, my sci-fi novel, will be being published by   @ VoyagerBooks / @ HarperVoyagerUS   sometime next year." " (That's in addition to The Testimony, published by   @ BlueDoorBooks on Jan 5th.)" " Contracts signed, edits through... It's a very exciting time. Here's something about The Explorer:  http://www.rcwlitagency.com/Author.aspx?auid=1394 " Well done that man. He seems to write a new novel in the time it takes me to type my name. Prolific and Terrific. Follow @jpsmythe for more updates.

Lots of good prize news this week. I'm pleased that Graham Mort won the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2011. I was blown away by Touch when I reviewed it for issue 89 of New Welsh Review , and was even more shocked to have been long-listed alongside him, and many other great writers. So delicious to see short stories being celebrated. I hope he writes some more. http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2011/07/poet-scoops-edge-hill-university-short-story-prize-2011

I am so proud of my fellow Bright Young Thing, the nicest man you could ever meet. Do buy and read his novel Fireball. It is awesome. Congratulations to Tyler Keevil who has won the Wales Book of the Year People’s Prize 2011 for his debut novel  Fireball.  The prize-winner was announced on Thursday 7th July at a Oscar-style red-carpet ceremony in Cineworld, Cardiff. Tyler said, ”This is awesome ... Thank you to all the readers who voted." http://www.parthianbooks.com/content/tyler-keevil-wins-wales-book-year-people%E2%80%99s-prize