Wildlife

Well this is lovely! Congratulations all! >> Exciting News! The Broken Spine is thrilled to announce our Best of the Net (BOTN) nominations for 2023! These outstanding pieces have captured our hearts and exemplify the exceptional talent we're proud to publish: "I Hate You" by Sue Finch "Desert Streets" by Regine Ebner "Anne Neville" by Bex Hainsworth "That Snarl Amongst the Goddesses" by Damien B. Donnelly "Sheltered" by Jen Feroze "I've been wanting to write to you about the trampolines" by Susie Wild These nominations are a testament to the incredible poets and writers who entrust us with their words. We are immensely proud of their work and the profound impact they've made in the world of literature and poetry. Join us in celebrating their remarkable contributions to the literary world by using #BOTN and #Nominations . Let's continue to champion the power of words together! #TheBrokenSpine #Lite...

Diolch to Wales Arts Review for including Ness Owen's Moon Jellyfish Can Barely Swim in their pick of poetry Summer Reads! Moon Jellyfish Can Barely Swim   by Ness Owen (Parthian) Moon jellyfish live a life adrift, relying on the current to take them where they need to go. They are the ultimate survivors and one of the most successful organisms of animal life. So how do they thrive in the open ocean when they can barely swim? Ness Owen uses this poignant selection of poems to delve into questions of womanhood, language and identity, asking what it really means to move with the flow of an ever-changing environment.

  Tackling @thesealeychallenge this August?  Well we’ve got the stack for you!  Buy any poetry book from Parthian Books this August and get your second half price with code - SEALEY. www.parthianbooks.com

Nice to see David Hughes, Swansea and Working Out ( Parthian Books ) mentioned in The Friday Poem's article by Steven Lovatt on dialect poetry... I arrange to meet up with David Hughes in Swansea’s Queen’s Hotel, a long-time haunt of poets and other artists, and formerly a place where Swansea dialect would have been thick in the air between the dockers, fishermen and workers at the various foundries and copperworks that made the city’s name. It’s mid-afternoon and the bar is only half-full, mostly with retirees and tradesman on a break. I hear no dialect, though the accent is evident enough. David has arrived before me and thoughtfully bought the first round. We’ve met a couple of times before, at poetry readings and also by chance in the street. He has published two books of poems, Tidy Boy in 1998 and last year’s Working Out. Although mostly in standard English, both collections also contain poems representing the Swansea dialect and accent. The opening stanza of the poem ‘Tidy ...

The yolk-bright new issue of Poetry Wales has just arrived on my doorstep featuring a new poem of mine after Queen of Bohemia Nina Hamnett’s Fancy Dress (1899) at Tenby Museum. This issue is bursting with other great poets and articles including a wonderful review of Topher Mills ’ new and selected poems Sex on Toast (Parthian Books), a new poem from Rae Howells and writing from Mari Ellis Dunning and Robert Minhinnick.

  What a pleasure it was to read in the Lady Chapel at Llandaff Cathedral Festival last night with star poets Hanan Issa, Philip Gross and Manon Ceridwen James and a wonderfully attentive audience. Thanks to Mike Church for hosting too!

The Lake   by Bianca Bellová, translated from Czech into English by Alex Zucker and published by Parthian Books, is the winner of the   EBRD Literature Prize 2023 . It was a joy to celebrate the announcement with them at dizzying heights at the EBRD HQ, Canary Wharf.  The winning work of translated literary fiction, originally published in the Czech Republic, was chosen by an independent panel of judges composed of Toby Lichtig (Chair), Maya Jaggi, Arkady Ostrovsky and Natasha Randall. Both author and translator were congratulated in person by EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso at an awards ceremony at the Bank’s headquarters in London. The €20,000 prize will be split equally between the author and translator.

* Voices on the Bridge * Thursday 22nd June 2023 – Clwb Y Bont, 85a Taff Street, Pontypridd, Wales CF37 4SL. The lineup of poets reading includes Stephen Payne, Nick McGaughey, Susie Wild, Ben Wildsmith, Leigh Manley, Pete Akinwunmi & Rob Cullen. Starts at 7.15pm

Huge Congratulations to  Rae Howells, shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2023 for her stunning debut collection of poems The language of bees ( Parthian Books)! I am so delighted by this news. Congratulations to all the other shortlisted writers and publishers as well! With thanks to the judges and to Literature Wales. Read the Literature Wales full story Watch Just Another Poet's recent interview with Rae Howells It seemed appropriate to have a mocktail in the rain… (we're still island hopping in the Dodecanese): This week has also seen us celebrate World Bee Day and Rae's birthday, so why not join us in celebrating by treating yourself to Gower Lavender's The language of bees giftbox? This limited edition gift set is the perfect bee-tastic present. You get a jar of yummy locally-produced honey, a honey dipper, some beeswax melts, a bee decoration, a bar of our bee-friendly lavender soap, and a signed book of bee poetry, all packaged up in an eco-friendly box. ...

* Late Night Poetry * Lady Chapel, Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff CF5 2LA Thursday 6th July 2023 I am thrilled to be reading with  the National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa, as well as Manon Ceridwen James and Philip Gross at this late night poetry event as part of Llandaff Cathedral Festival. Starting at 9.30pm in the Lady Chapel, join us for an inspiring night of poetry through the medium of both English and Welsh. There will be a fully licensed bar available as well.  Tickets are £10, book via ticketsource  

Tonight, if you are near Cardigan, please go and see these two fantastic poets at The Cellar Bards! Two guests for the price of one! Both recently launched poetry collections with Parthian. Julia Bell's Hymnal and Ness Owen's Moon Jellyfish Can Barely Swim have both been highly acclaimed. Open mic as always, sign up on the door by 8pm. Entry £3. Or pop along to their book signing on Saturday...

  A lovely write-up in the Wales-focussed issue of The Bookseller this week!

We are over the moon that The Lake by Bianca Bellová, translated by Alex Zucker, is a finalist for the EBRD Literature Prize 2023 ! HUGE congratulations to them! A big day for #EBRDLiteraturePrize2023 ! Our distinguished judges Toby Lichtig, Maya Jaggi, Arkady Ostrovsky, Natasha Randall have chosen the finalists! Congratulations to all three: - Mister N by Najwa Barakat, translated from the Arabic by Luke Leafgren, published by And Other Stories . Country: Lebanon - The Lake by Bianca Bellová , translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker, published by Parthian Books . Country: Czech Republic. - The Books of Jacob by Olga Tocarczuk, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions . Country: Poland. Congratulations #EBRDLiteraturePrize2023 finalists!

'We are pleased to be publishing a selection of letters from the newly published volume by Sam Adams which gathers together some of his columns for the poetry magazine PN Review .' Updated 29 May 2023 Book extract: Letters from Wales: Memories and Encounters in Literature and Life by Sam Adams Book extract part 2: Letters from Wales – On ‘Y Wladfa’ and ‘Tryweryn’ Book extract part 3: Letters from Wales – Iolo Morganw Book extract part 4: Letters from Wales – R.S Thomas Book extract part 5: Letters from Wales – Raymond Garlick If you are going to Hay Festival, Parthian are celebrating our 30th birthday there this year with lots of great events including this one:

 

  Hymnal is the Book Council of Wales' Book of the Month for April 2023. Julia Bell recorded a reading of a few poems from the book – you can watch here: https://amam.cymru/carudarllen/hymnal-by-julia-bell

The first of two trips to That London, this time to launch Julia Bell's debut poetry collection Hymnal and meet with interesting people... next time I'll be in town for London Book Fair.

Get Windfalls and other great books by women for 50% off on the Parthian website today only for International Women's Day! Order direct from our website and use the code WOMENSDAY at the checkout

  So #LetThemEatTurnips … A poem from my first collection Better Houses.

  Lovely to be on this list… Parthian are thrilled to be one of the Wales finalists in the Nibbies Small Publisher of the Year Award! Sponsored by CPI Books, the award aims to celebrate the independent presses delivering "diverse, innovative and risk-taking publishing". Our co-founder Gillian Griffiths had this to say: "We are delighted to make the country finalists for 2023 in what is our thirtieth year of publishing." An exhibition and retrospective of our books and art associated with some of the key covers is currently running at The Coach House in the grounds of St Dogmaels Abbey, curated by Gillian Griffiths. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/small-press-of-the-year-finalists-praised-for-exceptional-sales-and-profit-growth