Elaine Canning – författare

Bringing together cultural analysis and textual readings on critically-acclaimed bestseller and winner of the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell, this collection covers her nine novels, her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am, two children’s books and features an exclusive interview with the author herself.The first full-length study of O’Farrell’s work, this book offers critical explorations from her earliest works to the award-winning Hamnet and most recent best-selling novel, The Marriage Portrait.With a timeline of her life and works, as well as suggested further reading, the themes explored include grief and sacrifice, longing and belonging, trauma, translation, palimpsestic texts and the relation of her work to history and the female domestic gothic.

Bringing together cultural analysis and textual readings on critically-acclaimed bestseller and winner of the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell, this collection covers her nine novels, her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am, two children’s books and features an exclusive interview with the author herself.The first full-length study of O’Farrell’s work, this book offers critical explorations from her earliest works to the award-winning Hamnet and most recent best-selling novel, The Marriage Portrait.With a timeline of her life and works, as well as suggested further reading, the themes explored include grief and sacrifice, longing and belonging, trauma, translation, palimpsestic texts and the relation of her work to history and the female domestic gothic.

A collection of twelve new contemporary short stories by Welsh writers, representing the winners of the 2026 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition.

Judged by Rebecca F. John.In these twelve bold, tender, brilliant stories from the winners of the 2024 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, adults, children - and even an elephant - are challenged by ghosts of the past and a longing for friendship, meaning and connection as they try to make sense of their worlds.A group of lads unite on a bridge in the most horrific of circumstances; a family day out to celebrate the mid-harvest festival of Mabon does not go to plan; a research scientist grapples with the ethics of memory harvesting; one man tries to rebuild friendship through fishing; and a dancer disillusioned by broken dreams resorts to desperate means on board a ship. Here, lives are in transition - between cultures and language, past and present, dreams and reality. Characters, scarred and vulnerable, wander, and wonder. The stories within this collection, both traditional and experimental, present life in its myriad beautiful, heart wrenching, truthful forms.

Selected by Cynan Jones.Edited by Elaine Canning.With a foreword by Cynan Jones.Twelve compelling, original stories about friendship, family, fragility and love from the winners of the 2025 Rhys Davies Short Story Award.An unnamed man travels towards Aberystwyth after twenty years, wrestling with his own internal thought processes punctuated by childhood memories; a young woman adopts a fern baby while another befriends a giant African land snail; a group of men and one woman gather at Friday club to hear Eirwyn’s wolf story; and a class of boys find themselves with their recently engaged teacher in Craig y Ddinas for a climbing expedition. A small unspoilt island is infiltrated by a ketchup-obsessed business man promising tourism income; and unemployed thirty-year-old Bonita challenges her neighbourhood’s fixation with lemon trees.These are stories which transport the reader across place and time, illuminating environmental challenges, our relationship with the natural world and the impact of new, unexpected worlds. Stories by: Ralph Bolland; Alan Bryant; Miranda Davies; Jonathan Edwards; Sybilla Harvey; Natalie Ann Holborow; Sian Hughes; Kate Lockwood Jefford; Keza O'Neill; Jonathan Page; and Tess Powell.“Reading through this year’s entries, I was really struck by the trepidation, either deep or overt, that seemed to shadow many of the stories. A shared sense across the entries of writing into an uncertain world. The twelve pieces chosen as finalists deal with this trepidation in different ways, sometimes anarchic, sometimes poignant, brutal, thoughtful. Even with hope and subversive delight. But in each case with ambition in the narrative, and skill in the words themselves. I was looking for memorable stories. For stories that stayed in the mind. And after judging the award, one thing is clear. If there is trepidation, Wales has the writers to tackle it. These are stand-out examples of how impactful a short story can be.” Cynan JonesThe Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style by writers aged 18 or over who were born in Wales, have lived in Wales for two years or more, or are currently living in Wales. Originally established in 1991, Parthian is delighted to publish the 2025 winning stories on behalf of the Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Swansea University's Cultural Institute.

Family connections, unconventional friendships, love and loss: the twelve stories in this collection of new contemporary fiction by the winners of the 2022 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition present characters seeking solace, self-discovery and self-fulfilment as they navigate familiar and unfamiliar territory.Two sisters search for the last available Christmas tree while coming to terms with their mother's death; a stammering teen hitches a lift with a Welsh Elvis; a man participates in his 'endgame'; and a teacher and pupil create their very own time machine. From hillside encounters to conversations in homes, shops and on the street, these are stories about people and place, about relationships and revelations, peppered with memories and re- imaginings. These are stories where some voices are silenced and others get to sing.The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style by writers aged 18 or over who were born in Wales, have lived in Wales for two years or more, or are currently living in Wales. Originallyestablished in 1991, Parthian is delighted to publish the 2022 winning stories on behalf of the Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Swansea University's Cultural Institute.