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Paul Henry wins the English Language Poetry Category at Wales Book of the Year 2023

Left: Paul Henry. Right: Image of the cover of As If To Sing

Congratulations to Paul Henry who won the English Language Poetry Category at Wales Book of the Year 2023 for his collection As If To Sing.

As If To Sing is Paul Henry’s eleventh collection. The power of song to sustain the human spirit resonates through the collection, which is rich in the musical lyricism admired by Paul’s readers and fellow poets. An essential addition to his compelling body of work, it is a deserved winner of this year’s Poetry Category award.

Wales Book of the Year is run by Literature Wales, and celebrates outstanding literary talent from Wales across many genres and in both English and Welsh. There are four categories in each language – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction and Children & Young People, with one of the four category winners announced as the Overall Winner, and claiming the title Wales Book of the Year. This year the overall award went to Caryl Lewis for her novel Drift.

You can view the full list of winners from all categories in both language on the Literature Wales website.

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Clare Morgan longlisted for Edge Hill Short Story Prize

Clare Morgan is a white woman with shoulder length fair hair. She is smiling at the camera. This cover shows a painting of a woman with short red hair looking out towards the viewer. She is wearing a pink tank top with a heart patch place over the left of her chest. The text reads: Scar Tissue. Clare Morgan.

Author Clare Morgan has been longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize for her most recent collection, Scar Tissue.

The prize recognises excellence in a published, single-authored short story collection.

Billy Cowan, Edge Hill Short Story Prize organiser, said: “The short story is often an under-appreciated form of fiction and we’re proud to continue supporting it through the Edge Hill Short Story Prize”.

Clare Morgan is Director of Oxford University’s creative writing programme and a fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. Scar Tissue is a follow up to her first short story collection An Affair of the Heart.

View the full longlist and find more information about the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, on the organiser’s website.

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Hannah Hodgson wins Wordsworth Prize for Literature & Poetry at Lakeland Book of the Year Awards 2023

Left Hannah Hodgson, a white woman with long brown hair and wearing glasses. Right the cover of her book 163 Days.

Congratulations to Hannah Hodgson who has won the Wordsworth Prize for Literature and Poetry for her collection 163 Days at Lakeland Book of the Year 2023.

The Wordsworth Prize for Literature and Poetry is one of seven awards which make up the prizes, as well as overall Lakeland Book of the Year. You can read about the other category winners on the Lakeland Book of the Year website.

Winners in all categories of Lakeland Book of the Year at the ceremony in Cumbria
Photo courtesy of Lakeland Book of the Year. Left to right: Winner Jim Watson, Judge Eric Robson, Winner Jonathan Whitelaw, Winner Edita Mujkic, Judge Kathleen Jones, Winner Hannah Hodgson, Judge Michael McGregor, Winner Amy Bateman, Judge Fiona Armstrong and Winner Tom McNally.

Head judge Fiona Armstrong said of this year “This is one of the strongest literary fields we have had. It has been so hard to decide who wins and who is shortlisted. We have worked our way through a treasure trove of beautifully crafted and presented books. Which just shows how much talent there is here in Cumbria, and how much interest there is further afield in writing about the county.”

The Lakeland Book of the Year Awards 2023 was organised by Cumbria Tourism, the official Destination Management Organisation LVEP? (DMO) for the Lake District, Cumbria.

As well as journalist and head judge Fiona Armstrong, the judging panel included the Director of Wordsworth Grasmere Michael McGregor, author Kathleen Jones, and renowned broadcaster and former Cumbria Tourism president Eric Robson.

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Could you be our new CEO?

Copies of Waterfalls of Stars, Ibrahim and Reenie and Gen being held in the air.

The role of Seren CEO is still open and we are committed to finding the ideal candidate who aligns with Seren’s vision, culture and long-term goals.

Whilst we advertised the position earlier in the year, we have not yet made an appointment. It is important that we find the right candidate for the role and although the previous attempt was unsuccessful, it provided valuable insights and lessons which have refined our understanding of the requirements for the CEO position. We have issued a new job pack and, in keeping with our ethos of continuous improvement, there have also been some adjustments to the recruitment process based on learnings from the previous attempt.

The closing date to apply is midday on Monday 31st July. Please read on for more information and download the job pack for full details of where to send your application.

Chief Executive

£45,000 – 47,000 per annum
Flexible Terms – We will consider a part-time appointment on the salary above for the right person
Permanent Contract
Some working from Bridgend will be required
Flexible working hours possible

A unique opportunity to lead Seren, one of Wales’s foremost English-language publishers.

We are looking for a visionary and motivating leader with a passion for taking one of Wales’ cultural gems to new levels of sustainability, resilience, and ambition. Our successful candidate will be committed to inclusion and will be able to drive change and growth.

Drawing on our role as a custodian and steward of Wales’ English-language literature, in the coming years we will build on the hard-earned trust and respect placed in our brand. We will work to better serve readers, both reflect and influence contemporary Wales, and further grow our role in identifying and developing new and existing talent.

Our ambition is to become a powerhouse of independent publishing, rooted in Wales and reflecting its distinctiveness, but with a reach across the whole of the UK and beyond.

Our new Chief Executive will bring this ambition to life, so that we make a truly outstanding contribution to the culture of Wales for future generations.

We’re looking for someone with strong business skills and experiences, who might have worked in publishing and/or the cultural sector previously or be passionate about transferring their expertise to this sphere. You don’t need to be an editor or a literary expert – we have this already within our excellent team and Board – you just need to love books, be keen to learn about the sector and a proven operational and business leader.

Please download our job pack for full information about the role and the application process.

Job Pack

Prif Weithredwr

£45,000 – 47,000 y flwyddyn
Telerau Hyblyg – Byddwn yn ystyried penodiad rhan-amser ar y cyflog uchod ar gyfer y person cywir
Contract Parhaol
Bydd angen rhai sy’n gweithio o Ben-y-bont ar Ogwr
Oriau gwaith hyblyg yn bosibl

Dyma cyfle unigryw i arwain Seren, un o gyhoeddwyr amlycaf Cymru yn yr iaith Saesneg.

Rydym yn chwilio am arweinydd gweledigaethol ac ysgogol gydag angerdd am y gair ysgrifenedig a’r posibiliadau y mae’n eu darparu. Bydd ein hymgeisydd delfrydol yn ymrwymedig i gynhwysiant a bydd yn gallu sbarduno newid a thwf.

Gan dynnu ar ein rôl fel ceidwad a stiward llenyddiaeth Saesneg Cymru, yn y blynyddoedd nesaf byddwn yn adeiladu ar yr ymddiriedaeth a’r parch roddir yn ein brand. Byddwn ni’n gweithio i wasanaethu darllenwyr yn well, yn adlewyrchu ac yn dylanwadu ar y Gymru gyfoes, ac yn tyfu ein rôl ymhellach o ran nodi a datblygu talent newydd a rhai sy’n bodoli eisoes.

Ein huchelgais yw dod yn bwerdy o gyhoeddi annibynnol, wedi’i wreiddio yng Nghymru gan adlewyrchu ei hynodrwydd, ond gyda chyrhaeddiad ar draws y DU gyfan a thu hwnt.

Bydd ein Prif Weithredwr newydd yn dod â’r uchelgais hwn yn fyw, fel ein bod yn gwneud cyfraniad gwirioneddol eithriadol i ddiwylliant Cymru ar gyfer cenedlaethau’r dyfodol.

Rydym yn chwilio am rywun sydd â sgiliau a phrofiadau busnes cryf, a allai fod wedi gweithio ym maes cyhoeddi a/neu’r sector diwylliannol o’r blaen neu fod yn angerddol dros drosglwyddo eu harbenigedd i’r maes hwn. Does dim angen i chi fod yn olygydd nac yn arbenigwr llenyddol – mae gennym ni hyn eisoes o fewn ein tîm ardderchog a’n Bwrdd – does ond angen i chi garu llyfrau, bod yn awyddus i ddysgu am y sector ac arweinydd gweithredol a busnes profedig.

Lawrlwythwch ein pecyn swyddi i gael gwybodaeth lawn am y rôl a’r broses ymgeisio.

Pecyn Swyddi
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Tamar Yoseloff Awarded Cholmondeley Award

Left Tamar Yoseloff, a white woman with short dark hair. She is sitting in front of a bright blue background and is looking to the side. Right the cover of her book The Black Place

Tamar Yoseloff is one of six poets awarded a prestigious Cholmondeley Award by the Society of Authors. The Cholmondeley Awards recognise the achievement and distinction of individual poets and are awarded for a body of work by a poet and their contribution to poetry.  This year’s awards were judged by Moniza Alvi, Hannah Lowe, Drew Milne and Deryn Rees-Jones.

Following the announcement, judge Moniza Alvi said: “The Cholmondeley Awards have been, since they were introduced in 1966, important honorary awards that recognise poets’ sustained excellence across a body of work. Some of the recipients will already be well-known in the poetry world, while others may be deserving of wider recognition for the distinction of their writing. Many of them will have contributed to the genre in a variety of ways, through their performances and tutoring, for example. The Cholmondeley Awards prove that excellence can be perceived across a wide range of poetry from a diversity of poets. It is hoped that the recipients will feel valued, encouraged and truly celebrated.”

Tamar Yoseloff’s seventh collection, Belief Systems, is due from Nine Arches Press in Summer 2024. She’s also the author of Formerly (with photographs by Vici MacDonald), shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award, and collaborative editions with artists Linda Karshan and Charlotte Harker respectively. She has taught as a lecturer on the Poetry School / Newcastle University MA in Writing Poetry and for various museums and galleries, including the Royal Academy and the Hayward.

Seren published her New and Selected Poems A Formula for Night in 2015 and her collection The Black Place in 2019.