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28th November, 2024

Seren Christmas Gift Guide 2024

A group of Seren titles arranged against a snowy blanket surrounded by festive lights

Our Christmas Gift Guide is back for 2024 with bookish recommendations to help you find the perfect gifts this Christmas. Read on for our suggestions, or browse at your leisure on our Books pages.

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Fiction Recommendations

This cover shows a flaming pile of burning letters against a red background. The text reads: Flames of Anarchy. Leslie Scase. An Inspector Chard Mystery.

Flames of Anarchy

Leslie Scase

Inspector Chard Mysteries

“This thoroughly enjoyable book is the best yet in Scase’s ‘Inspector Chard’ series…” – Nation.Cymru

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This cover shows a black print of a smashed vodka bottle set against a shocking pink background. The text reads: The Crazy Truth. Gemma June Howell. A novel.

The Crazy Truth

Gemma June Howell

“Alive and full of energy, vital… like a slap in the face from someone you fancy.” – Crystal Jeans

Buy now
This cover shows a line illustration of a woman and a dog walking through lush green fields. Behind them, a river separates them from a burning city. The text reads: All the Colours You Cannot Name. Joad R Wren.

All the Colours You Cannot Name

Joad R. Wren

“A hauntingly vivid story… written with spare grace and intelligence… very moving.” – Dr Rowan Williams

Buy now
This cover shows a colourful, collage illustration by Pete Fowler. The text reads: Wonderboy and The Life and Times of Drewford Alabama. Jamie Morrison

Wonderboy and The Life & Times of Drewford Alabama

Jamie Morrison

“A unique and electric talent – his work is full of technicolour and imagination. I love this author and I love this book.” – Laura Dockrill

Buy now
Photo of a present wrapped in craft paper with a red bow and alongside copies of Let a Sleeping Witch Lie and Sugar Hall

Seren Welsh Gothic Gift Set

This exclusive Seren Welsh Gothic Gift Set includes a copy of Elizabeth Walter’s chilling collection of short fiction Let a Sleeping Witch Lie and Tiffany Murray’s classic ghost story Sugar Hall which will come together gift wrapped ready to put under the tree.

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See How they Run

lloyd jones

New Stories from the Mabinogion

“Jones captures a magic largely absent from the modern world.” – Wales Arts Review

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This cover shows an abstract painting of a fiery sun shining red, yellow and orange rays. The text reads: Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers, Peter Benson

Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers

Peter Benson

“Kidnap Fury of the Smoking Lovers raises you up on its shoulders and carries you away.” – International Times

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This cover shows an image of an African tree silhouetted against the purple, mist shrouded dawn sky. The text reads: This Is Not Who We Are. Sophie Buchaillard.

This is Not Who We Are

Sophie Buchaillard

“…a stark and terrifying reminder that only the most fragile screen separates the familiar from the abyss.” – Richard Gwyn

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This cover shows a picture of a girl's shadow reflected on the watery sand. The text reads From Seven to the Sea. Jayne Joso.

From Seven to the Sea

Jayne Joso

“Hymns the compassion of strangers and the consolations of the sea.” – Horatio Clare

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This cover shows a black and white photo of a man sat at a piano facing away from us with the streets of New York behind him. The text reads: A Simple Scale. David Llewellyn.

A Simple Scale

David Llewellyn

“Beautifully told and beautifully written.” – Philip Reeve

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This cover shows a close up photo of a broken wire fence threaded with barbed wire. The text reads: What Remains at the End. Alexandra Ford.

What Remains at the End

Alexandra Ford

“…both an education and a song of the heartache.” – Rowan Hisayo Buchanan

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This cover shows a fiery sunset over a city scape reflected in the bonnet of a car. The text reads: A City Burning. Angela Graham.

A City Burning

Angela Graham

“In this powerful collection, Angela Graham shows herself master of the angle of vision.” – Stevie Davies

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Non-Fiction Recommendations

This cover shows a yellow photograph of a road in patagonia stretching into the mountains. On the left of the cover is a bright yellow strip with repeating black patterns. Text reads: Ambassador of Nowhere: A Latin American Pilgrimage. Richard Gwyn.

Ambassador of Nowhere

Richard Gwyn

“Gwyn’s prose is lyrical without being indulgent… Ambassador of Nowhere… treats life itself as the ultimate poem to be translated…” – Times Literary Supplement

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The cover shows six t-shirts of varying colour at the top and bottom of the cover. The middle has six colour blocks which provide a background to the word ‘casual’. The text reads: A Casual Life in Six T-shirts. Euron Griffith.

A Casual Life: In Six T-Shirts

Euron Griffith

“Six life-changing, raging and inspiring XL shirts – a soundtrack to growing up and living in Wales that is more than just the records.” – Rhys Mwyn

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This cover shows an illustration of a grey heron standing on the side of an estuary, the purple heather stretching out in the distance. The text reads: This Stolen Land A People's History of the Gwent Levels. Marsha O'Mahony.

This Stolen Land: A People’s History of the Gwent Levels

Marsha O’Mahony

“A fascinating book about a very special and unique part of Wales.” – Iolo Williams

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This cover shows a photo of a star filled sky over the dark silhouette of a castle. The text reads: Dark Land, Dark Skies. Martin Griffiths.

Dark Land, Dark Skies

Martin Griffiths

“I must confess to being completely star-struck by this seminal work​.” – The Bay

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This cover shows a black and white image of a herd of sheep moving down the side of a mountain. The text reads: A Hardy Breed, Sheep Farming in Wales. Bruce Cardwell.

A Hardy Breed: Sheep Farming in Wales

Bruce Cardwell

“…will find a ready audience not only amongst those of us who live in this world… but by all seeking to understand… the connections between mankind and the natural world” – Nation.Cymru

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This cover shows large white text with a yellow ampersand on a dark green background. The end of the ampersand is a dragon’s tail. The text reads: Cymru & I. Essays By Gosia Buzzanca, Tia-Zakura Camilleri, Kelechi Ronald Ikpe, Mo Jannah, Bethany McAuley, Laura Mochan, Debowale Omole, Alys Roberts, Anthony Shapland. In Parntnership with Inclusive Journalism Cymru.

Cymru & I

In partnership with Inclusive Journalism Cymru

“…an inclusive, honest, and eloquent contribution to a wider conversation taking place socially in Wales.” – Buzz Magazine

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This cover shows a spanish-style illustration. The text reads: Barr 44 Tapas y Copas. This is Out Spain. Owen and Tom Morgan.

Bar 44: Tapas y Copas

Owen & Tom Morgan

“The sort of tome that becomes battered and splattered with constant use.” – Tom Parker-Bowles

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This cover shows a light grey background with a red pattern quilted on. The Text reads: Welsh Quilts. Jen Jones. Foreword by Kaffe Fassett. Patterns by Sandie Lush.

Welsh Quilts

Jen Jones

Welsh Quilts explores the origins of quilting and blanket making in Wales. It’s the essential book on the subject, whether you are a quilter yourself, or simply interested in quilting heritage.

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The Occasional Vegan Sarah Philpott

The Occasional Vegan

Sarah Philpott

“If you’re looking for accessible, unpretentious vegan food to impress even the most sceptical friends and family, then this is the book to cook from.​” – Vegan Burd

Buy now
This cover shows a black and white photograph of a boy sat alone on a hospital bed. One of his legs is missing from the knee down and he is resting on crutches. The text reads: Aperture: Life Through a Fleet Street Lens. John Downing.

Aperture: Life Through a Fleet Street Lens

John Downing

“…plunges the reader into the cut and thrust of life – and near-death – on the front line… an eye-opening portrait of a perilous profession.” – Buzz Magazine

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This cover has a bright pink background. A cut out image of a young Lucy Cannon wearing a white comunion gown with her hands raised in prayer and drawn devil horns is in the middle. The text reads: The Amazingly Astonishing Story by Lucy Gannon.

The Amazingly Astonishing Story

Lucy Gannon

“This fantastic book is the saddest happiest funniest book I’ve read for ages…” – Dawn French

Buy now
This cover shows a simple illustration of part of the Cardiff border. The text reads Peter Finch, Edging the City, A Journey Round the Border of Cardiff.

Edging the City

Peter Finch

“Finch has created a new form of psychogeography, one written on a human scale, alive to social and cultural concerns, rooted in local experience but open to the world…” – Planet

Buy now

Poetry Recommendations

This cover shows a renaissance style painting of a woman looking at a butterfly perched on her finger. In place of a wig, her hair takes the shape of a human heart overlayed with tiny doors which attract a multitude of butterflies. The text reads: The Butterfly House, Kathryn Bevis.

The Butterfly House

Kathryn Bevis

“In the end, the theme of this life-enhancing book is not death, but love.” – The Sunday Times

Buy now
This cover depicts a painted image of a large hill. The hill is dark, with blurred fields in the foreground and a light sky in the background. The text reads A Darker Way: Grahame Davies.

A Darker Way

Grahame Davies

“Despite the shadows,  A Darker Way is like a glowing hearth where humour and lyricism, comfort and blessing are exchanged.” – Carol Rumens

Buy now
This cover depicts a drawing of snow-covered branches which overlap. There is a bright red cardinal one a single branch. The text reads: Grief's Alphabet by Carrie Etter.

Grief’s Alphabet

Carrie Etter

“Etter performs a painfully remarkable magic trick: she gives a voice to ‘soundless keening,’ the grief that cannot speak.” – Caroline Bird

Buy now
This cover shows a vintage photo of a woman sleeping with her head on a pillow, a large conch shell pressed to her ear. The text reads: Battery Rocks, Katrina Naomi

Battery Rocks

Katrina Naomi

“This is poetry of incredible bravery, of endurance and of an ongoing vulnerability.” – Daljit Nagra, Poetry Extra

Buy now
This cover depicts an illustration of a ceiling with repeated black and white swirling patterns. In place of a lampshade are several colourful ribbons tied together. There is a shadow of the ribbons on the ceiling. The text reads: Leaving the Hills, Tony Curtis. ‘The poems reverberate with present, sensuous experiences, but beyond their immediacy there is a deep hinterland of public and private histories, grief and delight’.- Helen Dunmore.

Leaving the Hills

Tony Curtis

“This wide-ranging collection sees Curtis writing at the height of his powers…” – Write Out Loud

Buy now
This cover shows a graphic painting of a black cormorant surrounded by unusual colourful objects like a vibrant trainer, skull and blooming roses. The text reads: Cormorant. Elizabeth Parker.

Cormorant

Elizabeth Parker

“Parker’s poems surface with a haul of truths that are dark and dazzling.” – Deborah Harvey

Buy now
This cover shows an abstract illustration of a circular sun and triangular moon in shades of black, white, blue and yellow. The text reads: East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Taz Rahman.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

Taz Rahman

“In vivifying and vital language here are poems that hymn nature into being… A marvellous, marvelling collection to both savour and hold close.” – Jon Gower

Buy now
This cover shows a dark Renaissance-style painting of a woman with paint peeling away over her face and body. The text reads: Strange Husbandry, Lorcan Black

Strange Husbandry

Lorcán Black

“Strange Husbandry shows love that is difficult to understand, unfamiliar and alien but always endeavouring to cultivate something new.” – Roy McFarlane, Poetry Book Society 

Buy now
This cover shows a woman looking down at a book in her hands. Next to her is a small table with a teacup. The cover style is slightly blurry, painted by oil paints.

God’s Little Artist

Sue Hubbard

“Sue Hubbard’s poems on this often anguished life delicately evoke the haunted atmosphere of Gwen John’s own wonderful art.” – Ruth Padel

Buy now
This cover shows an abstract painting made up of purple and blue tones with a bright yellow sun burst at the bottom. The text reads: Into the Same Sound Twice. Zakia Carpenter-Hall.

Into the Same Sound Twice

Zakia Carpenter-Hall

“Into the Same Sound Twice displays how language, like the world it witnesses, is something radiantly prismatic.” – Fiona Sampson

Buy now
This cover shows an abstract image in overlapping hues of purple and mustard yellow of two people entwined. The text reads: Portrait in Mustard. Wendy Allen.

Portrait in Mustard

Wendy Allen

“Wendy Allen’s intelligent and ekphrastic hymns to the body sing out with life and engender a reseeing of the world with a bold eroticism.” – Richard Scott

Buy now
This cover shows a still life painting of various fruits which are beginning to decay. The text reads: Fruits of Labour, Betty Doyle.

Fruits of Labour

Betty Doyle

“If I could hand this collection out, like a secret handshake, to all the women who would recognise themselves reflected in its pages, I would.” – Wendy Pratt

Buy now

More news

17th August, 2026

Laura Wainwright shortlisted for the Laurel Prize

11th August, 2026

Guest Post: Sarah Johnson reflects on the IPA Congress 2026

10th August, 2026

Maggie Harris wins Guyana Prize for Literature Poetry Award

21st July, 2026

Guest post: Eoghan Walls on writing ‘Elsa & the Wolfman’

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