You may have noticed changes here at Seren Books over the past few years. With the help of the many individuals and organisations we work with, we reflected on what kind of publisher we wanted to be and what it would take to get us there.

We want to publish literature which influences and reflects the complexities and realities of lives in contemporary Wales and the wider world. This has meant more proactively curating our lists and the creatives we work with to reach a broader readership. It has also meant scrutinising how we work, to make the greatest impact we can culturally, economically and for the publishing eco-system we operate within. So, to celebrate how far we’ve come since 2025, we’re sharing some of our key successes below.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us on our journey so far. We hope you’ll join us as we carry on!

We’re delighted to share that Bethany Handley has won an Eric Gregory Award for her poetry pamphlet Cling Film, a prize awarded to outstanding collections by poets under 30.

Bethany is one of five 2026 winners for the prize which is administered by the Society of Authors. The awards were founded in 1960 by the late Dr Eric Gregory for the encouragement of young poets.

Speaking on this year’s winners, judge Jasmine Gardosi said: ‘Judging the Eric Gregory Awards this year has both sent me to other worlds and pulled me deeper into this one. We have read voices that range from snappy and lucid, to sparse and desolate, to mystical and fae-like in its lyricism. What has been consistent is the ability of each winner to make me pause at a line, to take a break in the middle of a poem, to mutter “wow” under my breath. I have been impressed by the risk-taking, the world-building, and the deftness with which these writers have done two things, at the same time: tell a story through their collection, and also hit the mark with each of their poems. Whether it be on trauma, on truth, on family, freedom, or loneliness – the writing of every single winner has hacked into my mind, and changed it.’

You can view the full list of winners on the Society of Authors website here.

Photo by Adrian Pope.

Earlier this week, the winners of the 2026 Jhalak Prize Awards were announced, in which Maggie Harris was named winner of the Jhalak Poetry Prize for her collection I Sing to the Greenhearts.

Celebrating books by writers of colour in the UK and Ireland, the Jhalak Prize Awards celebrated their 10th anniversary at the ceremony which was held at the Hachette UK Headquarters. Maggie is only the second winner of the Jhalak Poetry Prize which was added in 2024. This year’s judges for the poetry prize were Romalyn Ante, Nikita Gill and Kadija (George) Sesay.

Of Maggie’s collection, Nikita Gill said: “Maggie Harris uses her powerful skills of reflection, craft and cadence to give us one of the most incisive, magical poetry collections of the decade.”

Seren Books poetry co-editors Zoë Brigley and Rhian Edwards add: “This vivid, powerful collection deserves this recognition. Where else but in Maggie Harris’ poems will we find a banana reading Louise Bennett’s ‘Colonisation in Reverse,’ or see Fanny Eaton, the Pre-Raphaelite Jamaican muse, step out of a painting and into her own power? We’re proud to have published it and of Maggie’s connection to Wales.” 

I Sing to the Greenhearts is available in bookshops nationwide and here on our website.