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Call Mother a Lonely Field by Liam Carson is shortlisted for The RSL Ondaatje Prize.
The £10,000 RSL Ondaatje Prize is awarded annually to a book of the highest literary merit, evoking the spirit of a place. Seren are the only Welsh press to be placed on this fantastic shortlist.
This is a memoir of an Irish-speaking childhood in Belfast and a moving testament to growing up during the Troubles. We experience Liam’s childhood through still-present echoes of the Second World War, dystopian science fiction, American comic books and punk rock.
After years in London and Dublin, the deaths of his parents bring Liam Carson a new sense of community and understanding as he heals his fractured relationship with Irish. His rediscovery of the language as a sanctuary is central to a book exploring the potency of vanishing worlds, be they childhood, a city or a way of life.

On hearing of the book’s shortlisting, Liam Carson said
“I’m absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize. It came as a very pleasant surprise, and I’m honoured to join a wonderful shortlist of very fine writers. The prize is for evoking a sense of place, and if my book achieves that, it is in so small way due to my late father’s deep love of the streets of Belfast, and the history of the city.”

“A tender, contemplative memoir…” – The Sunday Telegraph
“The touching description of his dying mother and then the loss of his father will draw a tear from the most hardened of readers.” – We Love This Book”…Carson’s rediscovery of the Irish language following the death of his parents is truly moving.”  – The Irish World
The judges, Julia Blackburn, Margaret Drabble and Ian Jack, said: “A place, whether it is a small room, a forest floor, or an entire continent, is defined by the limitations and freedoms it offers and by the layers of emotion and history it contains. For this prize we are trying to see where and how this elusive spirit has been best captured in a book, of poetry, fiction, biography or personal memoir.”
Now in its 10th year, the prize will be awarded at special awards ceremony on 13th May. Call Mother a Lonely Field by Liam Carson is shortlisted alongside Zadie Smith’s NW, Hensher’s Scenes from An Early Life and Francis’ Empire Antarctica. Completing the shortlist is Patrick Flanery’s Absolution and Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss.

Think you don’t like short stories? Think again. Seren have published two fantastic short story collections this Spring, you need these on your reading shelf – now!
Mary-Ann Constantine’s second collection All the Souls and Jaki McCarrick’s The Scattering are both now available to buy.

All the Souls by Mary-Ann Constantine is a collection of stories of the living and the dead.
The voices of the dead echo through these subtle, striking stories. Rooted in the landscape and traditions of Wales and Brittany – past, present and future – All the Souls draws on themes of collection, superstition and legend.
From poignant and dangerous obsessions with the iconic (a Romano-British figurine; a carved wooden Christ-child; a bronze angel) to direct, often puzzled conversations with ghosts, the characters in this book all strive to make contact with the impossible. A girl becomes obsessed with a figure she only sees through a Camera Obscura; an angry man strikes up a friendship with a sixth-century saint; a revenant mother by a mountain lake tries to explain herself to a grieving friend.
‘A considerable achievement.’ – Stevie Davies on The Breathing

Paperback £8.99

The Scattering is a collection of nineteen stories, many set on the Irish border, where this London-born author currently lives. These stories explore states of liminality: life on the Irish border, dual identities, emigration, being between states – certainty and doubt, codependency and freedom. Some explore themes of catastrophe and constraint. All explore what it means to be alive in a fraught and ever-changing world. This first collection from prizewinning author and playwright, Jaki McCarrick explores the dark side of human nature, often with a postmodern ‘Ulster gothic’ twist.
One of the stories ‘The Visit’ won the Wasafiri Prize for new fiction, and many have been published to much acclaim in literary magazines.
“…an amazing body of work…this book deserves tremendous success and a very wide readership.” – The Reading Life Blog
Paperback £8.99

Remembering R.S. Thomas (1913-2000)
Celebrate R.S. Thomas’s centenary with this excellent volume that draws together 52 poems (4 previously unpublished) by Thomas to his wife, the distinguished artist Mildred E  Eldridge – known as Elsi – from early meditations on their relationship to the elegies following her death.
This collection is edited by Damian Walford Davies. The foreword is by DR. Rowan Williams

This revelatory collection dramatises the changing dynamics of a complex and vitally creative relationship. Poems on marriage, cohabitation, birthdays, anniversaries, family and bereavement offer a candid portrait of emotional intimacy, desire, the painful process of ageing, and of loss. Elsi is a complex presence here: to the ‘to’ in the title signifies not only ‘addressed to’ but also ‘about’, ‘with an eye on’, ‘to be overheard by’, and even in one case ‘from’.

Born in Cardiff on the 29th March 1913, this year will mark the 100th birthday of R.S.Thomas. Thomas and Elsi were married in 1940 and remained together until her death in 1991. Their son, Gwydion, was born 29 August 1945.
Pre-order a copy of R.S.Thomas: Poems to Elsi now at £9.99 or £7.99 (if bookclub member)

 

 

If you’ve seen Les Mis and were left wanting more, a new ebook of Le Temps des Cerises could be just what you need.
Le Temps des Cerises is set at the barricades of Paris in the 1870, just a few years after Victor Hugo penned his epic novel. The citizens are still suffering, this time being starved out by the Prussian siege and the Versaillais, and even rats are on the menu.
For 17-year-old Eveline Renan the horrors also brings excitement as she finds herself on the frontline, caught between two lovers: the dreamy poet Laurie, and his heroic friend Alphonse. She has no idea that just a few streets away, disgraced nun Bernadine is selling herself to save the lives of innocents, including hers.

As the Gare du Nord becomes a centre of resistance, Eveline finds revolution on the streets that is reflected in the hearts of the soldiers, nuns, artisans, lovers and renegades of this chaotic city. She and others are forced to find their own ways of living and dying as the fighting finally reaches the young men at the barricades of la semaine sanglante – the bloody week of Paris Commune.
Also available in paperback
Celebrate the R S Thomas centenary with Seren’s R. S. Thomas: Poems to Elsi

Seren are publishing RS Thomas’s Poems to Elsi to celebrate the life and works of one of the world’s finest twentieth century writers. This excellent volume, edited by Damian Walford Davies, draws together 52 poems (4 previously unpublished) by Thomas to his wife, Elsi.
This revelatory collection dramatises the changing dynamics of a complex and vitally creative relationship. Poems on marriage, cohabitation, birthdays, anniversaries, family and bereavement offer a candid portrait of emotional intimacy, desire, the painful process of ageing, and of loss. Elsi is a complex presence here: to the ‘to’ in the title signifies not only ‘addressed to’ but also ‘about’, ‘with an eye on’, ‘to be overheard by’, and even in one case ‘from’.
Pre-order your copy now.
 
 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we are offering you a prize-winning poetry collection Berg for a fantastic price of £2.99 with FREE post.

In this first collection from Hilary Menos, icebergs floating down the Thames jostle with transvestites in Singapore, aliens wading the Hudson River and the lively crew from the local slaughterhouse. We go shopping with Ingomar the barbarian and watch Bernard Manning gigging at Totnes Civic Hall. Other poems are populated with characters from fiction; we step off the cartoon cliff with the Road Runner, join Iggle Piggle in a subverted Night Garden, and hitch a lift with the micro-crew on their Fantastic Voyage.
Throughout, Menos brings a sophisticated sensibility to her poetry. Her subjects are seen aslant, with ironic as well as tender intentions. She ranges from the intimate and local to the ambitious and far flung, with poems that capture ‘elsewhere’ set in Paris and Havana and New York, and mini ‘ecological’ epics, often in the voice of an invented persona, alongside poems about geese and babies and farming life in rural Devon.

“This is someone who reflects an expert at work but has their own vivid way of seeing and acting.” – Ruth Padel
“…crackles with formal skill, with extraordinary, vibrant language … and with great style …” – Carol Ann Duffy
“She has the rare ability to uncover the wide range of implications of the world we live in, be they emotional, spiritual or literary. Here is a new poet with a full locker of accomplishments. She is sure to make an immediate impact.” – John Stammers
Get your copy for only £2.99 now – click here

Happy World Book Day!

To celebrate World Book Day we are giving away a FREE copy of Glenda Beagan’s short story collection The Great Master of Ecstasy.
Order online between 12pm-1pm and 2pm-3pm on Thursday 7th March 2013 to get your free copy* to get your free copy*
 

The Great Master of Ecstasy is poignant collection of interlinked short stories. In her clear and thoughtful prose Glenda explores memory, inspiration and mental health, peering over the edge of the natural world with sometimes chilling results.  Her characters inhabit a north Wales landscape of hillsides and trees, seaside towns and isolated homes, owls and foxes as she traces out the lives of teenagers, self-made men, and women emerging from the shadow of others, uncovering a strong thread of resilient humanity.
“In the no-man’s-land between sleep and waking, between sanity and mental breakdown, Glenda listens to the sonar of the night and logs the human journey between icebergs of mystery and madness.” – Lloyd Jones
*Post and packaging will apply

 

The Scattering is a debut fiction collection from prizewinning writer Jaki McCarrick.

These skillfully crafted stories explore states of liminality: life on the Irish border, dual identities, emigration, being between states – certainty and doubt, codependency and freedom. Some explore themes of catastrophe and constraint. All explore what it means to be alive in a fraught and ever-changing world. This first collection from prizewinning author and playwright, Jaki McCarrick explores the dark side of human nature, often with a postmodern ‘Ulster gothic’ twist.
One of the stories ‘The Visit’ won the Wasafiri Prize for new fiction, and many have been published to much acclaim in literary magazines.
Buy your copy now for £7.19*

Forthcoming Title: R S Thomas: Poems to Elsi

 
Celebrate the R. S Thomas centenary, with this excellent volume that draws together 52 poems (4 previously unpublished) by Thomas to his wife, Elsi.
This collection brings together 52 poems by Thomas to his wife, the distinguished artist Mildred E  Eldridge – known as Elsi – from early meditations on their relationship to the elegies following her death.
This revelatory collection dramatises the changing dynamics of a complex and vitally creative relationship. Poems on marriage, cohabitation, birthdays, anniversaries, family and bereavement offer a candid portrait of emotional intimacy, desire, the painful process of ageing, and of loss. Elsi is a complex presence here: to the ‘to’ in the title signifies not only ‘addressed to’ but also ‘about’, ‘with an eye on’, ‘to be overheard by’, and even in one case ‘from’.
Pre-order your copy now for £7.99*
*discounted prices are available if you’re an ‘online book club member’ – if you would like to sign up for free, please click here.

New release: Exciting new anthology Newspaper Taxis: Poetry After The Beatles
Their beginnings were inauspicious. When Alan Williams booked their first trip to Hamburg in August 1960, they were regarded by peers as the worst group in Liverpool. When they returned from their third visit in December 1962, they were the best. Six months later they were the best in the world.
 

Literally hundreds of millions of people around the world have listened to, and loved, the Beatles’ music. Their impact on musicians, writers, film-makers and ordinary people has been simply, enormous. With contributions by myriad of poets, young and old, including, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Elaine Feinstein, Peter Finch, Adrian Henri, Philip Larkin, Lachlan Mackinnon, Roger McGough, Sheenagh Pugh, Jeremy Reed and Carol Rumens, this book is a response to the Beatles’ creativity and capacity to influence successive generations.
All royalties from the sale of this book are being donated to Claire House Children’s Hospice, serving those children and young people of Merseyside with complex medical needs since 1998. www.claire-house.org.uk

Black + White Photography magazine have named Living in Wales by magnum photographer David Hurn in the top 50 black and white photography books.
Living in Wales is an album of one hundred and one duotone portraits of people who, in the words of David Hurn ’have enriched my life and that of Wales.’ It is a roster of the famous and distinguished in the fields of science, business, the arts, sport, the law, health, media, politics and religion.

You can get a copy of Living in Wales for only £20* – for more details click here
Meet the Author
Thursday 7th February 2013, 7.30pm: First Thursday Literary Evening Newspaper Taxis: Poetry After the Beatles edited by Phil Bowen, Damian Furniss and David Woolley with poets reading from the book and musicians playing some famous Beatles tunes, with a backdrop powerpoint show of photographs of the Beatles in their heyday. £2.50 Media Point Room, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.

Seren titles in the ’12 Days of Kindle’ promotion

Seren have several titles in the ’12 Days of Kindle’ promotion on Amazon, starting from as little as 99p. If you got a new kindle for Christmas, why not treat yourselves to some of these fantastic titles.

Meet the Author
Friday 11th January 2013, 7pm: Rhian Edwards Clueless Dogs will be reading at the Archimedes Screw Showcase 3: ArtfulScribe at The Art House, Southampton. Other Acts are Stewart Taylor and Ricky Tart plus Open Mic £3 (Performers) £4 (audience). 178 Bar Street, Southampton, SO14 7DW
Monday 14th January 2013, 7pm: Rhian Edwards reads from her debut poetry collection Clueless Dogs at the Bristol Old Vic, King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED. Byron Vincent will be hosting this event.
Wednesday 23rd January 2013, 7pm: Rhian Edwards reading from her debut poetry collection Clueless Dogs at the Word 4 Word National Theatre of Wales, Clwb y Bont, 85a Taff Street, Town Centre, Pontypridd, CF37 4SL