Francesca Rhydderch

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Santa Baby, Slip a Story Under the Tree

Christmas is on its way, and we have some recommendations for you whether you’re looking for a present for someone else, or you’re looking for something to ask Santa for this Christmas!

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For Thriller Lovers:

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If you or someone you know loves a good crime story, why not try Jo Mazelis’ Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize-winning Significance, or Anne Lauppe-Dunbar’s debut Dark Mermaids?

For Historical Fiction Lovers:

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Francesca Rhydderch’s debut, The Rice Paper Diaries, which won the 2014 Wales Book of the Year Award and Tiffany Murray’s chilling Sugar Hall are perfect for readers who like their stories old school. So old school they’re practically history.

For Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lovers:

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If you’re after something weird and wonderful for you or a friend this festive season, then you can’t go wrong with one of our New Stories from The Mabinogion; The Meat Tree is a brilliantly bizarre sci-fi retelling of the Blodeuwedd myth, perfect for readers who love stories that are literally out of this world. But if you’re after something a little closer to home, why not pick up a copy of Mary-Ann Constantine’s fable-esque debut, Star-Shot? This novel is a real treat for readers who are familiar with Cardiff.

For Short Story Lovers:

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For lovers of the oft forgotten art form that is the short story, why not pick up New Welsh Short Stories, an anthology featuring a wide range of Welsh authors from Carys Davies to Jo Mazelis, or Graham Mort’s latest collection, Terroir. These two look quite charming together, so if I were you I’d get both.

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For Non-Fiction Lovers:

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Jasmine Donahaye’s memoir, Losing Israel, has been stunning readers since its publication earlier this year; part memoir, part travel writing, part nature writing, it’s the perfect gift for any non-fiction connoisseur. Mike Rees’ Men Who Played the Game is the ideal book for any sports fan, and as we commemorate one hundred years since the First World War there’s no better time to read it than right now.

For Poetry Lovers:

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Here at Seren we’d be nothing without our poetry, so why not pick up a copy of Kim Moore’s hugely popular debut collection, The Art of Falling, or Jonathan Edwards’ Costa Award-winning debut collection, My Family and Other Superheroes – we promise they won’t disappoint you! Or if someone you know likes to keep on top of the latest poetry, a subscription to Poetry Wales magazine would make for a fine Christmas present, if you ask me. And I suppose you must be asking me if you’re reading this…

You can find all these books and more on our website, so treat the readers you know to some well-chosen words this Christmas!

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Remember, Remember

Our Marketing Assistant, Jess, discusses the relationship between history, identity and literature.

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

It’s been 410 years since Guy Fawkes tried to blow up parliament and we’re still talking about it. Granted trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament (with the king inside) is a pretty big deal, and it’s fascinating to think what Britain might have become if Fawkes had succeeded. Would it even be much different to the way it is now?

We have this idea that we must remember the important moments in history because if we do they won’t happen again. If we remember that Hitler was a bad man we’ll be able to prevent anyone like him from rising to power again, and if we remember that trying to prevent interracial marriage is just plain silly we’ll be a better society. Of course that’s not quite how the world works. Sadly there are still plenty of horrible people in politics, and it’s only in recent years – this year in the case of the United States – that gay marriage has been legalised.

Basically, we never learn, and this is true of our own histories too.

No matter who we are, where we go or what we do, we always find ourselves drawn back to our pasts; our decisions and experiences creep up on us like waves, slowly advancing until we’re caught in the tide and pulled back to something we’d forgotten, whether by accident or by choice. It could be anything from a faint whiff of perfume that reminds you of your grandmother’s old house, or a song you hear that takes you right back to your school days because it was playing everywhere and dammit now it’s stuck in your head again. You’ll be humming it for weeks.

This is particularly true of writers, or at least that’s what I’ve discovered in my experience. Authors can write a huge amount of different stories in their lifetime, but no matter how different the story is, no matter how different the characters or the setting are, there will always be those themes that authors just can’t help going back to.

It’s true of our authors, too. In Anne Lauppe-Dunbar’s debut novel, Dark Mermaids, published earlier this year, our protagonist Sophia finds herself haunted by her past no matter how hard she tries to run from it. Set in Germany, the book itself is something of a link back to Anne Lauppe-Dunbar’s own family history; I interviewed Anne here about her startling debut, and wasn’t at all surprised to discover that she’s working on another novel set in Germany. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Anne in person, and it’s clear from the way she talks about her writing how passionate she is about these Germany-based stories.

Francesca Rhydderch’s prize-winning debut, The Rice Paper Diaries, also draws on personal family history, and the characters in Mary-Ann Constantine’s debut, Star-Shot, just can’t help being drawn to the National Museum Cardiff, a building that is literally full of our history.

Then we have our New Stories from the Mabinogion. Our authors took the tales from The Mabinogion and placed them wherever, and whenever, they saw fit, leaving us with stories set during the Second World War and stories set in outer space. Fairy tales, folktales and legends are the first stories we’re ever introduced to, and we continue to come across them even when we might not realise it. What is Pretty Woman if not a slightly updated Cinderella story? What is The Phantom of the Opera if not yet another spin on Beauty and the Beast?

Try as we might we can’t stop returning to these old stories, whether they’re stories everyone knows or stories from our own personal histories. They just keep coming back, and all we can do is keep telling them.

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Seren at Crickhowell Literary Festival

Wales will see the return of the Crickhowell Literary Festival this month, and this year several of our authors are taking part!

Francesca Rhydderch, author of the 2014 Wales Book of the Year The Rice Paper Diaries and co-editor of New Welsh Short Stories, will be in conversation with Oliver Balch, reading from her work and answering any questions from the audience. She will also be leading a Fiction Writing Masterclass!

Poet and novelist Christopher Meredith will be at the festival for an evening of reading and discussion, and several of our other poets will also be reading from their work. Paul Henry and Philip Gross will be reading poems from Boy Running and A Fold in the River inspired by the rivers Usk and Taff, and Anne-Marie Fyfe will be reading from her latest collection, House of Small Absences, while Costa Award-winner Jonathan Edwards will be reading from his own work.

Whether it’s poetry or prose that mosts interests you, there’s something for everyone at Crickhowell this year. Find out more about all of our upcoming events on our website!

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What is Literary Fiction?

Our Marketing Assistant, Jess, has a little chat about the difference between literary and genre fiction.

Here at Seren we primarily publish literary fiction as opposed to genre fiction, and many a time I’ve been asked what the difference is. This is a fair question – I didn’t know the answer myself until I went to university!

The simple answer is that literary fiction is much more focused on the quality of the writing style – on the way the book is written – rather than on the plot and the way the plot satisfies a certain genre. Genre fiction is full of fast page-turners and plots that try to blow your socks off, whereas literary fiction tends to be a little slower, a little quieter, but no less enjoyable.

In the realms of literary fiction we’re more likely to regularly encounter characters who feel like people we might pass in the street, rather than characters who fit a mould; crime fiction is brimming with grumpy detectives, each with their own dark and dangerous past – even Sherlock Holmes isn’t squeaky clean! In literary fiction, on the other hand, we’re just as likely to encounter the next Patrick Bateman as we are the next Atticus Finch. 

Literary fiction isn’t ‘better’ than genre fiction in much the same way that genre fiction isn’t ‘better’ than literary fiction. There’s no need for competition here, because if you’re a reader – whether you read regularly or sit back with a handful of books each year – you’ll have already read both types of fiction, and chances are you’ll have liked and disliked books in both categories in equal measure.

So if literary fiction and genre fiction are equally valid, why is our focus on literary fiction?

First and foremost, it’s writing we want to promote and celebrate. We want a good story – of course we do! – but if we had to choose between an action-packed story written in a mediocre fashion or a subtle, stunningly written story, I’m sure you can guess which story we’d pick every time.

Not only that, but literary fiction gives us a lot of freedom. Something I’ve yet to mention is that literary fiction and genre fiction are not entirely separate from one another; it’s common for a book to be considered literary fiction while also fitting into a particular genre. That’s one of the reasons we love literary fiction so much!

Francesca Rhydderch’s award-winning debut The Rice Paper Diaries is literary fiction, but it’s historical fiction, too; Jo Mazelis’ prize-winning debut Significance is literary fiction, but it’s also a thriller; Tiffany Murray’s haunting Sugar Hall is literary fiction, but it’s also a ghost story. We are able to publish a wide variety of fiction by a plethora of authors, all because we love stories that are beautifully told.

That’s why we love literary fiction, and that’s why we publish it.

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Seren at The Hay Festival

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Today marks the beginning of The Hay Festival 2015, and this year there are plenty of events involving some of our very own authors.

my_family_and_other_superheroes_covercosta_quicksand coverPaul Henry and Jonathan Edwards will be reading from their latest collections, Boy Running and the Costa Poetry Prize-winning My Family and Other Superheroes respectively. If you’re a fan of poetry, T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Philip Gross and visual artist Valerie Coffin Price will also be discussing their collaborative collection, A Fold in the River, and Damian Walford Davies will be discussing and reading from his latest collection, Judas.

We’re alAlun Lewis 72so going to be celebrating the centenary of Alun Lewis at Hay this year, with two events dedicated to the WW2 writer. Juliet Aykroyd, Owen Sheers and John Pikoulis will be discussing Lewis’s time in India, in particular how he met and fell in love with Juliet’s mother, Freda Aykroyd, while Owen Sheers reads some of his poems.

Another event will see Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, do a close reading and discussion of Lewis’s poems.

Losing_Israelcmyk300Our prose is also getting some attention at Hay this year. Jasmine Donahaye will be talking to Francesca Rhydderch, author of the 2014 Wales Book of the Year The Rice Paper Diaries and co-editor of New Welsh Short Stories, about her upcoming memoir, Losing Israel, a moving and honest account of nature writing, travel writing and family history exploring the displacement of Palestinians in 1948.

For those of you who are fiction lovers, Tiffany Murray will be doing a late-night reading from her acclaimed ghost story, Sugar Hall, where she will be joined by David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and the upcoming Slade House.

With so much to see this year at Hay, you’d be a fool to miss out! Buy your tickets online at www.hayfestival.com, or check out our Events Page for more information.

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Francesca Rhydderch and Jonathan Edwards – Prize Worthy Authors For £6

 

It’s been a big week for Seren authors.  The Rice Paper Diaries author, Francesca Rhydderch, has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with her story, The Taxidermists Daughter, while Jonathan Edwards has been shortlisted for the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, with his book of poetry My Family and Other Superheroes. To celebrate, both Francesca and Jonathan’s books will be £6 this weekend. Hurry, offer ends at midnight on Sunday 21st.

my_family_and_other_superheroes72Edward’s superheroes are a motley crew: Evel Knievel, Sophia Loren, Ian Rush, Marty McFly, a bicycling nun and a recalcitrant hippo, all leap from these pages and jostle for position, alongside Valleys mams, dads and bamps, described with great warmth. Other poems focus on the crammed terraces and abandoned high streets where working-class and Welsh nationalist politics is hammered out. This is a post-industrial valleys upbringing re-imagined through the prism of pop culture and surrealism.

Sthe_rice_paper_diaries72pring 1940, newly wed Elsa Jones is finding her way in Hong Kong’s ex-pat society. Lonely and homesick, she finds an ally in her Chinese amah Lin, but their friendship is clouded by Lin’s own longing to be reunited with her sister and the simpler life of her childhood. When Hong Kong falls to the Japanese, Elsa and her husband Tommy are captured and interned in a  camp on the southern side of the island. Divided by nations, the prisoners struggle to survive, but in this closed world of desperation a there can be no secrets, and relationships are tested beyond endurance.

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Nine reasons to vote for The Rice Paper Diaries for the Wales Book of the Year People’s Choice Award.

Francesca Rhydderch has been shortlisted for The Wales Book of The Year Award for her debut novel The Rice Paper Diaries.

Nine of the shortlisted English language titles will also compete for the People’s Choice Award, where you get to have your say and vote for your favourite.

Francesca faces stiff competition from the likes of Tessa Hadley and Owen Sheers for the honour and here’s nine reasons why we think The Rice Paper Diaries deserves your vote:

  1. It shows us a different side to the Second World War. We normally think of WW2 as affecting our troops and those at home in Britain. The Rice Paper Diaries gives us an insight into what it was like to be a British expatriate interned by the enemy far from home and the difficult process of repatriation after the war.
  1. The story is authentic. Brian Edgar a WW2 blogger, whose parents were interned at the same concentration camp as Francesca’s protagonists, described it as “A magnificent book that anyone who enjoys first-rate literary fiction should consider reading”.
  1. Its four stories for the price of one. We hear four sides of the story from the perspectives of Elsa, Tommy, their daughter Mari and their Chinese amah Lin.
  1. It was Seren’s best selling novel of 2013. Its first print run was a sell out! (Don’t worry you can still get your hands on a copy here).
  1. It was a Kindle best seller, reaching the number 4 spot in the Kindle top 100.
  1. It drew critical acclaim from reviewers. Adrian Masters couldn’t recommend it highly enough and Laura Wainwright described it as a “rare, brave and unforgettable novel”.
  1. Even the competition thinks it’s great! Tessa Hadley (also shortlisted for Clever Girl) endorsed the book as “ Very fine, so truthful-feeling and subtle”.
  1. It’s been shortlisted for The Wales Book of the Year Award and Longlisted for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize and The Author’s Club First Novel Awards.
  1. It’s international. Fran was invited to take part in the Beijing Book Fair and it’s currently being translated in to Mandarin!

What are you waiting for? Vote now!

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Francesca Rhydderch Longlisted for the Authors Club First Novel Award

Francesca Rhydderch’s debut novel, The Rice Paper Diaries has been long listed for the Authors Club First Novel Award. Francesca joins names such as Lucy Cruickshanks and Kevin Maher as well as Costa first novel award winner Nathan Filer.

The shortlist will be announced on Friday 25 April, and the winner of the 2014  Authors Club First Novel will be awarded a £2,500 prize at a reception on 3rd June at the National Liberal Club by this years guest adjudicator, novelist Isabel Wolff.

Set in 1940’s Hong Kong, The Rice Paper Diaries follows the lives of Elsa Jones, her husband Tommy, daughter Mari and their amah Lin. When Hong Kong falls to the Japanese, Elsa and Tommy are captured and interned in a makeshift camp on the southern side of the island, and their relationship is tested to the limit.

The Rice Paper Diaries is available to buy from our website for £8.99. Sign up to our book club to get 20% off!

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