Author of the Month
Each month on the Libraries Wales website, we will focus on an inspiring author based in or writing about Wales. You’ll have an introduction to their latest book, a short biography of the author, what inspires them to write, and any advice they have for young writers, all available in exclusive interviews which you can read here.
Since introducing this feature, some of our focused authors to date have been Jon Blake, Dai Smith, Rob Gittins, and our very own Children’s Laureate Wales, Eloise Williams.
Are you a teacher or librarian? A special flyer will be available to download and print every month based on each of our showcased authors that can be used for educational purposes.
We will focus on two authors every month writing in English and Welsh. Link to the Welsh-language Author of the Month available here.
April 4, 2022
Cyril James Morris
Born in Saundersfoot, Cyril James Morris joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice at age sixteen. He served twenty-two years as marine and aeronautical engineer, followed by training as a helicopter anti-submarine pilot and eventually as a helicopter maintenance test pilot. After his retirement he became a lobster fisherman in Saundersfoot for a couple of […]
Read moreMarch 1, 2022
Rae Howells
Rae Howells is a poet, journalist, academic and lavender farmer from Swansea. She’s won both the Welsh International and Rialto Nature and Place poetry competitions. Her work has featured in a wide range of journals including Magma, The Rialto, Poetry Wales, New Welsh Review, Acumen, Envoi, Poetry Ireland, Black Bough, Marble and The Cardiff Review, as well as in the Poetry Business anthology, The Result is What […]
Read moreFebruary 1, 2022
Maggie Ogunbanwo
Author Maggie Ogunbanwo is based in north Wales where she runs Maggie’s African Twist, selling predominantly African sourced or themed food products both on and offline. These days Maggie’s African Twist operates from The Red Lion in the village of Penygroes, surrounded by the beautiful Snowdonia countryside with its rich heritage and culture. Its roots […]
Read moreJanuary 4, 2022
Manon Steffan Ros
Manon Steffan Ros was born in Snowdonia and worked as an actress and musician before becoming a full-time writer. Manon has written over 23 books for adults and children in the Welsh language and has won the Wales Book of the Year for her adult fiction as well as being four-times winner of the Tir […]
Read moreDecember 1, 2021
Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson was born in West Wales, and grew up in Newcastle Emlyn, a small market town on the banks of the River Teifi. Welsh was her first language, and the language of her family, and in her writing about Wales she is conscious of the rhythms of her language even though she writes in […]
Read moreNovember 1, 2021
Max Boyce, MBE
Max Boyce, singer-songwriter, poet and entertainer, was born in the village of Glynneath, south Wales, where he still lives with his wife, Jean. Despite the fact that his father was killed in a mining explosion a month before Max was born, Max went on to work underground in the local colliery at the age of […]
Read moreOctober 1, 2021
Nicola Davies
Nicola Davies is an award-winning author, whose many books for children include The Promise, Tiny, A First Book of Nature and King of the Sky. Nicola graduated in Zoology from King’s College, University of Cambridge, and studied geese, bats and whales before becoming a presenter for The Really Wild Show and the BBC Natural History Unit. She has been […]
Read moreSeptember 6, 2021
Rachel Trezise
Since graduating in Journalism and English at Glamorgan University in 2000, Rachel Trezise has established herself as one of Britain’s most outstanding and original young writers. ‘Most of her writing is marked by her harrowing experiences growing up in the Welsh valleys, but there is a lot of diversity in the work she has published […]
Read moreAugust 2, 2021
Bethany W. Pope
Bethany W. Pope is a British-American who currently lives and works in China, having lived in Wales for several years while studying for their MA and PhD in Creative Writing at Trinity St. David (Carmarthen) and Aberystwyth universities. When awarded dual UK/US nationality and a British passport, Pope chose Wales as their adopted country. Pope’s […]
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