A collection of new contemporary short stories by Welsh writers, representing the winners of the 2022 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition.
Family connections, unconventional friendships, love and loss: the twelve stories in this collection of new contemporary fiction by the winners of the 2022 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition present characters seeking solace, self-discovery and self-fulfilment as they navigate familiar and unfamiliar territory.
Two sisters search for the last available Christmas tree while coming to terms with their mother’s death; a stammering teen hitches a lift with a Welsh Elvis; a man participates in his ‘endgame’; and a teacher and pupil create their very own time machine. From hillside encounters to conversations in homes, shops and on the street, these are stories about people and place, about relationships and revelations, peppered with memories and re-imaginings. These are stories where some voices are silenced and others get to sing.
The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style by writers aged 18 or over who were born in Wales, have lived in Wales for two years or more, or are currently living in Wales. Originally established in 1991, Parthian is delighted to publish the 2022 winning stories on behalf of the Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Swansea University’s Cultural Institute.
Previous winners of the prize have included Leonora Brito, Lewis Davies, Tristan Hughes and Kate Hamer.
Authors in this anthology: Lindsay Gillespie, Bethan James, Meredith Miller, Laura Morris, Jonathan Page, Matthew G. Rees, Eryl Samuel, Matthew David Scott, Carys Shannon, Anthony Shapland, Satterday Shaw, and Daniel Patrick Luke Strogen.
Circa l’autore
Rachel Trezise’s debut novel In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl won a place on the Orange Futures List in 2002 and is now part of the Library of Wales series. In 2006 her short story collection Fresh Apples won the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her second collection Cosmic Latte won the Edge Hill Prize Readers’ Award in 2013 while her travel memoir Dial M for Merthyr won the Max Boyce Award. Her first play Tonypandemonium was produced by the National Theatre of Wales and won the Theatre Critics for Wales Award for best production. We’re Still Here was also produced by the National Theatre of Wales in 2017 while Cotton Fingers toured Wales, Ireland and Scotland, receiving a Summerhall Lustrum Award at the Edinburgh Festival. Her most recent novel is Easy Meat. She lives in the Rhondda.