What’s On

25/25 Vision: Welsh Horizons across 50 years. This year, the IWA (Institute of Welsh Affairs) is celebrating its 25th birthday and has published a book to mark the occasion. The book features work by 25 prominent Welsh writers, such as Owen Sheers, Rhian Edwards and Patrick McGuinness and includes photographic portraits by photographer John Briggs. The 25/25 Exhibition will visit Barnabas Arts House between 28 May and 28 June. Free entry. For more information contact Janet Martin: 01633 264581 / j.martin208@ntlworld.com / www.barnabasartshouse.co.uk. In cooperation with Literature Wales, funded by H’mm Foundation.

Wales, Israel, Palestine. A Learned Society of Wales Lecture. Jasmine Donahaye discusses aspects of her book Whose People? Wales, Israel, Palestine (University of Wales Press),  exploring problems of Welsh colonialism, Christian Zionism, missionaries as protoethnographers, and the cultural uses of Semitic imaging. The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. 1.15 pm. Free. To book tickets, please phone: 01970 632 548 / www.llgc.org.uk/drwm

Screen of Brightness Launch. Join Fiona Owen & Meredith Andrea launching their collaborative collection. Free event with drinks. Palas Print, 170 Y Stryd Fawr Bangor. 6.30 p.m. For more information contact Jan Fortune: jan@cinnamonpress.com / www.cinnamonpress.com

Plas Dinam Day. Organised by the Gregynog Festival. The Festival opens with a rare opportunity to spend an afternoon at Plas Dinam, Llandinam, the childhood home of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, in the company of their biographer Trevor Fishlock and the poet Menna Elfyn. Gregynog Festival, Montgomeryshire. 2.00 pm. For more information please visit the website.

Neolithic Literary Anglesey with Rhys Mwyn and Fiona Collins. 10.30 am - 5.30 pm. Start/Finish point: Plas Newydd Car Oark, Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, LL61 6DQ. Ticket price: £14 (£12.50 concession). Prior booking is essential. For further information and to book, ring 029 2047 2266. This event forms part of Literature Wales' 2013 Literary Tourism Events Programme. In partnership with the National Trust, Cadw and The Anglesey Druid Order.

Môntage Launch. This is a unique collection of work by contemporary Anglesey writers, with illustrations by a local artist, and includes memoirs, ghost stories, history and poetry. It contains work in both Welsh and English. The anthology is being published with the assistance of the Arts Council of Wales through the Gwanwyn Festival, organised by Age Cymru. Town Hall, Llangefni. 7.00 pm. For more information please contact Môntage Writers: montagewriters@gmail.com / www.montagewriters.co.uk

Lucknow Ransom book signing with Glen Peters. Lucknow Ransom is the second in Glen’s Joan D’Silva detective series and returns to the beautiful widow as, fearing for her life, she is forced to flee Calcutta with her son. Inspired by Glen’s own youth in Lucknow, India, this is a witty and vivid tale of intrigue, immersed in the sights, sounds, and tastes of 1960’s India. There will be Indian snacks and wine available, and all are welcome. Waterstones, Carmarthen. 4.45 pm. For more information please contact Carly Holmes: goblinholmes@mypostoffice.co.uk  

Stories Are For Sharing! Organised by Beyond the Border. For this family show Cardiff-based storyteller Richard Berry, who has been telling tales for over 20 years, introduces us to some of his favourite tales. Glanfa Stage, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. 12.00 pm. Free admission. For more information please visit www.beyondtheborder.com

Awkward Turtle Flips the Bird. Lexicographer and man-of-the-arts, Terry Victor, editor of the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, is attempting to turn the page and stage a dictionary. Impossible, you cry! Certainly, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, it’s not been done before.  Three performances at Chapter, Cardiff. Admission is free but tickets are limited. Details from Chapter’s Box Office: 02920 311050 / www.chapter.org

Imagistic: Cardiff Flash Fiction Day. A collaboration between writers and artists including Philip Gross, Mary Lloyd Jones, Patrick McGuinness and Ivy Alvarez. Artists were invited to send images to writers; the writers then chose an image, and responded with a piece of flash fiction: a translation from the language of image into the language of words. At the event, the writers will read their new flash fictions, while the images are projected. This happens on the UK-wide National Flash Fiction Day. Chapter, Cardiff. 7.00 pm. Admission: £2. Extracts from the works in progress can be viewed here. For more information please contact Chapter: 029 2030 4400 / enquiry@chapter.org / website

Graduate College Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Symposium: CONSTRUCTING IDENTITIES AND CHANGING SPACES IN WALES. Keynote Speaker: Prof. Damian Walford Davies. This symposium will explore how Welsh identities have been constructed, represented, and transformed through history. Cardiff University. Submissions are invited that engage with any aspect of Welsh identity (or identities) and the transformations that it has undergone in and through time. Proposals for 20-minute papers (in either English or Welsh) should be sent to Siriol McAvoy and Lisa Sheppard (Identities@cardiff.ac.uk). DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: MONDAY 15 APRIL 2013.  For more information, visit constructingidentitiescardiff.wordpress.com

Lucknow Ransom book launch with Pembrokeshire based writer, Glen Peters. Lucknow Ransom is the second in Glen’s Joan D’Silva detective series and returns to the beautiful widow as, fearing for her life, she is forced to flee Calcutta with her son. Inspired by Glen’s own youth in Lucknow, India, this is a witty and vivid tale of intrigue, immersed in the sights, sounds, and tastes of 1960’s India. Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, London WIG 7LP. For more information please contac: chrisburtonuk@gmail.com

RS Thomas Day. Gregynog Festival presents a day programme to honour the centenary of RS Thomas. The day will feature a guided walk of Manafon and New Mills, led by Professor Tony Brown and presented in association with Literature Wales; a pre-concert talk by Professor M. Wynn Thomas, author of the new Thomas biography, Serial Obsessive; and a Concert by the cellist Guy Johnston. For more information and to book tickets visit the website

Poetry, People, Place. A day conference looking at ‘Top Church’ not just as a fine example of the work of the remarkable architect William Butterfield, but connecting it to the community through poetry and local history. With star speakers Gillian Clarke (National Poet of Wales), Alan Thorne  (local historian) and Phil Thomas (architectural historian). St Augustine’s Church, Penarth. 10.15 am – 3.30pm. Tickets: £15 (including lunch) / £7 (without lunch). For more information please contact the Friends of St Augustine’s: 02920 707828 / richardgriffiths473@btinternet.com

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru: Vangst / Rhwydo. Presented by Pontio. Immersive, physical theatre adapted from the original Dutch and performed in three languages. Wednesday 26 – 7pm, Thursday 27 – 2pm and 7pm, Friday 28 – 2pm and 7pm, Saturday 29 – 11am and 2pm. Old Bowling Green, Bangor. Tickets: £9 / £7. Tickets can be purchased via the website www.pontio.co.uk or the box office at 01248 382828. Any further information can be obtained by calling the Pontio marketing team on 01248 388421.

Friends of Oriel y Parc 'John Piper Inspired' Painting Competiton Exhibition. Inspired by Oriel y Parc’s 2012 Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales exhibition, John Piper: The Mountains of Wales, the Friends of Oriel y Parc held a painting competition last September and an exhibiton of the paintings entered will be shown alongside the winners of the painting competition, Celia Vodden and the winner of the photography competition Bríd Wyldearth. The exhibition will be at Oriel y Parc, St Davids, Pembrokeshire from 15 May to 30 June. For more information contact Oriel y Parc: 01437 720392/ info@orielyparc.co.uk / website

Susanna Gregory discussing creation of storyline and plot for novels. 7 p.m. Committee Room 1, County Hall, Oystermouth Road, Swansea. Event organised by the Swansea and District Writers' Circle. £2.50 for the general public. Contact: Alan Bryant 01792 526365 alan.bryant@ntlworld.com Supported by Literature Wales.

RS Thomas ‘Stations’ Pilgrimage & Poetry. A guided walk to significant places around the church, with  readings of RS'  poems from the collection Etched by Silence compiled by Jim Cotter (retired  vicar of St Hywyn). St Hywyn's church Aberdaron, the last parish of RS Thomas. 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm. For more details contact Susan Fogarty 01758 770654 / email: penrallt@aol.com / website: www.st-hywyn.org.uk

NaCOT - On the Border event with Jackie Kay & Samantha Wynne Rhydderch. The Drill Hall, Lower Church St., Chepstow NP16 5HJ. 7.30 pm. Tickets: £12 (£10 concs). For more information visit www.poetryontheborder.org

Submarine Swansea with Joe Dunthorne and Craig Roberts. 11.00 am - 1.00 pm (film screening); 2.00 pm - 6.00 pm (tour). Start/Finish point: Outside The Dylan Thomas Centre, Somerset Place, Swansea, SA1 1RR. Ticket price: £5 (£4 concession) - film screening only; £11 (£9 concession) - tour only; £15 (£13 concession) - film screening & tour. Prior booking is essential. For further information and to book, ring 029 2047 2266. This event forms part of Literature Wales' 2013 Literary Tourism Events Programme. In partnership with the Film Agency for Wales & The Dylan Thomas Centre.

The Arthur Machen Weekend – A Literary Appreciation. The Caerleon Arts Festival celebrates Arthur Machen’s 150th Anniversary.
Saturday 6. Godfrey Brangham, Catherine Fisher, Rev. Mark Lawson Jones, Merlin Coverley, Robert Kingham, Gwilym Games. Priory Hotel Gardens, Caerleon. £2.00 per speaker or £10 for day.
Saturday 6. A selection of local stories by Arthur Machen read by Goff Morgan in the house where the writer was born. 7.30 p.m. Tickets £4.00 limited to 20.
Sunday 7. The Machen Country walk. Walk and readings through the Sor Valley. Followed by lunch at Llansor Mill. Tickets £8.00. (lunch included) Limited to 35.
For further information contact: richardframe@hotmail.co.uk /  www.caerleon-arts.org

Surf Seminar. The Poetics of Medicine: Searching for a Common Language or Where Does A Writer Stand In A University? A seminar with Graham Hartill, Swansea College of Medicine’s Writer in Residence. In this seminar, Graham will discuss the notion of “poetic enquiry” and the role of the spoken and written word in non-literary disciplines. Fulton House, Swansea University. 12.30 pm - 2.00 pm. Please book by contacting: v.i.davies@swansea.ac.uk

Arthur Machen Reading. A selection of Arthur Machen’s London works read by Robert Kingham. Old Baptist Chapel, Caerleon. 7.30pm. Tickets: £4.00 limited to 20. For further information contact: richardframe@hotmail.co.uk /  www.caerleon-arts.org

Bath House Bards with Danny Abse and guests. A Caerleon Arts Festival Literary Event. Poetry in the Roman Baths. Ticket prices to be announced. For more information, visit  www.caerleon-arts.org

Open Mic Night with Katherine Stansfield. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. Free entry. Please contact Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.

Poetry in the Baths - Bathhouse Bards. An evening of poetry reading given by Dannie Abse supported by members of UWN Young Scribblers' Society - a group of literature undergraduates. 7 p.m. Caerleon Roman Baths. Tickets £5/further information from: www.caerleon-arts.org Tourist Information Centre 01633 422656 Rafi Goldsmith 01633 430271 Ffwrwm Arts & Crafts High St. NP18 1AG

The Young Storyteller of Wales Festival 2013. This festival will take place at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod as part of Family Day. This is the seventh annual celebration of young storytellers between 8 and 18 years old here in Wales. Llangollen, LL20 8TG. 2.30 pm. Full details and entry forms available from: fiona.storyteller@btinternet.com Supported by Beyond the Border, Courtyard Books, Literature Wales, The Traditional Arts Team and Venue Cymru. 

An Evening with John Hegley. A Caerleon Arts Festival Literary Event. The Town Hall, Caerleon. Tickets: £12. For more information, visit  www.caerleon-arts.org

Meet the Authors. A Caerleon Arts Festival Literary Event with Phil Carradice, Jasper Fforde, M.R.Hall, Bernard Knight, Grant Sutherland. Chaired by Adrian Masters. Priory Hotel Gardens, Caerleon. Tickets: £2.00 per writer or £8.00 for the day. For more information, visit  www.caerleon-arts.org

The 2nd Annual ‘All Wales Comic Verse Competition Final’. Hosted by Goff Morgan. Priory Hotel Gardens, Caerleon. Tickets: £3.00, free under 16. For more information, visit  www.caerleon-arts.org

Storytelling @ Milgis with guest storyteller Antony Nanson and guest musician David Metcalfe. Milgi Lounge, 213 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3JD. For more information visit www.milgilounge.com / 029 2047 3150

Canoeing in Dylan Thomas' Taf Estuary and/or Dylan Thomas' New York Treat with John Goodby and Jeff Towns. 3.00 pm - 5.30 pm (canoe); 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm (New York Treat). Start/Finish point: Start - Dylan Thomas Boathouse, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, SA33 4SD / Finish - Launching platform, Laugharne (canoe); Wright's Independent Food Emporium, Cwmtwrch Farm, Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire, SA32 7NY. Ticket price: £27 (£25 concession) - canoe only; £22 (£20 concession) - New York treat only / includes food; £44 (£42 concession) - both. Prior booking is essential. For further information and to book, ring 029 2047 2266. This event forms part of Literature Wales' 2013 Literary Tourism Events Programme. In partnership with the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, CREW/Richard Burton Centre Swansea University & Canoe Wales.

Digital Publishing. The course (held on 18, 19, 25 and 26 July) introduces publishers, journalists and design professionals to the practical techniques of developing and distributing e-books and e-magazines. It explores e-book markets, budgeting for development and production and design and provides participants with a hands-on experience of creating e-publications. University of South Wales, Newport City Campus. 9.30 am – 5.00 pm. A confirmed place on this requires a contribution of £50 towards training cost. For more information, contact Skillset Academi+: 01633 432342 / Alex.Leadley@southwales.ac.uk

Reading at the Llangollen Fringe Festival. Childe Roland will be reading from his recent work Trees. Memorial Hall, Llangollen. 2.00 pm. For more information contact Llangollen Fringe: contact@llangollenfringe.co.uk / 0800 1455 779

Writing Audio Drama. This course (held on 13, 14, 27 and 28 July) is aimed at anyone interested in writing as a career, with a particular emphasis on audio drama. Participants will have some professional or academic experience of playwriting or screenwriting. The course is taught through a combination of lectures, writing workshops and personal tutorials by Lucy Gough and Peter Leslie Wild. Aberystwyth University. 9.30 am – 5.00 pm each day. Cost: A confirmed place on this requires a contribution of £50 towards training cost. You must live and/or work in the convergence region of Wales to be eligible to attend our courses. For more information please contact Skillset Academi+: 01633 432342 / Alex.Leadley@southwales.ac.uk

Lantern Lit: Poetry and Prose Afternoons with novelist VG Lee. Tywyn Cinema, Gwynedd. 4 for 4.30 pm. Tickets: £4 (pay on door). VG Lee will lead a writing workshop at 2.00 pm (£10) before her reading. For more information please contact Helen Sandler: helensandler@gmail.com / leave a message with the cinema - 01654 710260. www.tywyncinema.co.uk

“Ice Dance” Private View. Rona Campbell’s stunning fine art photography of ice in Wales. Extraordinary fronds of ice and crystals photographed in Wales’ rivers, waterfalls, lakes and bogs. Rona will read a selection of the poems written during the Ice Dance project at the Private View. The White Room, Swansea Grand Theatre. 6.30 pm – 9.00 pm. Exhibition open from 30th July – 16 August. For more information contact Rona Campbell: ronacampbell@talktalk.net / www.ronacampbell.co.uk An Arts Council Wales supported project.

Small Farms: Landscape Writing Programme. Last in a series of poetry workshops tutored by Christine Thatcher and Emma Metcalfe. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Ciliau, Erwood, Builth Wells. For more information, contact Roger Capps guntower@hotmail.co.uk www.smallfarms.eu/ciliau Supported by Literature Wales.

RS Thomas ‘Stations’ Pilgrimage & Poetry. A guided walk to significant places around the church, with  readings of RS'  poems from the collection Etched by Silence compiled by Jim Cotter (retired  vicar of St Hywyn). St Hywyn's church Aberdaron, the last parish of RS Thomas. 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm. For more details contact Susan Fogarty 01758 770654 / email: penrallt@aol.com / website: www.st-hywyn.org.uk

 Open Mic Night with Anne Cluysenaar. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. Free entry. Please contact Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.

Writing sci fi and working past writers' block. Deconstructing conventional barriers when writing science fiction with Rhys Hughes. 7 p.m. Committee Room 1, County Hall, Oystermouth Road, Swansea. Event organised by the Swansea and District Writers' Circle. Contact: Alan Bryant 01792 526365 alan.bryant@ntlworld.com Supported by Literature Wales.

RS Thomas ‘Stations’ Pilgrimage & Poetry. A guided walk to significant places around the church, with  readings of RS'  poems from the collection Etched by Silence compiled by Jim Cotter (retired  vicar of St Hywyn). St Hywyn's church Aberdaron, the last parish of RS Thomas. 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm. For more details contact Susan Fogarty 01758 770654 / email: penrallt@aol.com / website: www.st-hywyn.org.uk

RS Thomas' Eglwysfach and the Birds of Ynys-Hir with Damian Walford Davies. 2.00 pm - 5.30 pm. Start/Finish point: Ynys-hir Nature Reserve, Eglwysfach, Ceredigion, SY20 8TA. Ticket price: £8 (£6.50 concession). Prior booking is essential. For further information and to book, ring 029 2047 2266. This event forms part of Literature Wales' 2013 Literary Tourism Events Programme and is part of the Eglwysfach Literature Festival weekend. In partnership with Church in Wales & the RSPB.

Llanwddyn day of Folk and Acoustic Music. A day of concerts, poetry and crafts, featuring poetry from Les Barker. Llanwddyn Community Village Hall, Powys. Please visit our website for full information about the venue, artists and including how to obtain your tickets. www.llanwddynevents.co.uk or if you don't have a computer please call 01691 870501 We look forward to seeing you there. 

Awaken Your Creativity Through Sound. A weekend of tutor-led workshops in poetry and prose, interwoven with gong baths and sound bites. In the heart of the peaceful Pembrokeshire countryside. With Creative Writing tutor Lynda Nash, and Gong Practitioner and Sound Healer Sally Davies. Penquoit Centre, Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire, SA68 0PL. £150 per person *£50 deposit please / £120 early bird if booked by 1 July. Cost includes all activities, 2 nights dormitory accommodation, breakfast, lunch and evening meals. For more information or to book please contact: Sally: saldavies@hotmail.com; 07766213606 / Lynda: nashlynda@gmail.com; 07752508518 / website

Medieval Literature and Arthurian Legends at St. Asaph and Holywell with Raluca Radulescu. 10.30 am - 3.30 pm. Start/Finish point: Car park (directly opposite St. Asaph Cathedral), Upper Denbigh Road, St. Asaph, Denbighshire, LL17 0RD. Ticket price: £8.50 (£7.50 concession). Prior booking is essential. For further information and to book, ring 029 2047 2266. This event forms part of Literature Wales' 2013 Literary Tourism Events Programme. In partnership with Cadw and Bangor University.

Teifi Writers. A series of creative writing workshop led by poet Paul Henry. 2-4 p.m. Tysul Hall, Llandysul. Refreshments available. £30 for 4 workshops. Visitors pay £10 for 1 session. For more information, contact Kelly Yamazaki 01267 235336 yamazaki.kelly@yahoo.co.uk Supported by Literature Wales.

Lantern Lit: Poetry and Prose Afternoons with The Word Distillery - poets from Aberystwyth. Tywyn Cinema, Gwynedd. 4 for 4.30 pm. Tickets: £4 (pay on door). For more information please contact Helen Sandler: helensandler@gmail.com / leave a message with the cinema - 01654 710260. www.tywyncinema.co.uk

The Collective. Poetry readings by Lee Harwood, Peter Finch and Frank Olding. 8 p.m. Hen & Chicks, Flannel Street, Abergavenny. £5 entry. For more information contact: Ric Hool 01495 292271 Richardhool05@aol.com Supported by Literature Wales.

'Red Poets 19' launch. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. £5 entry, which includes a free copy of the magazine. Please contact Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.

Daring to be Different. Sally Spedding will explore methods on how both first-time writers and those more experienced but stuck in a rut, can free up their imaginations and also dredge what makes them unique, to create original, memorable crime fiction. It's a crowded market place, but publishers often don't know what they want till they read it. And too often, readers are sold short. 7 p.m. Committee Room 1, County Hall, Oystermouth Road, Swansea. Visitors first visit free then £3 thereafter. Organised by the Swansea and District Writers' Circle. Contact: Alan Bryant alan.bryant@ntlworld.com Supported by Literature Wales.

'Letter From the Future' Reading. Sustainable Wales present John Barnie reading his Letter from the Future. 'Sustainable Wales'  5, James St., Porthcawl CF36 3BG. 8.00pm. All welcome. For further information contact Robert Minhinnick: 01656 783962 / robertm@phonecoop.coop Supported by Literature Wales.

Open Mic Night with Dai George. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. Free entry. Please contact: Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.

Ty'n y Coed Writing Course. Join Cinnamon Press founder and editor, Jan Fortune and North Wales writer, Pete Marshall for an inspiring week of creative writing workshops, individual mentoring and inspiration from the stunning scenery of Snowdonia in the company of a small group of writers. 9-14 November. Ty’n y Coed, Conwy. Cost: £500 (for a single room). For more information visit the Cinnamon Press website / email: jan@cinnamonpress.com

Open Mic Night with Tim Liardet. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. Free entry. Please contact Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.

Lantern Lit: Poetry and Prose Afternoons with Jay Griffiths, non-fiction author of Kith and Wild. Tywyn Cinema, Gwynedd. 4 for 4.30 pm. Tickets: £4 (pay on door). For more information please contact Helen Sandler: helensandler@gmail.com / leave a message with the cinema - 01654 710260. www.tywyncinema.co.uk

Open Mic Night with Paul Steffan Jones. The Imperial Hotel, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8UH. Free entry.
Please contact Gus Payne: 01685 725382 / gus.payne@merthyr.gov.uk.