The Writers of Wales Database

MARTELL, OWEN

Email: owen@thisisom.com
Website: http://www.owenmartell.com

Born in Exeter, Owen grew up in Pontneddfechan, South Wales. He went to Aberystwyth and Oxford Universities, and then worked for a while as a sports reporter for the BBC. Owen was Wales Book of the Year Winner 2001 and short–listed for Wales Book of the Year in 2004.

Reviews
With respect to Dyn yr Eiliad (Gomer, 2003):

“…Remarkable. In every way…It seems Owen Martell received a bursary to write this novel. I don’t know how much that cost the Arts Council of Wales, but it was worth every penny…In my opinion, don’t bother giving this novelist any more individual grants – give him a pension for life so that we can have more material like Dyn yr Eiliad…”
Grahame Davies, BBC Online

“…A book of incredible ambition…full of piercingly perceptive insight into the games people play...I for one can still hear the quiet music of this writing long after reading it, a prose insistent and sustaining. It’s a meditation on the threads and ties that bind us to each other and it makes for a memorable tapestry...”
Jon Gower, New Welsh Review

Selected Publications:
Cadw dy ffydd, brawd (Gomer, 2000)
Dyn yr Eiliad (Gomer, 2003)
Dolenni Hud (Gomer, 2008)

Dyn yr Eiliad (Gomer, 2003)

An unusual and powerful novel exploring the complex relationship between three young persons as two of them try to analyse their tri-angular relationship following the death of one of the three.

To purchase the title from gwales.com, please click on the cover

Eligible Writers on Tour subjects offered:

1. Readings from/discussions of own work
2. Creative writing workshops.

AGE RANGE: older secondary school (yrs 11-13) / adults