The Writers of Wales Database

ROWE, ANITA

Tel: 01758 741002
Email: anita.rowe1@btinternet.com
Website: www.anitarowe.blogspot.com
For event booking details click here

Anita Rowe (néé Smalley) was born in Pwllheli, Gwynedd and educated at Pwllheli Grammar School, Bangor Normal College and London University. Married in 1961, she had three children and was divorced in 1981. Having lived in England for nearly 40 years, working first as a teacher and then as an author and freelance journalist, she returned to her roots on the Llŷn Peninsula in 1998 with her second husband. They live in a Victorian house overlooking Cardigan Bay and enjoy having their nine grandchildren to stay, but not all at once.

Anita has written novels for teenagers: Green Fingers & Grit (Terrapin Books pb 1981), Stepsisters (Pan Books pb and Severn House hb 1986), A Chance to Dream (Pan Books pb 1988) which have been translated into German, Dutch and Slovenian, all under the name Anita Davies. She has also had three further teenage novels published only in Germany by Cora Verlag. She has contributed news features to local and national newspapers and had short stories, fiction serials and articles published in several teenage and women’s magazines, as well as writing for trade magazines. She has had poems published in Envoi and has been a regular monthly contributor on ’writing for children’ to Writers’ News and Writing Magazine for the past eight years. She is always interested in seeing newly published books for children with a view to reviewing them in these publications. Since returning to Wales Anita has begun writing articles in Welsh for Llanw Llŷn and has recently contributed short stories in English to Honno anthologies. Her family saga set on the Llŷn Peninsula was put on hold while she studied for an MA in writing. Anita has written her memoir of two years at an English boarding school - a culture shock for a totally Welsh-speaking child - begun during her MA course, and is now seeking a publisher.

Anita  has taught creative writing at the Queen Elizabeth College in Gainsborough, the Robert Pattinson Adult Education Centre, North Hykeham, Lincoln, and taught on a residential course at Ty Newydd in Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd as well as running several writing workshops in schools. More recently she has led writing workshops at Tremadog and run a therapeutic writing group for the National Schizophrenic Fellowship Cymru at Porthmadog. She has also  been a tutor on the Writers’ News ’Writing for Children’ Distance Learning Course, and is currently available to lead courses and workshops for adults or children throughout Wales. She recently received an MA in Writing from the University of Wales. Anita is a Member of Academi.   

Selected Publications:
Green Fingers & Grit (Terrapin, 1981)
Stepsisters (Pan Books, 1986)
Stepsisters (Severn House, 1986)
A Chance to Dream (Pan Books, 1988)

Contributed to:
Laughing not Laughing (contributor) (Honno, 2004)
Anthology of Crime Stories (contributor) (Honno, 2009)