Poems from the Everyday: A new opportunity for emerging poets
For this course, we’re looking for poets who are under-represented within the poetry and publishing scene in Wales. Further guidance on this can be read in our FAQs section. Writers must be aged 18 or older at time of application. We’re particularly keen to receive applications from writers who have not previously benefited from a free-of-charge Literature Wales programme or retreat at Tŷ Newydd.
The Poems from the Everyday course will be tutored by some of Wales’ most exciting contemporary poets. Meleri Davies gives voice to love and loss through poetry that is both gentle and joyful while Rhian Elizabeth’s work is lyrical, witty and unapologetically honest. Both poets have a remarkable ability to capture the familiarity of everyday life in ways that stay with the reader long after reading. With this in mind, we encourage poets to submit creative work on themes relating to the deep highs and lows of the everyday. Whether it’s the frustration of running out of milk for your morning cuppa (again), the pain (and relief) of the end of a relationship, or a perspective on life in Wales.
Both Meleri and Rhian have previously taken part in writer development programmes associated with Literature Wales and look forward to passing on their learning to Wales’ emerging poets.
On the residency, writers will hone their craft through a variety of group workshops and exercises. They will receive individual advice and feedback from both tutors and will hear from representatives within the publishing and literature industry to learn about upcoming opportunities and career pathways. Additional speakers for the week will be announced in due course. Writers will also receive plenty of free time to explore the beautiful surroundings of Tŷ Newydd, enjoy homecooked food prepared by our resident chef, and relax in one of our libraries with your co-writers.
Literature Wales will continue to support each writer after the course, through a virtual follow up session with one of your tutors and an opportunity to meet up virtually six months after the course.
The deadline for applications is 5.00 pm on Wednesday 30 September 2026.
You can find more information about this opportunity, including FAQs, eligibility criteria and details on how to apply on the Poems from the Everyday course page. All documents are also available in large print and dyslexia-friendly formats.
We’re grateful to our funders who has made this opportunity possible: The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales.
More about your tutors and guest speaker:
Meleri Davies is a poet and writer from Dyffryn Ogwen. She has published her work in a number of publications and her first volume of poetry, Rhuo ei distawrwydd hi (Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp, 2024) won the Wales Book of the Year 2025 Welsh-language Poetry category. She is passionate about communities, sustainability and creativity, and for a decade led Partneriaeth Ogwen’s social enterprise developing important projects for the area, such as Ynni Ogwen. She now works freelance as a creative practitioner and community development consultant. Meleri has been appointed Artist in Service to Eryri National Park’s Plas y Bobl project, and is also working on both a novel with Gwasg y Bwthyn, and a monologue with Theatr Frân Wen which will be staged in January 2027.
Rhian Elizabeth is a trainee counsellor and a writer. Her debut novel, Six Pounds Eight Ounces, was published in 2014 by Seren Books and is currently being adapted for TV, and there are the poetry collections, the last polar bear on earth (Parthian Books 2018), and girls etc (Broken Sleep Books), which won the Wales Book Of The Year Poetry Award and the Nation Cymru People’s Choice Award 2025. Her prose and poetry have appeared in many magazines and anthologies worldwide and been listed in various competitions and prizes, recently being longlisted for the Plaza Poetry Prize and winning Verve Press’ poetry competition, as well as being featured on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. maybe i’ll call gillian anderson is her latest collection of poetry, published by Broken Sleep Books.