John E. Rees is a fiction writer based in Capel Curig, North Wales. His work explores the intersections of history, memory, and the human spirit, drawing deeply on the landscapes and communities of Wales.
His debut novel, Unseen Souls, follows the life of Eliza Turner, a working-class girl from Dowlais who overcomes hardship and prejudice to become an artist exposing the realities of industrial Britain. Rooted in the ironworks and chapels of nineteenth-century Merthyr, the novel reflects Rees’s longstanding interest in industrial history and the resilience of Welsh communities.
Rees is also developing The Casebook of Owain Morgan, a series of historical mystery novels set in late Victorian Wales. The stories follow Ieustin Owain Morgan, a fictional professor of forensic psychology at the imaginary University College Morlan, whose investigations combine emerging psychological science with the cultural and historical textures of North Wales. Blending philosophy, psychology, and mystery, the series draws on Rees’s interest in how ideas shape human behaviour and society.
Beyond fiction, Rees writes essays on political language, authoritarianism, and the power of narrative. His ongoing series, The Meaning Wars, examines how words are reshaped to serve power in the modern world, drawing inspiration from George Orwell and other critical voices. He is also interested in everyday philosophy, connecting timeless questions to the challenges of twenty-first-century life.
Alongside his writing, Rees is a keen photographer, with a particular interest in minimalism, and is currently working on a creative project that blends botanical study with personal reflection. His varied creative pursuits reflect a central thread in his work: the search for clarity, meaning, and the endurance of the human spirit in times of change.
Rees lives in Capel Curig with his wife and their ‘active’ spaniel, Florence.
