Elaine Canning

A Dictionary of Light: The Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology

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This book will be released in November 2024.

Pre-orders are charged at time of order and the book will be posted to you as soon as it becomes available.

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EDITED BY ELAINE CANNING

JUDGED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY REBECCA F. JOHN

‘The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition never fails to attract writers of the highest quality, and this year has proven no exception. Among the stories I was honoured to select for the shortlist are tales which vary from the deeply personal to the pseudo academic, which are told from the human perspective and the elephant, and which are structured both traditionally and experimentally. What made each of these often very different stories stand out was that the themes explored, however obliquely, rang out with an honesty and humanity which is the great writer’s truest gift. I’m excited for them to find their readership.’ – Rebecca F. John

In these twelve bold, tender, brilliant stories from the winners of the 2024 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, adults, children – and even an elephant – are challenged by ghosts of the past and a longing for friendship, meaning and connection as they try to make sense of their worlds.

A group of lads unite on a bridge in the most horrific of circumstances; a family day out to celebrate the mid-harvest festival of Mabon does not go to plan; a research scientist grapples with the ethics of memory harvesting; one man tries to rebuild friendship through fishing; and a dancer disillusioned by broken dreams resorts to desperate means on board a ship. Here, lives are in transition – between cultures and language, past and present, dreams and reality. Characters, scarred and vulnerable, wander, and wonder.

The stories within this collection, both traditional and experimental, present life in its myriad beautiful, heart wrenching, truthful forms.

The Rhys Davies Short Story Competition recognises the very best unpublished short stories in English in any style by writers aged 18 or over who were born in Wales, have lived in Wales for two years or more, or are currently living in Wales. Originally established in 1991, Parthian is delighted to publish the 2024 winning stories on behalf of the Rhys Davies Trust and in association with Swansea University’s Cultural Institute.

Previous winners of the prize have included Leonora Brito, Tristan Hughes, Kate Hamer, Laura Morris and Matthew G. Rees.

Authors in this anthology: Brennig Davies, Morgan Davies, Kamand Kojouri, Dave Lewis, Kapu Lewis, Lloyd Lewis, Polly Manning, Siân Marlow, Keza O’Neill, Tanya Pengelly, Anthony Shapland, and Jo Verity.

Originally from Belfast, Elaine Canning is a festival and literary prize director, writer and editor living in Swansea, south Wales. She is currently Director of Swansea University’s Cultural Institute and the Dylan Thomas Prize. As well as having written a monograph and papers on Spanish Golden-Age drama, she has published several short stories. Her debut novel, The Sandstone City, published with Aderyn Press in November 2022. She is also editor of Maggie O’Farrell: Contemporary Critical Perspectives (Bloomsbury, 2024). In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales for leadership in public engagement and understanding.
Twitter: @elaine_canning. Instagram: @ecanning9123. Website: www.elainecanning.co.uk

Rebecca F. John is the author of five books for adults – Clown’s Shoes, The Haunting of Henry Twist, The Empty Greatcoat, Fannie, and Vulcana. She has previously been shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the Costa First Novel Award, and the Wales Book of the Year Award. In 2022, she published her first children’s book, a middle-grade novel called The Shadow Order, with Firefly Press. Rebecca lives in Swansea with her partner, their sons, and their dogs. She loves walking, the sea, and reading about as many different worlds as possible.

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