Thank you to everyone who came to the hometown launch of That Lone Ship at TechHub Swansea last Friday night. It was so nice to see so many people I know in the same room. Thanks also to Joe Bayliss for playing for us – ‘For You’ was on repeat in my (slightly hungover) head all Saturday morning.

Ann Bjerregaard has just posted a lovely write-up of the launch on the Parthian Books Intern Blog: "Poems acquire a certain intensity when read out loud in the place they are set, and through the poet’s powerful voice, Swansea became a charmed place." You can read the full write-up here: 
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https://parthianbooksinternblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/the-launch-of-that-lone-ship-by-rhys-owain-williams

Such a pleasure to read alongside five brilliant Parthian and Seren poets at the Cardiff Book Festival last night. That Lone Ship is launched! Thanks to everyone who came to support, and to everyone who bought a copy of the book.

Part of the evening was live-streamed on Parthian's Facebook page for those who couldn’t make it: facebook.com/parthianbooks/videos/237320710290528

At the beginning of this year I was appointed assistant editor of The Ghastling: a literary magazine dedicated to 'the macabre, ghosts and the oh-so strange'. I've been a big fan of the magazine since The Ghastling crypt first cracked open in 2014, so it was really exciting to be asked to join the team by editor Rebecca Parfitt.

My first Ghastling submission window – for a themed edition in celebration of the bicentenary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – was a baptism of fire, with sixty stories to choose from. I often ended up sat alone in my living room, reading long into the night. The shortlist of stories that I presented to Rebecca at the end of the process were the ones that had got under my skin – the ones that made me question if that really was the radiator rattling in the hallway. Eventually our combined shortlists were whittled down to ten stories, which were then sent off to Art Director Nathaniel Winter-Hébert so he could work his magic. The issue is now available to buy, and it’s so good to see this monster in print!

My debut poetry collection That Lone Ship is now available to pre-order on the Parthian Books website. Pick up a signed copy for £8 with free P&P (if you’d prefer a rare unsigned copy then let me know).

You can read some of the poems that will be included on my Poetry page.

www.parthianbooks.com/products/that-lone-ship

Had a lovely (albeit fleeting) trip to Laugharne yesterday to read at the Forecourt Fringe Festival. Squeezed in a poem about Under Milk Wood on the steps of Dylan’s BookBus too. Will definitely be back next year!

​Had a great time reading (and listening to the other poets Rhys Milsom, Paul Chambers and Susie Wild) at Milieu in Cardiff tonight. Cheers to Rhys Milsom for inviting me!

Photos taken by Susie Wild (unfortunately that's why there are none of Susie).

I'm really happy to have a haiku published in the first ever issue of Wales Haiku Journal. Edited by Paul Chambers, the journal is free to read online and they've just launched their inaugural edition.

waleshaikujournal.com/spring2018

Paul has outlined his exciting vision for this much-needed addition to the Welsh literary landscape in this article, published today by Wales Arts Review. That's well worth a read too.

Let the reordering madness begin...

My poem ‘The First Time’ has been included in this poetry showcase from New Welsh Review. There's also poems on the themes of love, loss, duality and release from Rhiannon Lloyd-Williams and Heidi Williamson. None of us are related (that I know of).