I was recently asked to contribute to Wales Arts Review​'s new series of literary vignettes, and you can now read my rambling, diary entry of a vignette on their website: www.walesartsreview.org/vignette-calling-for-the-good-old-days

In the teenage years before I started reading poetry, I probably would have called Pete Doherty a poet – in that way that Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan are called poets, the way that angered Gregory Corso. Calling a lyricist a ‘poet’ is a way that people attempt to legitimise their craft – as if writing songs is a lesser art.
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These vignettes "provide glimpses into the thinking of Welsh writers and their experiences; from the day-to-day to the extraordinary." I've been enjoying reading this series so far – thanks to Wales Arts Review for asking me to contribute.

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

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

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.

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).

My poem 'The Walk to Work' has been included in the latest Cheval anthology, published by Parthian. Cheval is the anthology of the Terry Hetherington Award, which has become known as one of the most significant awards for young writers in Wales. Now in its 10th year, the award was set up in memory of the Welsh poet Terry Hetherington, who died in 2007.

It was lovely to read at the launch of the anthology in Swansea last Friday, where I met many of the wonderful people associated with the award. I was also pleased to be reading alongside my fellow Hay Festival Writers at Work Rhian Elizabeth and Philip Jones. Perhaps the highlight of the night, though, was being drawn by the supremely talented Siôn Tomos Owen. Thanks Siôn!

You can order a copy of Cheval #10 from Parthian's website: ​parthianbooks.com 

Edit: A review of the Cheval launch has since been published by Wales Arts Review. Read that here: walesartsreview.org/cheval-10-spoken-word-night
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I've been a Popshot reader since their first issue, so I'm really happy to have a poem published in their latest. Thanks to editor Jacob Denno for choosing it, and to the talented Zach Meyer for the accompanying illustration.

Originally focused on poetry alone, Popshot relaunched in 2012 with the strapline 'The Illustrated Magazine of New Writing' to include short stories and flash fiction. Each issue is centred on a theme, with illustrations accompanying each piece of writing. The theme of Issue #17 is 'Future'.

Pick up a copy of the Future Issue at popshotpopshot.com

 I have three poems in the latest issue of The Gull magazine. One of the poems is, perhaps confusingly, called 'Gull'. The other two are, less confusingly, called 'Drowned' and 'Victoria Park, 5 a.m.'

You can read the whole issue for free here: thegullmagazine.wordpress.com

First published in 2016, The Gull calls itself "the greatest literary and cultural magazine ever to be edited by a seagull." I don't think you'll find many people who would dispute that. However, despite being only two issues old, The Gull has already featured some exceptional writing. Take a look at Gillian Clarke's poem 'Storwm Awst', published in Issue #1, to see what I mean.  

Thanks to editor Christopher Cornwell for first encouraging me to submit to The Gull and then publishing my poems.