Calon
Welcome to Calon!
Calon is University of Wales Press’ non-fiction imprint that brings the many varied and fascinating stories of Wales to readers across the world. Our books cover a vast range of subjects; whether you’re interested in food or folklore, music or memoir, travel or nature writing, then Calon’s books are for you.
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Submissions
For all queries, contact: Abbie Headon, Publisher: abbie.headon@press.wales.ac.uk
Our proposal guidelines can be found here.
We are currently open to submissions from both agents and authors. We are looking for non-fiction books aimed at a general readership, with a link to Wales and/or Welsh history and culture. Calon books do not, however, have to be entirely focused on Wales and we welcome submissions from authors of all nationalities and backgrounds.
Not sure if your idea would be suitable? We are happy to have an initial discussion about your ideas before you submit a proposal. Please get in touch with Abbie to discuss further.
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Calon Titles Publishing Spring 2024
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Why Can’t I See My GP?
The Past, Present and Future of General Practice
by Dr Ellen Welch
February 2024 / £16.99 HB / 9781915279460
Seventy-five years after the NHS was created, Dr Ellen Welch lifts the curtain on general practice. She looks back on the profession pre-NHS, Aneurin Bevan’s role in the creation of the service, how the job has changed in the intervening years – particularly since the pandemic – and what the future of the profession might look like.
Poems from the Soul
Twelve of the Great Hymns of Wales
by M. Wynn Thomas
February 2024 / £12.99 HB / 9781837600113
Bringing together twelve of Wales’s best-loved hymns, from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, Poems from the Soul reveals the heart and soul of a people’s poetry. These are the poems of ordinary folk – blacksmiths, farmers and preachers – and they played a vital role in the creation of the Welsh people.
Tir
The Story of the Welsh Landscape
by Carwyn Graves
March 2024 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279668
In Tir, writer-ecologist Carwyn Graves takes us on a tour of seven key elements of the Welsh landscape, such as the ffridd, or mountain pasture, and the rhos, or wild moorland. By diving deep into the history and ecology of each of these landscapes, we discover that Wales, in all its beautiful variety, is at base just as much a human cultural creation as a natural phenomenon.
The Long Unwinding Road
A Journey Through the Heart of Wales
by Marc P. Jones
April 2024 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279583
If you want to see the whole of Wales, from cosmopolitan Cardiff in the south to the historic Victorian resorts of the north, there’s one road that will take you all the way: the A470. In the company of Gwendoline, his trusty but ancient scooter, travel writer Marc P. Jones follows the long unwinding road of the A470 on a quest to discover what makes his homeland tick.
Sheeplands
How Sheep Shaped Wales and the World
by Alan Marshall
April 2024 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279385
Sheeplands outlines journeys taken by sheep as they voyaged across the world, both by themselves and with human shepherds, from earliest human settlements to the present day. Along the way, Alan Marshall paints vivid portraits of roles sheep have played in the development of the modern world, in times of peace and war, describing how sheeplands might continue to do so in the future.
Seaglass
by Kathryn Tann
May 2024 / £16.99 HB / 9781915279620
In Seaglass, Kathryn Tann brings together moments such as these from her own life, blending creative non-fiction with nature writing and memoir, and portraying with powerful observation and moving honesty the journey of a young woman navigating modern adulthood.
Abandon All Hope
A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature
by Gary Raymond
May 2024 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279262
Taking in the history of Welsh writing in English from the legacy of the bardic tradition to contemporary experimental works, Abandon All Hope introduces Welsh literature in a way it has never been presented before – as cutting edge, experimental, vibrant, exciting, intimate, and with a multitude of voices.
Calon Titles Published Autumn 2023
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Gay Aliens and Queer Folk
How Russell T Davies Changed TV
by Emily Garside
September 2023 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279224
Gay Aliens and Queer Folk takes a deep dive into the queer narratives Russell T Davies has brought to our screens, exploring how each work created new space for LGBTQ+ stories to enter our living rooms and looking at their impact on the people who saw themselves reflected on mainstream television, often for the first time.
The Folklore of Wales
by Delyth Badder and Mark Norman
September 2023 / £14.99 HB / 9781915279507
Wales is a land with a vast wealth of ghost stories, including fantastical animals, flickering death omens and unseen things that go bump in the night. Whether these tales are based on true events, or are the creations of active imaginations, is known only to those who have experienced them – but what is certain is that their power to delight and scare us remains undimmed to this day.
Enchanted Wales
Myth and Magic in Welsh Storytelling
by Miranda Alhouse-Green
October 2023 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279187
Enchanted Wales is an invitation to voyage through the key stories of Welsh mythic literature, exploring not just their medieval texts but also their ancient roots, which can be glimpsed in sculptures, carvings and other artefacts from at least a thousand years earlier.
Calon Titles Published Spring 2023
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A Map of Love
Twelve Welsh poems of romance, desire and devotion
by M. Wynn Thomas
February 2023 / £9.99 HB / 9781915279439
A fascinating and exhilarating look at the many ways we love, and are loved. Following on from his bestselling History of Wales in 12 Poems, M Wynn Thomas turns his attention in A Map of Love to poems from Wales and reflects on what they have to say on the age-old subject of love in its many and varied forms.
Shaping the Wild
by David Elias
April 2023 / £18.99 HB / 9781915279347
What can one Welsh hill farm tell us about how we can help nature thrive? In this captivating debut, conservationist David Elias explores one a hill farm in Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park and what it can show us about the realities of farming and looking after nature in this environment.
Escape to Gwrych Castle
by Andrew Hesketh
June 2023 / £18.99 HB / 9781837600069
In 1939, a number of German Jewish refugee children, brought over on the Kindertransport, found themselves in Abergele, North Wales. Their temporary new home? Gwrych Castle, where a Hachshara was being set up: a residential ‘training centre’ aimed at preparing the Jewish children for life on a kibbutz in Israel, where they hoped to be reunited with their families. In this fascinating debut, Andrew Hesketh explores the lesser-told history of the children who lived in this North Wales castle, bringing together their personal memories and experiences to create a unique picture of their experiences.
Calon Titles Published in 2022
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Welsh Food Stories
by Carwyn Graves
May 2022 / £14.99 HB / 978-1-91527-900-2
An evocative and insightful exploration of the past, present and future of Welsh food. Carwyn Graves travels Wales to uncover the country’s traditional foods and tells the unique and compelling stories of the people making them today.
Return to My Trees
Notes from the Welsh Woodlands
by Matthew Yeomans
September 2022 / £18.99 HB / 978-1-915279-14-9
When and how did humans lose our connection with nature – and how do we find it again? Matthew Yeomans seeks to answer these questions as he walks more than 300 miles through the ancient and modern forests of Wales, losing himself in their stories (and on the odd unexpected diversion).
Rock Legends at Rockfield
by Jeff Collins
September 2022 / £16.99 PB / 978-1-91527-904-0
Go behind-the-scenes of the world-famous recording studios in Monmouth, where albums and songs such as Oasis’s What’s the Story (Morning Glory) and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody were recorded. First published in 2007, this edition has been fully revised and updated with exciting new interviews, anecdotes and images.
An Indigo Summer
by Ellie Evelyn Orrell
October 2022 / £14.99 HB / 978-1-91527-907-1
In the summer of 2017, Ellie Evelyn Orrell returned to her native North Wales, where she learnt the art of indigo dyeing from her grieving mother. This evocative memoir from a debut author weaves together mediations on landscape, family and the healing powers of art.
Wales on this Day
366 Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
by Huw Rees & Sian Kilcoyne
October 2022 / £12.99 HB / 978-1-915279-11-8
How are Jurassic Park and Jack Daniels whiskey linked to Wales? What was the motive for Wales’ last ever recorded pistol dual? And which town once had a horse as its prime minister (sort of)? This fun book offers 366 fascinating, inspiring and entertaining stories about Welsh history and culture that most history books leave out.
Calon is supported by the Books Council of Wales.