Meic Stephens, who passed away this week, made a huge and vital contribution to the development of the University of Wales Press as both an author and an editor. Along with R. Brinley Jones, he established the pioneering series ‘Writers of Wales’ in 1970, which he edited for over forty years – a period that
The University of Wales Press would like to congratulate Professor M. Wynn Thomas on winning the 2018 Wales Book of the Year Award for Creative Non-Fiction with his book, All That Is Wales: The Collected Essays of M. Wynn Thomas. The Wales Book of the Year Award is presented annually to the best Welsh-language and
Diana Wallace introduces her new book in the Writers of Wales series, Christopher Meredith. The inspiration for this book came out of a kind of joke against myself. Talking to Professor Jane Aaron, one of the editors of the Writers of Wales series, I remarked that it was surely high time for a volume in
Evan T. Jones introduces the new edited volume, The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: Trade, Politics and Shipping in the Mid-Fifteenth Century. Ships have always played a prominent role in the popular imagination, and not just of seafaring communities. From the Ancient world to modern times, ships were the largest, most expensive and most
Lisa Lewis introduces Performing Wales: People: Memory and Place. Performing Wales: People, Memory and Place, begins from the premise that culture can be analysed in terms of performance, and focuses on four distinct areas of Welsh culture – Museum, Heritage, Festival and Theatre – in which performance helps to sustain specific relationships between people, memory
Patrick B. Sharp introduces Darwinian Feminism and Early Science Fiction: Angels, Amazons, and Women. Despite all the work that has been done on women’s SF over the past two decades, I still hear people at conferences state with confidence that women didn’t publish – or were excluded from publishing – in SF magazines before the Second World
On the fiftieth anniversary of May ’68, Chris Reynolds introduces his book Memories of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus. The commemorative fervour currently sweeping France on the topic of mai 68 is further confirmation of the thesis set out in Memories of May ’68: France’s Convenient Consensus. In it, I outline and analyse the role the
Laura Wainwright introduces her new book, New Territories in Modernism: Anglophone Welsh Writing, 1930-1949. In the early decades of the twentieth century, Modernist writers and artists sought to represent and respond to the modern world in myriad experimental and ground-breaking ways. In recent years, Modernist studies have opened up as critics have increasingly looked beyond the
Russell Davies introduces his new book, Sex, Sects and Society: ‘Pain and Pleasure’: A Social History of Wales and the Welsh, 1870-1945 Despite the hardship and hardscrabble existences endured by many, over the period 1870–1945 the life expectancy of the Welsh people doubled. The fact that death had lost the frightening immanency, which it had in
Rhianon Washington introduces The Mentor’s Companion: A Guide to Good Mentoring Practice. ‘I am here for you, I believe in you, I will not let you fail. You have the power.’ [1] Pascarelli’s powerful tenet was one of the earliest influences that inspired me to practise, study and research mentoring. I came to mentoring late, having
Emily Lyle introduces her new collection, Celtic Myth in the 21st Century: The Gods and their Stories in a Global Perspective. Antlered humans, dragons, princesses, one-eyed giants, enchanted islands, transformations, transcendent states: this is part of the stuff of Celtic myth explored in this book by experts in the field. The story-making is evident and, in
Patricia Skinner introduces her new collection, The Welsh and the Medieval World: Travel, Migration and Exile. The modern era has seen extensive studies of Welsh migration to all parts of the globe as well as immigration to Wales from Europe and beyond,[1] but these migrant histories have a long prehistory that is rather less well-known. Wales
The editors of Kant’s Doctrine of Right in the 21st Century introduce their new collection. For a long time, Kant’s Doctrine of Right languished in relative neglect, even among Kantians. The work was best known for its uncompromising views on punishment and revolution, and for a seemingly limited and not particularly original emphasis on private property. Kant’s more
For Women’s History Month, Manon Ceridwen James introduces her new book Women, Identity and Religion in Wales: Theology, Poetry, Story. Why did the women I worked with lack confidence? Why did I lack confidence? These were questions that intrigued me as I went about my work as a parish priest and diocesan officer within the Church
An advantage of working at a relatively small university is that most of one’s daily interactions are interdisciplinary. Some years ago, I was having lunch at the campus cafeteria with David Crawford, an economic anthropologist. Taking a break from the usual faculty pastime of griping about the administration, David asked me what I was working
We’re hitting the ground running in 2018 with several exciting releases over the next few weeks, including an important collection of essays on Gerald of Wales, a fresh examination of Mary Shelley’s work within the Gothic tradition, and a major study on gift theory in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. If you would like to pre-order any
by Anya Heise-von der Lippe, editor of Posthuman Gothic The Posthuman Gothic is concerned with humanity’s widespread sense of unease concerning our biomedical and technological involvements and their capacity to change our perceptions of what it means to be human. It revolves around our fear of becoming ‘other’,[1] of losing ourselves in a multitude of corporeal
It’s that time of the year again! Not just Halloween, but arguably even more exciting: we are calling out for proposals for the British Spanish Society Prize, sponsored by the University of Wales Press and our Iberian and Latin American Studies Series. The prize will be £250, offered by the British Spanish Society, and books
For International Archaeology Day, Peter James introduces his upcoming book Saving the Pyramids: Modern Engineering and Egypt’s Ancient Monuments, to be published in 2018 by University of Wales Press. As MD of Cintec International, Peter James has worked on projects around the globe, strengthening and restoring historically significant structures from Windsor Castle to the parliament buildings
by A.D. Carr, author of The Gentry of North Wales in the Later Middle Ages In the later Middle Ages, landownership in Wales was transformed from a pattern based on the rights and interests of the kindred to one of individual proprietorship. This was the background to the emergence of the landed gentry. The present study
by Cai Parry-Jones, author of The Jews of Wales: A History As a non-Jewish Welshman I’ve often been asked by people why I decided to embark on a research project on the history of Welsh Jewry. ‘Surely, you must have some Jewish ancestry? No? So why the interest?’ The answer is simple – I am
The University of Wales Press contributes to a publication from an active NASA mission which highlights the Welsh language With artistic shots of actively eroding slopes, impact craters, strange polar landscapes, avalanches, and spectacular descent pictures of probes like the Phoenix Lander and the Mars Science Laboratory, a new publication by the University of Arizona
by Dr Robert McKay and Dr John Miller, editors of Werewolves, Wolves and the Gothic The werewolf is the least tracked of the three cardinal species of monster, overshadowed in the moonlight by vampires and the recent zombie hordes. We have learned that such figures offer (as David Punter writes of the Gothic) ‘a very
The University of Wales Press once again attended the National Eisteddfod – this year held in Anglesey from the 4th to the 12th August. The Press set up shop in the University of Wales tent, with hundreds of Welsh and English-language books on offer. Many of our authors were also in attendance, giving a fascinating
The Gothic and the Carnivalesque in American Culture (Gothic Literary Studies) by Dr Timothy Jones has been announced as co-winner of the prestigious Allan Lloyd Smith Memorial Prize – an international prize for gothic criticism. Announced as part of the International Gothic Association’s (IGA) biannual conference in Mexico, the book, which is published by the University
By Hywel Wyn Owen, co-author of Place Names of Flintshire Flintshire is one of the most fascinating counties in Wales in terms of history, and almost all its historical developments are reflected in its place-names – Alun, Clwyd and Elwy are very old Brythonic river names; Prestatyn, Rhuddlan and Hawarden were recorded in the Domesday
by Simon Brooks, author of Why Wales Never Was In When Was Wales? Gwyn Alf Williams claims that Wales is remade by the Welsh from generation to generation, ‘if they want to’. Wales is thus always ‘now’; despite societal, cultural and linguistic change, Wales is always ‘here’. Why Wales Never Was is in broad agreement,
by Geraldine Lublin, author of Memoir and Identity in Welsh Patagonia: Voices from a Settler Community in Argentina In a recent interview with BBC Radio Cymru, I was asked if the Welsh should apologise to Patagonia’s indigenous peoples for taking their land. It is an interesting and complex question to which I was unable to respond
by Steve Clarke, author of Community Organization and Development: from its history towards a model for the future A friend of mine said recently that, although there were probably more people in the development business today than previously, no-one now mentioned the words ‘community development’ in their analysis of an issue or approach to a problem.
The Association for Welsh Writing in English conference, Gregynog, 12-14 May 2017 by Llion Wigley, Commissioning Editor for Welsh Language and Topics The Association of Welsh Writing in English annual conference is always a highlight of the academic calendar in Wales, more so than ever this year as the theme was multi-disciplinarity. This opened up what
by M. Wynn Thomas, author of All That Is Wales: The Collected Essays of M. Wynn Thomas I still remember a car journey I made a quarter of century ago. Starting from Cardiff I skirted post-industrial Merthyr, marvelled at the bare majesty of the Beacons, wound my way through the verdant mid-Wales countryside, and ended in
by Marianne E. Kalinke, author of Stories Set Forth with Fair Words: The Evolution of Medieval Romance in Iceland Iceland’s unique contribution to medieval literature are the sagas, the thirteenth-century epics that fuse history and legend in a vernacular prose form. Concurrently, translations of more or less contemporary French literature, of courtly lays and romances and
by Professor Ruth Finnegan, author of Entrancement: The consciousness of dreaming, music and the world, an edited volume on the study of imagination, death and shared consciousness. Dr Finnegan was the recipient of the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Rivers Memorial Medal in 2016. This book should never have been written. Let alone published. Well, so a
The University of Wales is delighted to announce that Natalie Williams has been appointed as the new Director of the University of Wales Press. Born and bred in Cardiff, Natalie brings a great understanding of the publishing world to the role. Achieving a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Southampton,
by Professor Diana Wallace, author of Female Gothic Histories Women’s historical fiction tends to attract a bad press. One very well-known television historian has rather sneeringly labelled it ‘history as Mills and Boon’. Yet because women have traditionally been excluded from mainstream history – both as subjects and as writers – they have very often
by Dr Leon Gooberman, author of From Depression to Devolution: Economy and Government in Wales, 1934-2006 From Depression to Devolution: Economy and Government in Wales, 1934-2006 emerged from my interest in the ever-changing relationships between business and the state, and how these impacted on the economy of Wales. While the published history of Wales is
To celebrate Academic Book Week we’ve taken 20% off all our 2016 titles – just use the code ABW17 on our website until the end of January. Last year featured another diverse list, including books on a range of academic and popular subjects. Here’s a small selection, with many more available across the site: Roald
by Professor Iwan Rhys Morus, author of William Robert Grove: Victorian Gentleman of Science On 22 October 1842 the Swansea-born natural philosopher William Robert Grove sent a letter to Michael Faraday describing a new philosophical toy he’d been playing with in his laboratory at the London Institution. Grove called this experimental curiosity the gas battery.
On this grey January afternoon, Academic Book Week is sure to lift us out of the dark days of winter. To pause to take stock, consider, and celebrate “what we do” all too often gets overlooked in the day to day graft by authors and publishers alike to write, publish and disseminate academic work. From
As I am preparing to close down my computer at the Press for the very last time, and aside from the mixed emotions that often surround key decisions in one’s life, the overwhelming sense that accompanies my departure is that of pride. It has been both an honour and a privilege to work for Wales’
by Dr Matthew Jarvis An innovative partnership between the University of Wales Press (UWP) and digital scholarly provider Open Library of Humanities (OLH) means that the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English is going “gold” open access. So from now on, all new material that the Journal publishes will be free to view online.
HEFCE, on behalf of the four UK funding bodies (including HEFCW), has recently updated its policy for open access in the next REF (2021). It updates and supersedes the previous policy for open access in the post-2014 REF (March 2014), which was later updated after feedback from the sector. The only substantive change is an
It is with a heavy heart that we bid Professor Ceri Davies a very fond farewell on his retirement from his role as Chair of the UWP’s Editorial Panel. Under his skilful steerage the Panel has provided an important additional layer of expertise and evaluation in the key peer review process for UWP’s publishing programme
by Dr Jerome Winter, author of Science Fiction, New Space Opera, and Neoliberal Globalism: Nostalgia for Infinity I am proud to announce the publication of Science Fiction, New Space Opera, and Neoliberal Globalism: Nostalgia for Infinity, published by the University of Wales Press for their New Dimensions in Science Fiction series. With this book, I attempted
by Dr Isabel Hollis-Touré and Dr Kate Averis, editors of Exiles, Travellers and Vagabonds: Rethinking Mobility in Francophone Women’s Writing Exiles, Travellers and Vagabonds emerged as a project from our shared academic and personal fascination for mobility. Throughout our careers, Kate Averis and I have both studied human mobility and partaken in it, often engaging in international
24th – 30th October is Open Access Week. Here at UWP we’ll celebrate by making the final touches to converting our International Journal of Welsh Writing in English into a gold, fully open-access journal with the wonderful Open Library of Humanities. We’re very proud to be the first university press which has “flipped” to OA
by Dr Sean Davies, author of The First Prince of Wales? It never fails to astound me that – in a nation so obsessed with its past as Wales – there are so few people aware of the fact that there was once a single king of all the lands that make up the modern country.
The 19th – 25th September is the Scholarly Kitchen’s Peer Review Week. As the Chefs note in their blog of 19th July, “Peer Review Week 2015 was a small, experimental, toe-in-the-water kind of event. But it struck a chord with many individuals and organizations.” So, after the initial tentative outing, we at UWP are thrilled to
We’re thrilled at UWP today to announce that the Open Library of Humanities has entered into a partnership with us to convert the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English into a fully gold open-access journal. Independent peer-review of the journal called it “an absolutely essential resource for any scholar, student or general reader with
We are extremely pleased to announce that the Open Library of Humanities has entered into a partnership with the University of Wales Press to convert the International Journal of Welsh Writing in English into a full, gold open-access journal. Independent peer-review of this journal called it “an absolutely essential resource for any scholar, student or
Exciting news for Hispanists! We are delighted to unveil a new prize in association with The British Spanish Society, sponsored by The University of Wales Press and our established Iberian and Latin American Studies Series. Eligible applicants should be actively engaged in research in Hispanic Studies, and have completed a doctoral thesis during the previous
We know how hard our authors in HASS work to publish their research, particularly when REF plays such a vital role in academia these days. So the recent Times Higher Education article announcing that the World University Rankings for 2016-17 will include books and book chapters for the first time was greeted with great enthusiasm
The University of Wales Press attended the 2016 Eisteddfod in Abergavenny last week. I went along to work in the Press tent, and to experience my first Eisteddfod. As a Welsh learner I was eager to immerse myself in the festival, but also concerned that my limited knowledge of the language would be a problem.
As the Twittersphere duly noted, the Stern Review of REF has been published– so although much reviled, REF is here to stay. The Review has been designed to build on the success of previous iterations and to identify areas of improvement. It has generally been positively received by the academy and includes a timetable of steps
On Art and Painting: Vicente Carducho and Baroque Spain has taken six years to grow from an idea to a reality. We began the project in April 2011 with a colloquium at Oxford University. The contributors to this volume came together to discuss Carducho and his 1633 treatise, Dialogues on Painting. One of the most
This week I was pleased to put the vexatious matter of UK’s Brexit behind me for a few days to immerse myself in the offerings of two excellent conferences in the North of England. The first, Summer of 1816: Creativity and Turmoil at the University of Sheffield, focussed on that stormy and inclement season two
A major initiative in education in Wales was launched at Cardiff City Hall on 15th June. Leading international education experts have pledged their support to the establishment of the Wales Education Commission to work alongside Yr Athrofa: Institute for Education, set up by The University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to support the transformation
by Huw Osborne, editor of Queer Wales: The History, Culture and Politics of Queer Life in Wales The idea for this book came from a panel on Queer Wales at the 2008 conference of the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History at the University of Toronto. It all began when John
Historian of Science, Professor Iwan Morus, discusses the relationship between science and Wales. Can Wales be a land of science as well as song? I think our future depends on it. The words ‘scientist’ and ‘Wales’ don’t come together in the same sentence very often, I’m afraid. When we think about contemporary Welsh culture, science
On 15 March 2016, three of us from the UWP staff attended a one-day course on XML, or Extensible Markup Language, arranged by John Normansell of Manchester University Press. We were joined by our counterparts from Edinburgh University Press and Liverpool University Press, and met in a room in the Renold Building just downstairs from
This year Open Access (OA) will become mandatory for journal articles for REF, so we’d like to give all our journal contributors and editors a quick reminder about it. The key date is 1 April 2016, afterwhich OA will be an essential requirement for journal articles accepted for publication. A helpful document for familiarising yourselves
The University of Wales Press, based in Cardiff, is looking to appoint a Marketing Development Officer to lead and further develop its marketing activities across all channels including social media. For further details, click here For an online application form, click here Closes: 25 January 2016
Buy it here. See the original review here.
On Friday 27th November, I was fortunate to attend the Fourth Annual Lecture in International Law sponsored by The College of Law and Criminology with the Welsh Centre for International Affairs in association with the Law Schools of the Universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Bristol, Cardiff, West of England, and Swansea. The stimulating and fascinating lecture
Revolutionaries, Rebels and Robbers was launched at Blackwell’s, Sheffield on 20 November. The launch was very well attended and Bob Britton (the other author) and I had the pleasure of Professor Phil Swanson introducing us and our books. Pascale Baker
The University of Wales Press, based in Cardiff, is looking to appoint a Marketing Development Officer to lead and further develop its marketing activities across all channels including social media. For further details, click here For an online application form, click here Closes: 23 November 2015
The death of Trefor M. Owen in February 2015 was a great loss to ethnological studies, both in Wales and internationally. A memorial conference is being organised by the Ethnology and Folk Studies Section of the University of Wales Alumni Association at St Fagans National History Museum on Saturday, 21 November 2015. Tecwyn Vaughan Jones and Eurwyn Wiliam will speak
n his revealing memoir, published in the year of his eightieth birthday, Kenneth O. Morgan reflects on marriage and bereavement, on re-marriage, parenthood, friendship, religion and morality, his reactions to the historical changes he has witnessed, from attending a village school in rural Wales and wartime air-raids, through school in Hampstead and study in Oxford
The University of Wales Press is looking to appoint a Publishing Assistant to join its busy team in Cardiff. This is an excellent opportunity for an individual interested in a career in publishing. For further details, click here For an online application form, click here Closes: 9 November 2015
The M. Wynn Thomas Prize is offered to celebrate outstanding scholarly work in the field of Welsh writing in English. There are two prize categories: the ‘Open’ category and the ‘New Scholars’ category. Essays submitted may be unpublished or published, in English or in Welsh. Published essays should be from 2015/16. Essays must be submitted by
