A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing

Based in Cardigan/Aberteifi on the west coast of Wales, Parthian is a literary publishing success story. The company was established in 1993 by Publishing Director Richard Lewis Davies to publish his first novel, Work, Sex and Rugby. Since then, Parthian has risen to become one of the most respected publishers in Wales – and one with international resonance. Our list incorporates an innovative range of new fiction, poetry and drama, from writers as varied as Deborah Kay Davies, Dai Smith, Rachel Trezise, Glen Peters, John Harrison, Stevie Davies, Cynan Jones, Tyler Keevil and Niall Griffiths.

Central to our mission is our belief is the power of a great book, and what we publish reflects a diverse and contemporary Wales that casts a keen eye on the wider world. Exciting, vibrant, surprising, relevant and original – the only thing predictable about Parthian is our quality. In recent years, our authors have garnered critical acclaim and prestigious accolades including The Dylan Thomas Prize, The Betty Trask, the Wales Book of the Year, the Orange Futures Award, The Rhys Davies Prize and The Stonewall Award.

We’re also committed to discovery, and our recent Bright Young Things series brings you the stars of tomorrow today, with sparkling novels, short stories and travelogues by Tyler Keevil, J. P. Smythe, Susie Wild and Wil Gritten to add to the carnival. Full details can be found by visiting www.brightyoungthings.info/. Jump to the future – and enjoy a Bright Young eBook. In 2012, our Parthian New Poets Anna Lewis, Jemma King and Alan Kellermann will add to the mix, with highly accomplished and exciting collections musing on everything from the ghost in a martini to startling re-imaginings of the Mabinogion.

We have developed good translation links throughout Europe and beyond, and our books have appeared in fifteen foreign-language editions including French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Danish, Turkish, Portuguese and Russian. We have recently announced our first book deal with New Star publications in China for the thriller The Colour of a Dog Running Away.

For all Rights Enquiries please contact info@parthianbooks.co.uk

The Classics of Welsh Literature

We also publish the prestigious Library of Wales series which includes books such as Border Country by Raymond Williams, The Black Parade by Jack Jones and Ash on a Young Man’s Sleeve by Dannie Abse.

In Translation into English 

Our list also includes a growing number of titles in translation such as To Bury the Dead, Under the Dust, The Bridge Over the River, Strange Language, Martha, Jac and Shanco from Spanish, Catalan, German, Basque and Welsh. Look Me In The Eye by Silvia Soler and Paper Spurs by Olga Merino were published in the summer of 2010.

The Parthian Team

Richard Lewis Davies

Richard Lewis Davies is one of the founding partners of Parthian. It was established in 1993 to publish his first novel Work, Sex and Rugby. The company has published 196 titles of which 194 are still in print. 

Richard has been involved in the literary scene in Wales since 1990 and is the current commercial director of Parthian and the Library of Wales series. 

In addition to the publishing he has parallel career as a creative writer. His novels include Tree of Crows and My Piece of Happiness, and he has also published a selection of literary essays As I Was a Boy Fishing and a critically acclaimed selection of stories Love and Other Possibilities. His work has received numerous awards, including the Rhys Davies short story competition and the John Morgan writing award.  He has worked extensively in Welsh theatre and has had six plays professionally produced, the most recent of which was Supertramp, Sickert and Jack the Ripper at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011. His work for younger readers includes a series of children’s picture books available in both English and Welsh Tai and the Tremorfa Troll, developed with the illustrator Hayley Acreman.  He is currently working on a stage adaptation of Mrs D’Silva’s Detective Instincts and the Shaitan of Calcutta with Tin Can Theatre of Kolcatta as part of a British Council India project with the producer Rebecca Gould.

Gillian Griffiths

Gillian Griffiths is one the founding partners of Parthian and is the financial director. She has worked in fine art and photography and held a number of exhibitions in Wales including Child for a Moment and Freeways, both at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Her photography and art work has appeared on a wide range of covers for Parthian including Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful. She is working on a book of her work and completing a course in traditional woodland management techniques with the Coppice wood college in the Teifi valley.

Kathryn Gray

Kathryn Gray is the Editor at Parthian Books. Kathryn joined Parthian as Associate Editor in summer 2011 before her appointment as Publishing Editor in November 2011.

Kathryn is an experienced editor and literary entrepreneur, having helmed Wales’s leading literary quarterly New Welsh Review for three years, and she is also an acclaimed poet in her own right, having been previously shortlisted for both the T. S. Eliot and Forward Prizes for The Never-Never, and as a recipient of an Eric Gregory Award. She is also a tutor in creative writing, a literary consultant, a critic, and a regular contributor for broadcast, having collaborated on film poems for the BBC and participated in leading arts programmes, including A Poet's Guide to Britain and The Larkin Tapes. Kathryn is a member of the Literature Wales Management Board and a trustee of Tŷ Newydd, the National Writers' Centre for Wales. Her most recent work is a poetry/print collaboration with leading artist Mary Modeen, Uncertain Territories, which was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy.

The majority of Kathryn’s time is dedicated to reviewing, acquiring, and editing manuscripts, but she is involved in most stages of the publishing process, from design and production to scheduling, managing rights, and co-ordinating freelancers.

Aside from her interest in all aspects of literary publishing, Kathryn maintains a passionate engagement with contemporary film and theatre.

Kathryn divides her time between her London office and Parthian's base at Swansea University.

Jon Gower

Susie Wild

Susie Wild is Associate Editor for Parthian Books and their literary journal The Raconteur. 

Following an MA in Journalism at Goldsmiths College, Susie cut her journalism teeth at The Guardian. Returning to Wales in 2004 she edited Swansea's art magazine Platform for four years. She has since contributed content to numerous publications including Mslexia, Planet, New Welsh Review, Cambria, Metro, the BBC, Red Handed, Clash Magazine, andThe Big Issue, and is a regional reviewer forThe Stage.

Susie is also a published writer and regular live lit performer. One of Parthian's original set of Bright Young Things,The Art of Contraception (2010) was her first book and was long-listed for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2011. In May her novella Arrivals was the first Kindle Single ebook to be published in Wales. This year she was a recipient of a Writer's Bursary from Literature Wales to spend time on her next project, a novel. Her poetry has been published in Bugged, Nu2, Leaf Writer's Magazine, The Antagonist, Rising, Poetry Digest and Spilt Milk.

Having looked after the social networking and chaired bookish discussions for numerous literary shindigs and organisations including Hay Poetry Jamboree and The Laugharne Weekend, Susie will have responsibility for all our online content and social networking,The Raconteur, literary launches and events including The Uplands Literary Salon in Swansea, and various other exciting bits and bobs yet to be revealed. Susie lives in a garret in Cardiff.

Eluned Gramich

Eluned Gramich joined Parthian Books as the Marketing Officer in November 2010 after various work experience placements and internships. She has recently graduated with a BA Honours in English Literature from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where she spent most of her time flitting between numerous student organisations (Woman’s Campaign, Cymdeithas Dafydd ap Gwilym), including founding the Corpus Christi College Literary Society.

She is of Welsh-German descent and is lucky enough to be able to speak both languages. After she graduated, she spent a month living in Bordeaux to improve her French. Eluned also fills the role of Parthian’s Web Editor. 

Claire Houguez 

Claire Houguez is currently sharing the Marketing Officer responsibilities with Eluned and cheerily manning the Swansea office. She joined Parthian as an intern in April 2010, and helped develop Parthian's ebook list in the autumn.

Originally from Warwickshire, Claire fell in love with Swansea when she came here on a holiday. Eight years on, the sound of seagulls still makes her smile. She is a graduate of Swansea Metropolitan University and Swansea University, where she received a Distinction in her Creative Writing MA. She is a regular face (and voice) at poetry events in Swansea and is currently working towards a PhD with a novel about the neo-burlesque revival.  

Dai Smith

Dai Smith is the series editor of the Library of Wales and Professor in the Cultural History of Wales at Swansea University. Having studied History at Balliol College, Oxford, and Literature at Columbia University, New York City, he was awarded a Ph.D. at Swansea University for a thesis on the South Wales Miners' Federation, which subsequently became the subject of his book, with Hywel Francis, The Fed. He has written extensively about modern Wales, including Aneurin Bevan and the World of South Wales (1993) and Wales: A Question for History (1998). The latter was an extensively revised version of the book associated with six documentary films he wrote and presented under the title Wales! Wales?

 He became Editor of BBC Radio Wales in 1993 and was Head of Broadcast (English) there from 1994 until 2000 when he was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Glamorgan. His critically acclaimed biography of Raymond Williams was published in 2008 as Raymond Williams: A Warrior's Tale. He is currently the chair of the Arts Council of Wales. 

The Parthian publishing programme is produced with support from of the Welsh Books Council.

The Library of Wales project is a Welsh Assembly Government and Welsh Books Council initiative.