Prize winning authors galore confirmed for Monty Lit Fest

With just three weeks to go, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival has confirmed that three of the authors appearing at this year’s festival - and one from last year - have been shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award.

Existing award winners who are appearing include Jon Savage (right) whose The Secret Public, following the journey of LGBTQ+ music from margins to mainstream, was named 2024 Book of the Year by both The Times and The Evening Standard.

Costa Prize winner Jonathan Coe discusses his body of state-of the nation satires, including his new story of murder in Liz Truss’s Britain, The Proof of My Innocence.

Hanan Issa, the National Poet of Wales, will be speaking at the festival as will Caryl Lewis who has won the Welsh Book of the Year award a record three times. Her new novel, Bitter Honey, will be released just after the festival.

So, who is in the running this year?

Carys Davies (right), who is also nominated for the Michael Ondaatje Prize, will be talking about Clear, her novel about two men who form an unlikely bond on a remote island.

Gwyneth Lewis, a former winner of the prize and Wales’s first National Poet, details the toxic relationship between the author and her controlling mother in Nightshade Mother.

Also up is Angharad Price’s Welsh-language novel, Nelan a Bo, a love story set in the time when rural Wales was being overwhelmed by the industrial revolution.

Also shortlisted is Tir, a tour of seven aspects of Welsh landscape by Carwyn Graves, who appeared in last year’s Monty Lit Fest.

Sarah Corser, joint chair of Monty Lit Fest, said: “We seem to have the magic touch when it comes to choosing authors for Monty Lit Fest. Tom Bullough, who was with us last year, won the 2024 Wales Book of the Year title shortly after appearing with us. Let’s hope one of our guests is successful this year.

“Jon Gower, Mike Parker, we’re so lucky to be able to attract writers of such calibre to “the Friendly Festival.

“Annie Garthwaite, Times Book of the Month twice, is actually launching the paperback of “The King’s Mother” at the festival.”

Co-chair Myfanwy Alexander added: “That’s a first for us! In another first, of course, we’re launching the Jill Kibble Monty Minifest for children. Claire Fayers is appearing - currently shortlisted for the Tir na nOg prize - as is BBC Wales’s Lucy Owen (right).

“Also, for the first time, we’re collaborating with Aberystwyth University to offer writing workshops.

“Rooted in our rural county identity, ‘the Friendly Festival’ is home to some very special writing about history and nature, about borders.  But we also have a rebellious streak as you’ll see from the programme, giving Monty Lit Fest a unique character - come and share it.”

Monty Lit Fest takes place at locations in Montgomery, from June 6-8.

Full details at the Monty Lit Fest web site.