Securing agents! Getting published! Winning Prizes! These are just some of the things writers who have been part of Representing Wales have gone on to do.
Watch the videos below to hear the writers recount their experiences of the programme.
Many of the writers who have taken part in Representing Wales have used this opportunity as a stepping stone to enhance their career.
- Several writers have secured an agent. Agencies include Curtis Brown, The Good Literary Agency, Bird Literary Agency and more.
- Anthologies of the cohorts’ work have been published by Lucent Dreaming, including (un)common: anthology of new Welsh writing in 2024 and Maps and Rooms in 2022.
- Four writers (Taz Rahman, Lesley James, Natasha Gauthier and Si Griffiths) are featured in Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers / Cerddi Afonydd Cymru (2025)
- Writers have gone on to edit anthologies of their own: Durre Shahwar Mughal is co-editor of Gathering, Women of Colour on Nature (404INK, 2023); Bethany Handley, Megan Angharad Hunter, and Sioned Erin Hughes co-edited Beyond/Tu Hwnt: Blodeugerdd o Ysgrifenwyr Cymraeg Byddar ac Anabl. Anthology of Welsh Deaf and Disabled Writers (Lucent Dreaming, 2025); Nia Morais edited the anthology of female voices, O Ffrwyth y Gangen Hon (Barddas, 2025); and Hanan Issa co-edited Welsh Plural (Repeater Books, 2022) and was the editor of the poetry anthology for young people, And I Hear Dragons (Firefly Press, 2024)
- Many books have been published and are in development. They include Nia Morais’ Enwogion o Fri: Bywyd Penderfynol Betty Campbell (Llyfrau Broga, 2023); East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Seren, 2024) by Taz Rahman; Alex Wharton’s Red Sky at Night, Poet’s Delight (Firefly Press, 2024); Bethany Handley’s poetry pamphlet Cling Film (Seren, 2025) and Anthony Shapland’s debut novel A Room Above a Shop with Granta this month (March 2025), which The Guardian’s review praised as “one of the best debut novels in years”.
- Many have been longlisted, shortlisted, placed and have won literary prizes, including: Rhys Davies Short Story Award; W&A Working Class Writers’ Prize; Faber FAB Prize; Tir na n-Og Award; Wildflowers Poetry Competition; The Laurel Prize and Creative Futures Gold Prize.
You can find out more about the experiences these writers had in their own words by reading our case studies, or visiting our YouTube Channel’s Representing Wales playlist.