Carys Shannon is originally from rural North Gower in Swansea and now works between Wales and Spain as a writer, workshop facilitator and creativity coach. She studied Drama at Aberystwyth University before going on to work as a producer for National Theatre Wales, Volcano Theatre Company and other socially engaged arts projects. In 2013 Carys wrote and performed I’m Listening – A Case for Empathy, a solo piece based on grief and active listening. She regularly works with young people facilitating workshops focused on expressing and expanding personal creativity, collaborating frequently with Macmillan Education.
In 2017, Carys graduated from the University of South Wales with an MPhil in Writing and has had short stories published in anthologies by Honno Press and Parthian Books, as well as Mslexia Magazine. She was shortlisted for the 2021 Rhys Davies Short Story Award and the 2012 Terry Hetherington Award. Nonfiction publications include WomanKind magazine, YES Magazine and International House Journal.
Carys’ first novel was awarded a Literature Wales development grant and has been longlisted for the Bath and Mslexia Novel Awards and shortlisted for the Caledonia Novel Award. In 2020 this novel won the Jericho Writers Festival of Writing Prize and is currently out on submission.
