Writing
I became a full-time writer in 2017, following a long career as a film maker in documentary and drama (BAFTA Cymru Awards, Oscar Foreign-language entrant et al). A Writer’s Bursary from Literature Wales helped me complete my collection of 26 short stories set in Wales, Northern Ireland and Italy: A City Burning was published by Seren Books in 2020. It has been longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize 2021. You might like to read my story All Through The Night in Crannog . It was nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2019. Geraint Lewis reads from it here:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1026016757821993
A SIAP Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2017/18 helped to develop my novel Thorn which is about the politics of language (Irish and Ulster Scots) in contemporary Northern Ireland. I have written and published poetry and prose in Ulster Scots.
A second SIAP Award 2019 – 20 supported my prose and poetry exploration of Place and Displacement in Northern Ireland. Poems from this have appeared in The Honest Ulsterman, The Bangor Literary Journal, CAP Arts Anthology and The Interpreter’s House.
A third SIAP Award 2020 – 21 supported my collection of poetry on the theme of Sanctuary. This was published on 30th May 2022 as Sanctuary: There Must Be Somewhere
Since 2018 my poetry has been published in The Honest Ulsterman, The Bangor Literary Journal, The Open Ear, Infinite Rust, The Ogham Stone, The Interpreter’s House, Black Bough Poems, New City, Heartland and the special issue of The North, 2019 devoted to contemporary Irish Poetry. Also in the CAP Arts anthology Vision: 2020, drawn from entries to the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing.
Also Places of Poetry; The Stony Thursday Book 2020; The Lonely Crowd #13; in Vol 2 Deeptime; Freedom/Rapture anthology and Christmas/Winter Anthology 2021 from Black Bough Poems. I was Black Bough’s featured poet of the month January 2021. I contributed to the composite poem Litany For Ireland for Poetry Day Ireland and to Carl Griffin’s curated poem Arrival At Elsewhere and been featured in A Plague of Poems.
I won First Prize for Poetry in the inaugural Linen Hall Ulster-Scots Writing Competition 2021 and have poetry in Yarns, an anthology of Ulster-Scots Writing 2021. 2nd prize in the Grey Hens Press Poetry Competition 2020 and joint 3rd in the Heather Newcombe Poetry Award.
The poet, Glen Wilson mentored me towards a first collection, Shoot. This is under consideration with a publisher.
I am also a journalist and reviewer. I have a project on Fiction in Wales and Northern Ireland at the University of South Wales.
Writing
Television
In November 2022 I was awarded an Honorary Life Fellowship by the Institute of Welsh Affairs for the owkr I have done on media policy development for Wales.
I am an award-winning producer in documentary and cinema and a BAFTA Cymru nominee for screenwriting and production. Having begun my career in ITV Wales, I spent eight years as a producer at one of Britain’s rare production co-operatives, the phenomenal Teliesyn. I’ve enjoyed making more than 100 documentaries and factual programmes for BBC, ITV, S4C and Channel 4, including The Story of Wales. This landmark BBC history of the nation, presented by Huw Edwards won 2 BAFTA Cymru Awards.It is currently on the BBC iPlayer here.
I was producer and co-screenwriter of the feature film Branwen, an entry from Wales to the Foreign-language category of the Oscars and Best Film at the Celtic Media Awards. It earned 6 BAFTA Cymru nominations, including Best Film and Best Screenwriter. I was screenwriter on projects set in Italy, Romania and Ireland.
I was a lecturer in Documentary Practice at Cardiff University for five years. I have had a career-long interest in media politics, chairing the Media Policy Group of the Institute of Welsh Affairs. I am a trainer for CULT Cymru of professionals belonging to the Creative Unions: Equity, Prospect/BECTU, Writers’ Guild and Musicians’ Union.
Television
Radio
I was shortlisted for the Jerusalem Award for Radio in 2012. I contribute regularly to BBC Radio Wales as a writer and interviewee. I presented a highly regarded documentary for BBC Wales to commemorate the centenary of World War 1, Of Mourning and Memory. I have contributed to many radio programmes.
Radio
