Story 1: He Lives Upstairs
An old man recollects the steps of his life in a flooded world.
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About the author . . .
Mary-Ann Constantine works on Romantic period Welsh literature, in both Welsh and English, at Aberystwyth University and has published widely in these fields since 1996. She has held a succession of Research Fellowships in the Welsh Department in the University of Aberystwyth. Her short stories have appeared over a number of years in the New Welsh Review and Planet and her first collection, The Breathing, was published by Planet in 2008. Her second collection, All the Souls, was published by Seren in spring 2013. Her most recent mystery novel Star-Shot was published by Seren in 2015.
You can find books by Mary-Ann Constantine on the Seren Books website.
A few words on the story and how we made the recording . . .
Story 2: The Void
A woman confronts the great void consuming civilisation.
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About the author . . .
Ever since I was a child I have been enthralled by stories. I love stories. A lot. I love writing them, reading then, and listening to them. I am deeply affected by stories. I believe, all people, are. Stories have the power to create or to destroy. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, the stories we are told about ourselves, the stories the world tells us, about one another. The stories our culture or society tell us, have a truly, magical power. They are the difference between people feeling and living well, in peaceful harmony, with themselves, one another, and the Earth. Or a world riddled with a vast variety of on going social inequality, injustice, poverty, oppression, violence, and war. In order to serve us well, all our collective, and individual stories, need to be regularly questioned, updated, re-written and re-told. I am passionate about stories that remind us of our humanity. I believe we have the power as people, to make this world that we live in, a better, safer, more beautiful and just place, for everyone. I believe that change starts and ends, with the stories we tell, and, are told. I am now living and making theatre back in Wales, where I began my life.
You can find out more about Bethan Dear’s work on the Jackdaw Theatre website.
Story 3: The Haves and Have Nots
A ballad of technological inequality.
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About the author . . .
João Morais holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Cardiff University, and he writes regularly for New Welsh Review and other publications. A number of his short stories have appeared in magazines and creative writing competitions, and he has been shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, the Percy French Prize for Comic Verse, and the All Wales Comic Verse Competition.
You can find books by João Morais on his website.
Story 4: The Last Word
The last man alive adores the world.
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About the author . . .
Kate Hamer grew up in the West Country and Wales. She studied art and worked for a number of years in television. In 2011 she won the Rhys Davies short-story prize and her short stories have appeared in various collections. Her debut novel The Girl in the Red Coat was published in 2015. It was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize, the British Book Industry Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, and the Wales Book of the Year. It was a Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into sixteen different languages. Kate now lives with her husband in Cardiff.