Parthian Books
Parthian Books is an independent publisher based in Cardigan. It was founded in 1993. Parthian is an editorially-led publishing house, which publishes a range of contemporary fiction, poetry, drama as well as art books. It is also involved in the European literary scene; its motto being “A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing”.
Some of the authors that Parthian Books has published include Deborah Kay Davies, Professor Dai Smith, Rachel Trezise, Lewis Davies, Glen Peters and Jeni Williams. Parthian has also published its first celebrity autobiography this year with Boyd Clack's Kisses Sweeter Than Wine. The publisher has also launched a new series in 2010 aimed at helping young writers get into print called Bright Young Things, it includes novels, short stories and travelogues. The first four authors in this series are Tyler Keevil, J. P. Smythe, Suzie Wild and Wil Gritten.
Parthian Books works in partnership with Il Caduceo literary agency in Genoa who represents their writers in translation. Parthian has developed translation links throughout Europe and beyond, and its books have appeared in fifteen foreign language editions including French, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish, Danish, Portuguese and Russian. Parthian has also recently announced its first book deal with New Star publications in China for the thriller The Colour of a Dog Running Away by Richard Gwyn.
Parthian also publishes titles translated into English, such as To Bury the Dead, Under the Dust, The Bridge Over the River, Strange Language, Martha, Jac and Shanco'' from Spanish, Catalan, German, Basque and Welsh.
Parthian receive financial support from the Welsh Books Council in the form of grants, they are also responsible for publishing the Library of Wales series, which is a Welsh Assembly Government and Welsh Books Council joint initiative.
Awards
Recent Parthian titles have won awards including:
- The Orange Futures Award 2000 (''In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl)
- The World Book Day Award for Wales 2003 (Work, Sex and Rugby)
- The Stonewall Award 2004 (Fishboys of Vernazza)
- The Dylan Thomas Prize 2005 (Fresh Apples)
- The Betty Trask Award 2007 (The Long Dry)
- The Welsh Book of the Year 2009 (Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful)
- The Rhys Davies Prize (Love and Other Possibilities)
Library of Wales
Parthian has also published the Library of Wales series, which is a selection of classic writing from Wales in the English language.
- A Kingdom, James Hanley
- A Man's Estate, Emyr Humphreys
- A Rope of Vines, Brenda Chamberlain
- All Things Betray Thee, Gwyn Thomas
- The Alone to the Alone, Gwyn Thomas
- Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve, Dannie Abse
- The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, W. H. Davies
- Battle to the Weak, Hilda Vaughan
- Black Parade, Jack Jones
- Border Country, Raymond Williams
- The Caves of Alienation, Stuart Evans
- Congratulate the Devil, Howell Davies
- Country Dance, Margiad Evans
- Cwmardy & We Live, Lewis Jones
- Dai Country, Alun Richards
- The Dark Philosophers, Gwyn Thomas
- Flame and Slag, Ron Berry
- Goodbye, Twentieth Century, Dannie Abse
- The Great God Pan, Arthur Machen
- The Heyday in the Blood, Geraint Goodwin
- The Hill of Dreams, Arthur Machen
- Home to an Empty House, Alun Richards
- I Sent a Letter to My Love, Bernice Rubens
- In the Green Tree, Alun Lewis
- Jampot Smith, Jeremy Brooks
- Make Room for the Jester, Stead Jones
- Mapping the Territory, Katie Gramich (ed.)
- Poetry 1900–2000, Meic Stephens (ed.)
- Rhapsody, Dorothy Edwards
- So Long, Hector Bebb, Ron Berry
- Sport, Gareth Williams (ed.)
- Turf or Stone, Margiad Evans
- The Valley, The City, The Village, Glyn Jones
- Voices of the Children, George Ewart Evans
- The Volunteers, Raymond Williams
- The Water-castle, Brenda Chamberlain
- The Withered Root, Rhys Davies