Our Bookshelf
Browse our Bookshelves, selected annually by the Exchange as a window to recent Welsh literary works which we recommend for translation.
Niall Griffiths, Nation Cymru
“Whaling is an engaging novel. An admirable range of ambition is at work herein… It is a fine addition to the genre of the Cetacean Novel, and if that category doesn’t exist, then it should.”
Niall Griffiths, Nation Cymru
“Munday’s first foray into fiction is an intriguing and powerful one.”
Jon Gower
“The story of a whale, yes, but with so many things drawn into its gargantuan wake. This bright collage of words is the work of a true artist and a singular new voice in Welsh fiction.”
Buzz Magazine
“One of the most fascinating releases of the year, Nathan Munday’s debut Whaling is a refreshing and beautifully written novel.”
Whaling
1792. Nantucket whalers are invited to found the port of Milford Haven in Wales. What does the arrival of these hardy Quakers – immigrants to America a century before – mean for the local people? And what is the meaning of the beached whale that preceded them? Two cultures rub against each other and distrust grows, driven by the local preacher. As Whaling unfolds concern swerves into hysteria against the incomers and the preacher plans a grotesque, Jonah-inspired fate for the whalers.
Nathan Munday’s debut novel is an exciting mélange of original fiction, historical writing and whaling images. In it he explores our relationship with the natural world, the boundary between faith and superstition, and the age old problem of immigration. Set in historical fact this is a narrative at once modern and contemporaneous, the writing rich in imagery and deceptively tense as its story slides into allegory.
- Seren (2023)
Seren
Videos
Watch Author discuss and read from Meet the Author: Manon Steffan Ros
Watch Author discuss and read from Poetry Connections on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Jasmine Donahaye on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Translating Minority Languages in the Literary Translation Centre
Watch Author discuss and read from Digwyddiad Diwrnod Rhyngwladol Mamiaith 2021
Watch Author discuss and read from Alun Davies | Ar Lwybr Dial (Pursuit of Vengeance)
Watch Author discuss and read from Cyfnewid Anrhegion
Watch Author discuss and read from Iaith y Nefoedd (The Language of Heaven) | Llwyd Owen
Watch Author discuss and read from Mari Strachan on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Aled Islwyn on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from The Party Wall | Stevie Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from The Jeweller | Caryl Lewis, translated by Gwen Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from We Could Be Anywhere By Now | Katherine Stansfield
Watch Author discuss and read from Footnotes to Water | Zoë Skoulding
Watch Author discuss and read from Gwirionedd | Elinor Wyn Reynolds
Watch Author discuss and read from Stillicide | Cynan Jones
Watch Author discuss and read from The Mission House | Carys Davies
Watch Author discuss and read from Wing | Matthew Francis
Watch Author discuss and read from Filò | Siân Melangell Dafydd
Watch Author discuss and read from Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru yn cyflwyno Ffon yr Her Gyfieithu i Grug Muse yng Nghricieth on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Her Gyfieithu 2020 Translation Challenge
Watch Author discuss and read from Zafer Şenocak 'Nahaufnahmen’
Watch Author discuss and read from Grug Muse 'Craffu' on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Eleoma Bodammer 'Close ups' on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Tony Bianchi on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Damian Walford Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Owen Martell on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Fflur Dafydd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Wiliam Owen Roberts on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Deborah Kay Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Lloyd Jones on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Stevie Davies on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Owen Sheers on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Jasmine Donahaye on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Siân Melangell Dafydd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Lloyd Markham on Bad Ideas/Chemicals
Watch Author discuss and read from Llŷr Gwyn Lewis on Rhyw Flodau Rhyfel (Some Flowers of War)
Watch Author discuss and read from Llŷr Gwyn Lewis on 'Fabula'
Watch Author discuss and read from Richard Gwyn on The Blue Tent on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Eluned Gramich - Woman Who Brings the Rain on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Angharad Price on O! Tyn y Gorchudd on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Manon Steffan Ros on Llyfr Glas Nebo on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Niall Griffiths on Broken Ghost on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Richard Gwyn on Stowaway: A Levantine Journey on Vimeo
Watch Author discuss and read from Darllen y Byd - Llenyddiaeth Ryngwladol i Blant yn y Gymraeg
Reviews
“Whaling is an engaging novel. An admirable range of ambition is at work herein… It is a fine addition to the genre of the Cetacean Novel, and if that category doesn’t exist, then it should.”
Read more reviewsNiall Griffiths, Nation Cymru