About me

I write fiction and poetry and work mainly in English, though one of my books for children, some poems and a short story have appeared in Welsh. I also translate from Welsh into English and have edited several books. I live in Brecon and am an Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at The University of South Wales. My most recent books are Please, a short novel, and Still, a collection of poems, published the same day in April 2021. My first novel, Shifts, appeared in a new edition in the Library of Wales imprint in 2023.

For publicity you'll find bio notes in English and Welsh at various lengths if you scroll down this page. You'll find quotations from reviews of my books in the 'Books' page under 'Press Cuttings'.

The photo opposite (V.A. Meredith) is of a wall inscription I composed and co-designed for y Gaer, the library, museum and gallery complex in Brecon. It blends original text in Welsh and English with lines from the poetry of Henry Vaughan and Dafydd ap Gwilym.

Croesawaf ohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg - I welcome emails in Welsh or English.

Biographical Note

Christopher Meredith has produced fiction, poetry and translations, as well as a little writing for radio and the stage, and articles and reviews, stories and verse for many magazines including Agenda, Poetry London, TLS and New Statesman, Planet, and Poetry Wales. Prizes include an Eric Gregory Award, the Arts Council of Wales Young Writer Prize and the Fiction Prize for his first novel, Shifts. Set against the decline of the steel industry in south Wales, it is regarded as a contemporary classic. In 2014 Shifts was shortlisted for the title of 'Greatest Welsh Novel of All Time' by Wales Arts Review, coming a very close second to the winner, Caradog Prichard's Welsh language novel, Un Nos Ola Leuad, and topping the poll for novels written in English.

The second of his five novels, Griffri, was shortlisted for the Book of the Year Award in 1992. Set in the twelfth century, it covers some of the bloody history of the period from the point of view of a minor court poet, the Griffri of the title. Meredith has received two Arts Council Bursaries and has been judge for the Book of the Year Award and the Roland Mathias Prize. His poetry collection, The Meaning of Flight, was long-listed for The Book of the Year Award 2006. His fourth novel, The Book of Idiots, was published to acclaim in 2012. A collection of poems, Air Histories, was published in 2013.

His short story collection, Brief Lives - six fictions, appeared in 2018. His latest fiction, the short novel Please, and latest poetry collection, Still, were published simultaneously in April 2021.

His work is much studied and is the subject of a book-length study by Diana Wallace in the University of Wales Press's Writers of Wales series.

Chris has spoken at many venues including the Hay Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Ledbury Poetry Festival, the London Book Fair, the Leipzig Book Fair, the Gasteig in Munich, The Goethe Institute in Brussels, and at the Writers and Teachers' Centre in Manhattan, New York. He's given readings, talks and lectures all over Britain as well as in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel/Palestine, Slovenia and the USA. He received a HALMA Scholarship in 2012-13 with writer's residencies in Finland and Slovenia, and a Hawthornden Fellowship in Scotland in 2020.

Born and brought up in Tredegar, now living in Brecon, he has been a steelworker, a schoolteacher and a lecturer. He is Emeritus Professor of creative writing at the University of South Wales.

Bio note in 74 words:

Christopher Meredith is an award-winning novelist, poet and translator. His first novel, Shifts, is regarded as a modern classic. He has broadcast on radio and TV and given readings and talks all round Britain as well as in the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Slovenia and the USA. Born and brought up in Tredegar and now living in Brecon, he has been a steelworker, a schoolteacher and a university professor.

Bio note in 48 words:

Christopher Meredith is the award-winning author of five novels, a book of short stories and several poetry collections. Latest fiction is the short novel Please and latest poetry collection is Still, published simultaneously in April 2021. He was born and brought up in Tredegar and lives in Brecon.

Nodyn bywgraffyddol

187 o eiriau

Ganed Christopher Meredith yn Nhredegar ym 1954. Ar ôl graddio o Brifysgol Aberystwyth mewn athroniaeth a Saesneg a gweithio fel llafuriwr yng Ngwaith Dur Glyn Ebwy, roedd yn athro Saesneg yn Ysgol Gyfun Aberhonddu am bymtheg mlynedd cyn troi’n ddarlithydd mewn ysgrifennu creadigol ym Mhrifygol Morgannwg (Prifysgol De Cymru bellach). Ni chafodd unrhyw addysg ffurfiol yn y Gymraeg ond dechreuodd dysgu a darllen yr iaith tra’n fyfyriwr.

Yn Saesneg mae e wedi cyhoeddi pump o nofelau, un casgliad o straeon byrion, a llond dwrn o gasgliadau o farddoniaeth, yn ogystal ag erthyglau ac adolygiadau. Mae’r nofelau yn cynnwys Shifts, Griffri, a The Book of Idiots. Mae e hefyd wedi cyhoeddi ychydig o gerddi, llyfr i blant a stori fer yn Gymraeg, yn ogystal â chyfieithu’r nofel Melog gan Mihangel Morgan i’r Saesneg.

Mae e wedi ennill Gwobr Eric Gregory a Gwobr Cyngor y Celfyddydau i lenorion ifainc am farddoniaeth a Gwobr Ffuglen Cyngor y Celfyddydau am Shifts.

Yn 2021 cyhoeddodd nofel fer, Please a chasgliad o farddoniaeth, Still, ar y cyd.

Mae e’n Athro Emeritws mewn Ysgrifennu Creadigol ym Mhrifysgol De Cymru ac yn byw yn Aberhonddu.

45 o eiriau
Ganed Christopher Meredith yn Nhredegar. Mae e’n awdur ar bump o nofelau, cyfrol o straeon byrion a llond dwrn o gasgliadau o farddoniaeth. Cyhoeddwyd ei nofel ddiweddaraf, Please a chasgliad o farddoniaeth, Still ar y cyd ym Mis Ebrill 2021. Mae e’n byw yn Aberhonddu.

Pen Allt Mawr uwchben Cwm Banw, Y Mynyddoedd Duon, Ygyryd Fawr a Phen y Fal ar y gorwel