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Not In Use - College of Arts and Humanities
This event is part of the Taliesin Create series
SpeakerRhiannon Lewis
Speaker's BiographyRhiannon Lewis is originally from Cardigan, West Wales. Rhiannon has also had success with short stories, including the Bristol Prize, 2018 (shortlisted), Hammond House International Short Story Prize, 2017 (3rd) and Frome Festival 2017 (winner). Her novella, The Significance of Swans, came second in the New Welsh Writing Awards, the Aberystwyth University Prize for Dystopian Novella, in May 2019. An excerpt from the novella is published in the December 2019 edition of the New Welsh Reader.
From: 1 Apr 2020, 2 p.m.
My Beautiful Imperial (Mi Querido Imperial) is a historical novel based on the astonishing true events of the Chilean Civil War of 1891, and how a West Walian sea captain of humble origins came to play a pivotal role within it. In the words of the Graphic magazine at the time, David ‘Jefferson’ Davies and his ship, the Imperial, gained ‘no little fame’ for the part they played, in effect, supporting the Chilean government against British interference.
However, the ship and its captain disappeared from the history books, and Rhiannon Lewis spent over 20 years researching the story, inspired by the discovery of an old photograph album. Rhiannon’s debut novel was published by Victorina Press in December 2017, and in March 2018 it was listed by the Walter Scott Prize Academy as one of its twenty ‘recommended’ books, sharing the accolade with such writers as John Banville, Polly Clark, Marcel Theroux, Neal Ascherson, Rachel Seiffert and more, authors who included renowned Booker prize winners and nominees.
A second edition of My Beautiful Imperial has already been published. The Spanish translation, Mi Querido Imperial, was published in December 2018 and launched at the Chilean Embassy in May 2019. Lately, Rhiannon has been working with Adam Feinstein (author of the acclaimed Neruda: a passion for life) on a film script of My Beautiful Imperial
Contact: Cultural Institute - (Email: cultural-institute@swansea.ac.uk)