Rhys Owain Williams

Bloom & Bones is a stunning, sensory journey through colour – a brilliant collaboration between poets Rae Howells and Jean James that feels fresh, thoughtful and quietly powerful.

My sons (both under 3) love this book about the small but brave steps it takes to make a new friend. It’s a kind, encouraging story that shows how friendship can begin with a simple, thoughtful gesture – and opens up good conversations about kindness and inclusion without ever feeling heavy-handed. Darren Chetty’s gentle storytelling is perfectly complemented by Sandhya Prabhat’s bright, imaginative illustrations. A tender, affirming read that validates how big a moment saying ‘hello’ can be – perfect for children about to start school or who are finding their way in new places.

A must-read for anyone who has ever attempted to write a 100-word author bio. Sit down with this and a cup of something when you get a chance.‬

In 'Hymns Ancient & Modern', J. Brookes writes about situations, places and people that are often deemed ordinary and unimportant. He does this in a way that both reinforces their ordinariness and celebrates it at the same time. There are many unexpectedly profound moments to be found amongst his service stations, corner laundrettes, nursing homes, missed trains and humming boilers. These may be poems set in the everyday, but what Brookes says in them is far from run-of-the-mill.

'The South Westerlies' is a haunting collection of short stories set on the Gower peninsula in Wales. It contains some brilliantly gothic slices of Gower life, often bringing the strangeness of local myth and folklore into modern settings. Gower boasts a dramatic coastline, and in the summer months its beaches are filled with tourists, but Jane Fraser’s stories are set out of season, and focus on the peninsula’s darker corners. The title story was my favourite: about an older couple who buy a house that coincidentally contains an oak table from the wife’s first marriage. The table becomes an overbearing presence in their lives, and at night its wood cracks and groans as the house is filled with the smell of a particular brand of cigarettes. The whole collection is brilliant, but it’s worth reading for that story alone.