Jo Mazelis (born 1956) is a Welsh writer. Her 2014 novel ''Significance'' was awarded the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize 2015. Her short story collections have been short- or long-listed for prizes, including Wales Book of the Year. She has also worked as a professional

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

Biography

Mazelis was born near Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula. She grew up in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, later living in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

and then London for over 14 years before returning to her hometown. She worked as a

for ''

Spare Rib ''Spare Rib'' was a second-wave feminist magazine, founded in 1972 in the United Kingdom, that emerged from the counter culture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. ''Spare Rib' ...

'', '' Undercurrents'', ''Women’s Review'', ''Everywoman'' and ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

''. She did a Foundation Course at Swansea College of Art, and was awarded a Higher Datec Diploma from

Ealing College of Higher Education The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and in Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860, when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing C ...

, a degree in Art & English from

Swansea Metropolitan University , students = 5,765 , undergrad = 4,520 , postgrad = 1,075 , other = 175 FE , city = Swansea , country = Wales, UK , campus = Urban , address = Mount PleasantSwansea SA1 6ED , we ...

and an MA in English Literature from Swansea University. Mazelis was a

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

fellow at Swansea University 2009-11 and is currently a lector on the Royal Literary Fund Reading Round in Swansea.

Writing

Mazelis's first collection of short stories, ''Diving Girls'' (2002), was shortlisted for both Wales Book of the Year and Commonwealth Best First Book. Her second collection of stories, ''Circle Games'' (2005), was long-listed for Wales Book of the Year. In 2014, Mazelis wrote a collection of surreal dystopian fiction for ''Go! Be a Bird!'', a collaborative work with award-winning artist Susan Adams. She also published the novel ''Significance'' (2014), which was awarded the 2015 Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Mazelis's third collection, ''Ritual, 1969'' (2016), was long-listed for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year in 2017. Several of Mazelis's stories have also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 including ''Too Perfect'', ''Snakeskin Becomes Her'' and ''The Blackberry Season''. Mazelis's work has appeared in ''The Lonely Crowd'', '' New Welsh Review'', ''

'', ''

Poetry Wales ''Poetry Wales'' is a triannual poetry magazine published in Bridgend, Wales. Founded by Meic Stephens and now published by Seren, it is edited by Zoë Brigley. Since its first publication in 1965, the magazine has built an international reput ...

'', ''Raconteur'', ''Cambrensis'', ''Nth Position'', '' The Big Issue'', ''Corridor'', ''The

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', ''Everywoman'', ''

Tears in the Fence ''Tears in the Fence'' is a triannual British literary journal edited by David Caddy. It has been characterized as "a forward-looking magazine that is not afraid to take risks.... nd thatrepresents the cutting edge of modern poetry." Background ...

'' and ''Lampeter Review'' amongst others.

Reviews

Reviewing ''Circle Games'', Anna Scott in the New Welsh Review wrote, "Mazelis plays with the reader, introducing the unexpected by the back door. Fearlessly scrutinising the desires and impulses of her characters, segueing nightmarish fantasies into reality." Reviewing ''Ritual, 1969'', Rupert Dastur in ''The Short Story'' wrote, "Mazelis explores a dazzling range of ideas, geographies and times, often couched in the daily realities of women and children, the marginalised and the powerless, the scared, hopeless, and hapless ... ''Ritual, 1969'' reveals the absolute mastery Mazelis has over the short form and this third collection is a superb display of a writer keenly attentive to the human mind, its motives and its mysteries."

Photography

While working for magazines in London in the 1980s Mazelis photographed writers such as

P.D. James Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, (3 August 1920 – 27 November 2014), known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring t ...

, Patricia Highsmith. and

Kathy Acker Kathy Acker (April 18, 1947 isputed– November 30, 1997) was an American experimental novelist, playwright, essayist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that dealt with themes such as childhood trau ...

, artists Paula Rego and Nan Goldin, and actors

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for ''Damage'' (1992) and ''Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

and Tilda Swinton, amongst others. Mazelis photographed John Stevens and Dudu Pukwana on a number of occasions, notably while they were recording the album, Radebe: They Shoot to Kill. Since returning to Wales she has photographed a number of Welsh artists and writers including Ed Thomas, Francesca Rhydderch, Lloyd Robson, Kevin Sinnott, David Hurn,

Rachel Trezise Rachel Trezise (born 1978) is a Welsh author, born in Cwmparc, Wales. Her debut collection of short stories, ''Fresh Apples'', won the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize in 2006. Early life Rachel Trezise was born in Cwmparc, Rhondda in 1978. Her fam ...

, Richard Davies, Tristan Hughes, Rhian Elizabeth and musicians Richard Cowell (Rag Foundation) and Paul Battenbough. Mazelis has exhibited her artwork at Camerawork, London and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, and had solo exhibitions at The Camera Club, London and The Dylan Thomas Centre, and a joint show at the Pontardawe Arts Centre. Her photography has been used for a variety of publications from online journals to print magazine covers and book jackets.

Film

In the 1980s Mazelis collaborated as a screenwriter for a student film in which she also acted. She also acted in a

Super 8 Super 8 or Super Eight may refer to: Film * Super 8 film, a motion picture film format released in 1965 * Super 8 film camera, a motion picture camera used to film Super 8mm motion picture format * ''Super 8'' (2011 film), a science-fiction fi ...

film ''The Fate of Cain'' made by Barry Assinder which was shown at the London Film Festival.

Selected publications

* ''Diving Girls'' (short stories, Parthian, 2002; published in Danish translation as ''Forbuden Frugt'' by Arvids, 2007) * ''Circle Games'' (short stories, Parthian, 2005) * ''Significance'' (novel, Seren, 2014) * ''Ritual, 1969'' (short stories, Seren, 2016) * ''Skin and other short stories'' (short stories, CPI Group, 2022) * ''Blister and Other Stories'' (as JK Mazelis) (short stories, Redrobe Books, 2022)

Awards and honors

Mazelis has won a prize in the Rhys Davies Short Story Award five times, was longlisted for the Asham Award and received prizes in the PenFRO and

Allen Raine Allen Raine was the pseudonym of the Welsh novelist Anne Adalisa Beynon Puddicombe (6 October 1836 – 21 June 1908), who was born in Newcastle Emlyn. Her novels had sold more than two million copies by 1912. Life She was born Anne Adalisa Evan ...

competitions. Mazelis was shortlisted for the 2023 in the short fiction category for her book

References

External links

Official website

Interview by Rupert Dastur in The Short Story (2015)

In conversation with Jo Mazelis, Wales Arts Review, 2015

Jo Mazelis in conversation with David Hurn, Wales Arts Review, 2015

Interview in AmeriCymru (2014)

Video/audio reading from Significance and Ritual, 1969 at International Literature Showcase
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazelis, Jo 1956 births Living people 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century Welsh novelists 21st-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh writers Welsh short story writers People from the Gower Peninsula Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of Swansea Metropolitan University Alumni of the University of West London Welsh women novelists British women graphic designers British graphic designers British women short story writers