Llwyd Owen is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

-language

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 1977. He lives in Cardiff with his wife and daughters and works as a translator when not writing fiction. As well as publishing six acclaimed Welsh language novels and one English language adaptation, he is also a published poet and photographer who presented his own television documentary on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

on the Cardiff art scene in 2008.

Literary career

His first novel, ''Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau'' (''Fate, Shame & Lies'') was published by

Y Lolfa Y Lolfa (Welsh for ''The Lounge'', ) is a Welsh printing and publishing company based in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, in Mid-Wales. It publishes a wide variety of books in Welsh and English. It also provides a commercial print service. Y Lolfa was est ...

in March 2006, and his second, ''Ffydd Gobaith Cariad'' (''Faith Hope Love'') in November 2006. ''Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau'' was described by the judges of the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

' Daniel Owen Memorial Prize as "close to genius" but was not awarded the prize. Critics have said that it goes "beyond normal and safe publishing boundaries" because of its disturbing content, swearing and slang, which is uncommon in Welsh-language

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

. Publication of the book was delayed for a year due to its

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

nature. An English-language version of ''Ffydd Gobaith Cariad'' adapted by the author himself was published in May 2010 by Alcemi with the title ''Faith Hope & Love''. It garnered favourable reviews, with Suzy Ceulan Hughes of the ''

New Welsh Review ''New Welsh Review'' is a literary magazine published in Wales. Its primary language is English, with brief excerpts of texts indicated in the original Welsh. History Founded in 1988 as successor to ''The Welsh Review'' (1939–1948), ''Dock Leaves ...

'' calling it "deftly plotted and pitch-perfect in its pacing", ''Time Out Magazine'' praising it as "an absorbing fable… enjoyable and pacey… providing a thoughtful take on what it means to be alive and how suffering can control and overwhelm you" and ''The South Wales Argus'' claiming the author to be "Wales' answer to

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

". His English-language translation of his third novel, ''Yr Ergyd Olaf,'' was originally published in serialised form on his website before being released in print under the title ''The Last Hit''. The main character was inspired by a chance encounter with a Welsh-born member of a

biker gang An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

while Owen was living in Mission Beach, Queensland.

Awards and nominations

* 2007

Welsh Language Book of the Year Award The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently ad ...

for ''Ffydd Gobaith Cariad.'' * 2008

Longlisted A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

for the

for ''Yr Ergyd Olaf''.

Works

* ''Ffawd, Cywilydd a Chelwyddau'' ('''Fate, Shame & Lies''', novel; Y Lolfa, 2006) * ''Ffydd Gobaith Cariad'' ('''Faith Hope Love, novel; Y Lolfa, 2006) * ''Yr Ergyd Olaf'' ('''The Last Hit, novel; Y Lolfa, 2007) * ''Mr Blaidd'' ('''Mr Wolf''', novel; Y Lolfa, 2009) * ''Faith Hope & Love (''English translation of ''Ffydd Gobaith Cariad''; Alcemi, 2010) * ''Un Ddinas Dau Fyd'' ('''One City Two Worlds','' novel; Y Lolfa, 2011) * ''Heulfan'' ('''Conservatory''', novel; Y Lolfa, 2012) * ''The Last Hit'' (English translation of ''Yr Ergyd Olaf''; Y Lolfa, 2013) * ''Y Ddyled'' ('''The Debt, novel; Y Lolfa, 2014) * ''Taffia'' ('''Taffia, novel; Y Lolfa, 2016) * ''Pyrth Uffern'' ('''Gates of Hell, thriller; Y Lolfa, 2018) * ''Iaith y Nefoedd'' ('''The Language of Heaven, novella; Y Lolfa, 2019) * ''Rhedeg i Parys'' ('''Running to Parys, novel; Y Lolfa, 2020)

References

External links

Author's website
(in Welsh and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Llwyd Living people 1977 births People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf Welsh novelists Welsh-language writers Writers from Cardiff