Gwyneth Lewis

Gwyneth Lewis is primarily a poet and has been writing since she was seven. She was National Poet of Wales in 2005–06 in its first year. Her first three books in English are collected in Chaotic Angels. Subsequent books include A Hospital Odyssey and Sparrow Tree, which won the Roland Mathias poetry award. Gwyneth is also an award-winning poet in her first language, Welsh. In 2013 she won the National Eisteddfod crown. Her bilingual words on the front of the Wales Millennium Centre are rumoured to be the largest poem in the world and appear on Doctor Who and Torchwood. She was given a Cholmondeley award for a distinguished body of work.

Gwyneth has published two books of non-fiction. Sunbathing in the Rain: a cheerful book on depression was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and won a mental health in the media award. Two in a Boat: a marital voyage describes a journey with her husband from Wales to north Africa. She also writes plays and libretti and is an award-winning broadcaster.

Gwyneth lives in Cardiff. She has spent a number of years in the USA, where she was a student at the graduate writing division of Columbia University in New York. She has held fellowships in Harvard and Stanford and a teaching position at Princeton University’s English department. Before becoming a full-time writer, Gwyneth was a television producer at BBC Wales. She likes everything to do with water and does her best to surf in west Wales.