Mark Blayney

Mark Blayney writes fiction, poetry and journalism. Books include a volume of short stories Doppelgangers (Parthian, 2015) and of poetry, Loud Music Makes You Drive Faster (Parthian, 2016). He won the Somerset Maugham prize for Two Kinds of Silence (Manuscript Publishing, 2004), has been shortlisted for the Rheidol prize (New Welsh Review) on two occasions and has been longlisted for the National Poetry Competition. Mark is interested in how the individual sees things differently when removed from everyday life, and a common theme is how travel shapes and grows personality. He mentors, MCs and gives workshops, and is a regular performance poet in Cardiff. For two years Mark was a Hay Festival Writer at Work and he’s been widely published in magazines including Agenda, the London Magazine, Poetry Wales, the Interpreter’s House and the Lonely Crowd. His radio script Television is Bad for You was shortlisted in the Little Wonder radio awards, Paris (2020).

Aside from creative work Mark is a business journalist, focusing on innovation, start-ups and sustainability. He was awarded Business Journalist of the Year at the Wales Media awards in 2017. His work for the Royal Literary Fund draws together his interests in creative and nonfiction projects as he works with students across a range of disciplines. He has a CPD approach and believes individuals keep learning and improving throughout life. Latest or forthcoming books include The View from My Shed (Dreich Chapbooks, 2021) and a novel, We Say He Fell. He lives in Cardiff with his partner and son.