Cynan Jones is one of Wales’ most accomplished contemporary writers. Wales Arts Review has put together a comprehensive guide of our features on the writer, including interviews, reviews, and original works.
Jones was born in Wales in 1975 and now lives and works in Ceredigion. Rather grandly, Jones’s writing has drawn comparisons with Hemingway, Faulkner and, most particularly, Cormac McCarthy. His first novel, The Long Dry (2006), won a Betty Trask Award. Everything I Found on the Beach (2011) and Bird, Blood, Snow (2012) , his retelling of the Mabinogion tale of Peredur, received praise. With The Dig, published by Granta, he entered the big time, and this was followed by the success of his novel Cove as well as Stillicide, a selection of short stories which was initially aired as a series on BBC Radio 4. His work has been translated into more than ten languages and republished in the United States.
Jones is able, in many fewer words than most writers, to construct detailed, emotive dialogues between man and nature. This collection of our features on him aims to serve as a starting point for those who have not yet discovered his works, as well as a comprehensive resource for those looking for access to ‘behind-the-scenes’ insights.
‘Aberarth’ by Cynan Jones | Fiction
Jones’ Aberarth is a part of Wales Arts Reviews’ short story anthology A Fiction Map of Wales, published out of a desire to encourage and promote new short fiction in Wales.
Favourite Short Stories: Cynan Jones
Cynan Jones delves into his past and introduces us to his favourite short stories, explaining his struggle since childhood to find a form so transformative.
The Dig by Cynan Jones | Books
Jim Morphy reviews Jones’ The Dig, a deeply descriptive novel, masterfully written with just 156 pages of near-poetic prose.
John Lavin interviews Jones to deliver the inside scoop on his latest novel The Dig, and learn more about his writing process.
A Father in Zion Story: Retold Interview | Cynan Jones
Rhys Milsom interviews Jones on A Father in Zion, a retelling of Caradoc Evans’ A Father in Sion, as part of the Wales Arts Review Story: Retold series.
Flash Fiction Month | Girl in the Grass Cynan Jones
Cynan Jones with Girl in the Grass as the first contribution to Wales Arts Reviews’ Flash Fiction Month, a month-long celebration of the flash fiction form.
Rabeea Saleema reviews Cove, the latest novel from Jones, and finds a book that is a contemplative look at the relationship between man and nature.
Cove | An Interview with Cynan Jones
John Lavin talks to Jones’ about the process of writing his fifth novel, Cove, published last November to considerable acclaim.
How I Wrote…The Dig | Cynan Jones
Cynan Jones lets us in on his process when writing his critically acclaimed novel The Dig, revealing all the ups and downs.
How I Wrote…Stillicide | Cynan Jones
Jones charts the journey of his new work for BBC Radio Four, Stillicide, a tough collection of dystopian stories that tell of a future Britain fighting for water.
Stillicide by Cynan Jones | Books
Gareth Kent reviews Jones’s intimate portrayal of life’s perseverance in the face of ecological decline, in his new novel through short stories, Stillicide.
Cynan Jones on Stillicide | Interview
Holly McElroy interviews Jones about Stillicide, a collection of twelve short stories that aired on BBC Radio Four in the summer of 2019.
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