As part of Wales Arts Review’s Digithon, Richard Owain Roberts reads from his upcoming debut novel, Hello Friend We Missed You.
“This is the first of many movies I will make, thank you for lookng at it. I am reading from my debut novel Hello Friend We Missed You, available to preorder via Parthian now. It’s not for me to say any more in this moment.” – Richard Owain Roberts
‘This is so, so good. You will no doubt read this book, as I did, with an ever-growing sense of appreciation and admiration for its wit, warmth, rhythm, poetry, and virtuoso display of a writer in complete and audacious command of his material. What is at root a simple boy-meets-girl story is transmuted into something uniquely astonishing through a wild and intrepid imagination. To repeat: this novel is so, soooo good.’ – Niall Griffiths
‘…a writer of exceptional stylistic talent but one who manages to bring characters and places into vibrant life. This is an undeniably cool book but it also has a great deal of soul. He could be the voice of our generation, I hope people are reading.’ – Amy Lloyd, One More Lie (Penguin)
‘If one of the functions of the novel is to reflect the world around us then HELLO FRIEND WE MISSED YOU is as close as you can get to a perfect piece of art.’ – Rhys Thomas, The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway (Wildfire)
At Wales Arts Review we believe a healthy thriving creative culture is the backbone of any progressive society. It is clear now that in the wake of the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus, that many people who are vital contributors to the arts and culture of Wales will be taking significant financial hits as a result of necessary decisions taken to counteract the spread of the illness. Working as a freelancer in the arts is more often than not a precarious financial balancing act, particularly in Wales, and so Wales Arts Review is launching this crowdfunder in order to raise an emergency hardship fund for people struggling to make ends meet over the next few weeks due to the cancellation or postponement of projects brought about by Covid-19.
As the disruptions continue to intensify, it is important to remember many artists and workers in the creative industry are self-employed, and will be unable to collect an income as live events, workshops, and productions are cancelled or postponed indefinitely. At Wales Arts Review we have heard of many stories of people now being unable to pay rent or put food the table. We believe it is the responsibility of government, and in many cases the governing bodies of arts funding, to take a lead on these issues, and while we wait for that, Wales Arts Review wants to provide a space for the public to help alleviate some of the anxiety and hardship that is becoming widespread at the moment.
All funds raised will go to those who need it. 100% of all monies raised will be delivered as bursaries (minus the 3% fee of this crowdfunder website). Wales Arts Review will offer full transparency on how the crowdfunder operates, but anonymity is guaranteed for the bursary recipients, unless otherwise agreed.
