Every day throughout May, you will be able to visit the Library of Wales website to download your free story, drawn from Story, vols I and II - a collection boasting the finest Welsh short fiction ever written and featuring some of the most talented literary names from both past and present, including the legendary Dylan Thomas and the award-winning Rachel Trezise, as well as read all about the chosen author.

 

 

 

 

 

Nigel Jarrett is a freelance writer, a former daily-newspaper journalist and music critic. He was born in Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran and was educated at West Mon School, Pontypool, and Cardiff University. He won the Rhys Davies Prize for his short story Mrs Kuroda on Penyfan, and his debut collection of stories, Funderland, which has received enthusiastic reviews from The Guardian and The Independent, was published in 2011. His work has appeared in London Magazine, the Observer magazine, Poetry Wales, Agenda, Outposts, Poetry Ireland, The Black Mountain Review (Ulster), Cambrensis, The Raconteur, New Welsh Review, Planet, The Salisbury Review, Cambria and many others, as well as on literary websites, including The View from Here, Words with JAM and The Lampeter Review. His first poetry collection, Miners At The Quarry Pool, was published in 2013, edited by by poet Alan Kellermann and the cover design is based on one of Nigel's portrait drawings of coalminers. He has led writing workshops, judged writing competitions and is a frequent guest-speaker, lately at the Newport and Gwent Literary Club.

 

Since 1987 he has been music critic of the South Wales Argus and writes Music Matters, a column about classical music, for its weekly arts and entertainments supplement, The Guide. He reviews jazz for Jazz Journal and poetry for Acumen magazine and contributes articles and reviews on music to the online Wales Arts Review. One of his most recent essays, a tribute to the violinist Raymond Jeremy, appeared in the British Music Society Journal and continues to attract interest and attention. Jarrett has written for the SR on the British jury system, musical competitions, politically-correct zoos and Philip Larkin, the jazz critic. He's also been interviewed on author websites, including by the novelist Vanessa Gebbie and on the Authorise and Writers Corner Cymru sites. In September 2013 he collaborated with curator Ron McCormick on the catalogue for an exhibition of marine paintings at Southampton Solent University by the Newport artist Clive McCarthy.

 

He likes drawing, never tires of gazing at his cat and is insanely devoted to jazz. He lives in Monmouthshire with his wife Ann, a retired teacher, and for two years he's been writing a light-hearted column called Monmouthshire Meander for Monmouthshire County Life magazine. 

 

 

Miners at the Quarry Pool (Parthian, 2013)

Funderland (Parthian, 2011)

 

 

Story II (anthology) (Library of Wales, 2014)

Mama’s Baby (Papa’s Maybe) (Parthian, 1999)

Tilting at Windmills (Parthian, 1998)