An aspiring writer has secured a book deal with top publisher Faber, nine years on from entering a local arts festival competition.
Thomas Morris, 28, from Caerphilly town, first put pen to paper for the Aber Valley Arts Festival Undercurrents in 2006 and has credited the competition for setting him on his career path as a writer.
Mr Morris, who has been living in Dublin since 2005, said: “The Valley Arts Festival inspired me to write and finish the first short story I ever wrote. The buzz I got from actually completing a story was huge. Placing the story in the competition and winning a bit of money gave validation to my writing at a crucial time. It encouraged me to keep going.”
Aber Valley councillor John Roberts, one of the organisers of the festival, said: “It was nice for him to get in touch with us about his news. I’m so pleased for him.
“It’s only a little community festival but people can use it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, which is what he’s done. I wish him all the best and I hope others can use this as an incentive to get involved with us.”
Mr Morris’s debut We Don’t Know What We’re Doing, which will be released in July 2015, is a collection of ten short stories set in Caerphilly.
He said: “At first, it wasn’t a conscious decision to set the stories in Caerphilly, but I noticed that all my stories began to take place in the town.
“Living away from it, I started to see how unique a place Caerphilly is. Each time I brought people to the town, they’d be blown away by the castle, or the view of the street lights as you come over Caerphilly Mountain.
“People were interested in the stories I told about the place, and I realised that this is partly because there’s so little written about these parts of the country.”
He added: “I wanted to write about ordinary people and those small moments when things can make or break a person. Some of the stories are perhaps a bit bleak, but they’re meant to be funny too. In South Wales I think we take our knocks with good humour.”
• Aber Valley Arts Festival is open for submissions of art, short stories and poetry.
Deadline for submissions on the theme of ‘Journeys’ is Monday September 22.
For full information, including entry fees, call 02920 831 668.