LottieWilliamsWriter

 Oh my days, November was a month of gifts.  Firstly, the Nigel Jenkins Award, then a distinction for my MA Creative Writing at Swansea University, and now this - MODRON have nominated me for the Pushcart Prize!  It was such an honour to have been published by them in the first place - in a magazine so beautifully vital right now - but for them to have nominated me is an absolute dream.  A humbling dream.  An exciting dream.  Thank you, thank you.  I am so grateful.

I am so incredibly happy to be able to share the news that I have been awarded the Nigel Jenkins Award for Creative Writing, in partnership with Swansea University MA programme and the H'mm Foundation, both of which the late great Nigel Jenkins helped to set up.  What an absolute honour it was to stand up at the book launch of Nigel's posthumous poetry anthology launch 'Wild Cherry' last week and read from my dissertation in front of a full gathering.  Next month I shall be awarded this prestigious trophy at another event in Swansea, the book launch of last year's winner Gaynor Funnell.  I am a humble, excitable bubble!  Image is used with thanks to Swansea University Cultural Institute.

  Back in June I had the absolute pleasure of being asked to read at the MODRON event at These 3 Streams festival in Llantwit Major, alongside Abeer Ameer, introduced by Kristian Evans and Taz Rahman, and organised by Sarah Persson at Siti Restaurant.  It was a fabulous evening with a great crowd, tasty food and climate focused poetry.   Pop over to  These 3 Streams for more info.

  I am over the moon to be able to tell you that I have chosen by Literature Wales to be a member of their inaugural Writing Well cohort.  I'm ready to immerse myself in how to facilitate workshops for writing for wellbeing, starting with a weekend up in Ty Newydd this Autumn.  Excited and humbled both at the same time. Pop over to the  Writing Well cohort  for more information.

  I had the pleasure of co-presenting a session entitled 'When participants die' alongside Mel Perry at the Creative Bridges 2023 Lapidus International Conference.  There were so many amazing contributors and I learnt so much about the world of writing for wellbeing from all around the world.  Big shout out to the organisers and the tech team who simultaneously Zoomed three sessions in each slot, giving us the choice of which to attend from the comfort of our own homes!

I have absolutely loved partaking in two discussion and reading sessions for Race Council Cymru at Swansea Grand Theatre.  Organised and hosted by Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh, the first session in March included nature prose that featured climate, travel and history, as well as in conversation with Eric Ngalle Charles, and the second in April featured poetry/spoken word from myself and from Amaris Powell.  It was packed out in the room, with a really warm and engaged atmosphere, and it generated some really interesting discussion points.  The next session in May will welcome Jon Gower to the room.  Well worth a visit!

I am so pleased my poem, On Solfach Beach , has found a home (the BEST home for it!) in the online  Modron Magazine - Writing on Nature and the Ecological Crisis.  Solfach beach is found on Ynys Enlli / Bardsey Island and, when I was there last year, a storm had thrown piles of seaweed up onto the sand.  I imagined my daughter there, sifting her way through the bladderwrack and sea-shaped plastic bottle bottoms and aluminium cans.  Modron is a really important publication for the climate and ecological crisis, full of relevant poetry, articles and films.

So... last weekend I attended a residential at the Black Mountains College entitled 'Writing, Climate and the Living World', centred around the Climate and Ecological Emergency. I am so grateful to have been supported by LitWales so I could attend. Course tutors Tom Bullough and Jay Griffiths were so warm, welcoming and knowledgable.  From the moment we arrived to when we left, they gave us their full time and commitment.  I have learnt so much from them in such a short space, including practical writing advice and heartfelt thoughts and information about the CEE.  Pascale Petit was so giving and gentle, but with passion to her core.  She helped me understand how trauma can be written with distance and with nature at the centre. The other participants were also wonderful.  From various backgrounds and writing experiences, we quickly gelled.  I have learnt so much from them all, including the reverence of tiger souls and Shamanic traditions, to personal impacts of flooding, to c

 I loved writing this - it's one of those pieces that just spills from your pen because the occasion was just so beautiful.  It's about my youngest girl (who loves picking and eating blackberries) and really highlights how important writing is - preserving an incredibly special moment in time with words.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it https://nation.cymru/culture/a-blackberry-party/ xx

 So my pieces about Studio Cennen's beautiful exhibition have been featured in various email newsletters and on social media from @studiocennen, online in Nation.Cymru (more of an article about the exhibition) and in print in The Bay, Swansea's Free Lifestyle Magazine (more of a nature piece about the sea).  It has been fabulous to be able to create these for Brigid, the owner and curator at Studio Cennen in Llandeilo.  She puts on six exhibitions a year and I highly recommend a visit - you won't be disappointed. 

I have had an amazing three days at the Seren Cardiff Poetry Festival 2022 working alongside Taz Rahman, Alun Gibbard, Hammad Rind and Jona Ray.  Together, we have created 30 (yes 30!) videos documenting the festival from opening discussions, conversations with poets and attendees, to end of day reflections.  From start to finish it was a BLAST!  To say I was nervous at first is an understatement but the camaraderie and support from all involved quickly put my mind at ease.  The panels, poetry readings and workshops were informative, passionate and vital - especially when you consider the theme of well-being.  I especially loved chatting with Amy Wack, who showed once more what a giving and caring individual she is.  Special thanks must go to Taz Rahman, founder and all round amazing producer of the videos which are found on his YouTube channel Just Another Poet, and the Seren Poetry team who welcomed us, and everyone, with open arms into this supportive community.  You can see some of

  I'm super excited to be reporting on the different events in the Seren Cardiff Poetry Festival, 29th - 31st July 2022, with Just Another Poet Wales!  I'll be tweeting live from the events, and short films will accompany these on the Just Another Poet YouTube channel, run by Taz Rahman.   For more information, check out: https://cardiffpoetryfestival.com/programme/ @CardiffPoetry Just Another Poet (YouTube) https://tazrahman.blogspot.com /  @amonochromdream  

I was recently asked to create a short piece (see below) about my garden and my children for Studio Cennen, a beautiful art gallery in Llandeilo. Check out their current exhibition entitled Body : Stitch : Soul : Grow which is on until 30th July 2022. Further information can be found on their website https://studiocennen.com/ or on Instagram @studiocennen. Each afternoon, when the midday sun is at its highest and the top of the garden is partly in the shade of the ash, we venture barefoot to the old cherry tree.  In the later years of its life,  green leaves umbrella rough bark and is the perfect place to hang our bird feeders.  We have three.  My young children fill the seed holder first using doidy cups and, whilst most goes in, a spray of bouncing seeds scatter the ground, perfect for the larger birds.  My children take it in turns to drop in two fat balls each, then the suet block, and we hang them from a stunted branch.   We then check on the vegetables and recite their names

I'm in my very own Youtube video!  The wonderful Taz Rahman from Just Another Poet has a new segment about Rising Stars and asked me to feature!  It was so much fun to film and seeing the finished product has been really exciting (my mum thinks so too!) So please watch/like/share/support and I'll love you forevereverever! xx

Last week I spent five days on the absolutely beautiful Ynys Enlli / Bardsey Island (it was originally going to be seven, but sea swells, currents and winds reminded us of who really is in charge!) The weather continued to be changeable throughout which added to the experience, and, during a particularly rainy afternoon, I discovered the northern bird hide and hunkered happily in there for a while.  The wildlife was sublime.  From birds to seals, lichen to wildflowers, Enlli delivered, and I will never forget the haunting calls of the Manx shearwaters as they arrived back to the island under a blanket of dark.  My friend Mel and I stood outside late at night to listen, then went back to bed, our windows flung open and our curtains wide so the calls could filter our dreams.  I was told that once you've been to Enlli, you never really leave.  I now understand what that means.  

 This week I sent off my first reader report for the Books Council of Wales.  My task was to read a yet unpublished manuscript requesting a grant fund, and then compile a report on the expected quality of the published product.  I loved this process, reading and assessing and thinking forward to how it could look as a finished book, and the content was well matched to my love for reading 💚  Hopefully more will come my way...

I loved performing my work at the Creative Writing Showcase, just one of the many varied sessions at the Swansea University Postgraduate Research Festival.  The piece I read was in a 'Country Diary' style and guided the audience along the strandline of Swansea Beach before exploring the sand dunes of Crymlyn Burrows.  The community of writers at Swansea University is so wonderful.  We are a friendly bunch and hugely supportive of each other so it was a joy to hear others read too.