Click for more from Alan Bilton on AmeriCymru ... Central Russia, 1919, a sanatorium cut off by the chaos of the Russian civil war. The murder of the chief doctor sets in motion a nightmarish series of events involving mysterious experiments, the secret police, the Tsar’s double, an enigmatic ‘visitor’, giant corpses, possessed cats, sorcery, and the overwhelming madness of war, in this fantastical and wildly exuberant historical novel. BUY HERE                                                                 Commendations A bold and confident n ovel...

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Read our interview with author Dave Lewis here ... This is Dave's twenty-first book and fourth novel.  A gritty ‘Cymru noir’ thriller set in various locations around south Wales and the UK.  The book is available as a paperback as well as an e-book and can be found on Amazon and in all good book shops… Synopsis An authentic British road trip and old-fashioned love story. A violent but compelling tale of grim landscapes and dark morality. Paul Thorne is no angel.  A hard man with a troubled past, his mistake was to fall for the wrong girl....

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Dyma ddetholiad o straeon gan unigolion sydd wedi tystio i'r twf mewn cefnogaeth i annibyniaeth, boed hynny yn sgil Ewro 2016, refferendwm Brexit neu'r penderfyniad yn nyddiau'r Coronafeirws mai annibyniaeth i Gymru yw'r unig ffordd ymlaen. . Here is a selection of stories from individuals who have witnessed the growth in support for independence whether in the weeks of Euro 2016, the Brexit referendum or the decision in the days of the Coronavirus that independence for Wales is the only way forward. . Ar gael yn  www.ylolfa.com  a thrwy eich siop lyfrau leol am...

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South Wales’ coal industry is world famous, and north Wales’ slate industry is recognised thanks to the Slate Museum in Llanberis as well as numerous publications celebrating its history. But what about the lost ore industry in mid Wales? Ioan Lord, author of a new bilingual book on the subject,  Worn by Tools and Time: Ore from Mid Wales  (Y Lolfa), hopes to bring attention to the history and the importance of the industry and its workers through his descriptive text and brand-new photographs of the underground world created centuries ago.   “The fact that such a small...

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Popular illustrator and artist Valériane Leblond has written her first book for children, as well as painting the images that bring the story to life.  The Quilt  (Y Lolfa) is a beautifully illustrated hardback offering a message of hope which is sure to also strike a chord with many adult readers in these difficult days: when things look bleak, remember that happy times will return.  The story follows a little girl who lives with her parents on a farm near the coast, around the turn of the twentieth century. Times are hard and the family decides to emigrate to America, raising the...

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The powerful rural stories of the semi-legendary people who lived in the ancient village of Tremeirchion and the unorthodox community of Sodom in the Clwydian Range of Denbighshire are told for the first time in  On a Dark Night with Enough Wind  (Y Lolfa). The author, Lilla Pennant – part English, part Welsh – tells her story which is connected to our rural past with its drama, comedies and tragedies.   “From my early childhood I was fascinated by the self-sufficiency and wisdom of the people who lived ‘on the mountain’ near my childhood home. I wanted to know their story. Over...

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A new book chronicling the life and work of celebrated Welsh photojournalist Geoff Charles (1909-2002), who captured a unique record of twentieth-century life in Wales and the Borders with his extraordinary photography. It includes 120 photographs and a biography written by a journalist colleague who knew him well. These stunning black-and-white images include the Gresford mining disaster of 1934, the effect of the Second World War on rural Montgomeryshire and the controversial flooding of the Tryweryn valley to provide water for Liverpool. They record profound social changes in...

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To his friends in the 14 th century Dafydd ap Gwilym was paun cerdd, eos Dyfed, and penceirddwalch ‘the peacock of poetry’, ‘the nightingale of Dyfed’, and ‘the hawk of chief poets’. More than 650 years later he is still considered by many to be the finest Welsh poet ever. He is a delightful, at times hilarious, poet who explores the emotional complexities of love, especially unrequited love, with a self-mocking style that teaches us more than he seems, at first, to be saying. To say he loved nature is an understatement. He loved the world in all kinds of weather, which he...

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EXCLUSIVE FOR AMERICYMRU READERS AmeriCymru is pleased to announce the availability of a small number of first edition hardback copies of 'John Jenkins: The Reluctant Revolutionary?' by Dr Wyn Thomas. The hardback first edition is now out of print. Originally priced at $34.00 this important & historic biography can be yours for only $23.99 including shipping and handling (offer applies in U.S. only). New, unread and unmarked but slightly damaged with bumped corners.  "The mastermind of a Welsh bombing campaign in the 1960s claims that the terrorist group he led could have...

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The author of an unusual new handy pocket-sized phrasebook is hoping to use humour to inspire people to learn a few basic bits of Japanese in readiness for the Rugby World Cup, which will be held in Japan in September 2019. Unlike many traditional phrasebooks, Teach your Dog Japanese Rugby World Cup 2019 Travel Edition  (Y Lolfa) shows that learning useful expressions doesn’t have to be boring or daunting, and makes picking up a few basics accessible to everyone.  Every phrase is shown in both  romaji  (Japanese  words spelt out using our alphabet) and English, accompanied...

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This week sees the publication of In Passing: A Welshman’s bizarre adventures from Merthyr to Mecca  by distinguished Welsh academic, Professor Randall Baker.   The unusual collection of offbeat anecdotes are a collection of just some of the strange incidents which have happened to him over a period of 65 years, and over several continents: “ I am lucky to have done an awful lot of travelling, including with the Spanish Foreign Legion in the colony of Spanish Sahara, being surprised by several nasty earthquakes, and being in East Germany as they built the wall, but my...

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A new novel by Welsh author Sam Adams was inspired by a family Bible. The novel called  In the Vale , published by Y Lolfa, is a family saga that takes the reader from London to the Vale of Glamorgan and outwards into the social ferment and bloody turmoil of the Napoleonic era. It was inspired by the Williams family, who lived in the Vale of Glamorgan. George Williams, Rector of Llantrithyd was the Bible’s original owner, and used it to record the births and deaths of his and his wife Sarah’s children. Sam Adams received the Bible, which has been passed down from father to son since...

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This week sees the publication of a book of delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes from the hugely successful catering company No Bones Jones.  No Bones Jones: Festival Cookbook  shines a spotlight on the authentic, wholesome vegetarian and vegan food that the company supplies to festivalgoers across the UK.   No Bones Jones started after Hugh Jones returned from a long period driving an overland tourist bus around India, Nepal and Turkey in the 1980s.   “When he left, he knew little about food or catering, and cared even less. When he came back, he was a man transformed! He...

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LLYFR NEWYDD I DDATHLU  COFIWCH DR YWERYN! Rydyn ni angen eich lluniau a’ch straeon!  Mae Gwasg Y Lolfa’n paratoi cyfrol ddwyieithog i drafod a dathlu’r ffenomenon ddiweddaraf o furluniau Cofiwch Dryweryn, i’w chyhoeddi yn Hydref 2019.  Bydd y gyfrol yn cynnwys detholiad o’r murluniau newydd sydd wedi eu creu o gwmpas Cymru mewn ymateb i’r trosedd casineb yn erbyn y murlun eiconig gwreiddiol.  Meddai golygydd y gyfrol Mari Emlyn: “Cyfyngir y dewis o luniau i furluniau yn bennaf. Ni fydd yn bosib cynnwys pob murlun a llun yn y gyfrol, ond rydym yn chwilio...

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This week sees the publication of Mostly Welsh , a collection of poems by Chris Armstrong. The collection blends the historic with mythological and personal themes and deals with love, loss and his relationship with Wales and Ceredigion.  The process of writing the collection began over 15 years ago:  “After losing my wife, nearly all of the poems I wrote were focussed on her and losing her – things I wished I had expressed while she was still alive, or at least said better, said more or more often. Poetry – both reading and writing – developed into some sort of catharsis or...

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In the summer of 2012 musician Delyth Jenkins walked the 186 miles of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path over a period of 17 days. With her she carried her Welsh harp and hoped to give a series of impromptu path-side concerts. That Would Be Telyn (Y Lolfa) is an inspiring account of her adventures and the people she met and played for along the way. Delyth set out to challenge herself both physically and creatively and combined three things that she loved: walking, playing the harp and the Pembrokeshire coast. “The walk itself was a creative process. I had no idea when I started...

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The crisis of plastic in our oceans has been exposed on television in recent months. Now a Welsh author is introducing the importance of marine life and its conservation to children in a new wonderfully illustrated book.  The book is called The Grimpots , about a family of fun-loving umbrella octopuses and has a strong ecological message is published by Y Lolfa. Author Gilly John is fascinated by the natural world and its lesser-known inhabitants, and takes a keen interest in conservation.  “Encouraging children to be curious about the world around them can only be...

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Packed with lively double-page illustrations, a new book starring a small dragon has been hailed as the Welsh  Where’s Wally?  However,  Find the Dragon!  has an obvious Welsh slant, with every double page showing an iconic Welsh location, including Mount Snowdon, Caerphilly Castle and Portmeirion. Other scenes include the Red Wall at a Wales football match, a Gower beach and a farm full of disobedient sheep.  As well as searching for the little dragon, the pictures can also be used to search for many other bizarre objects and characters listed at the back of the book....

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REVIEW Teach Your Dog Welsh may be the cutest book I have ever seen in my life.  Illustrator Anne Cakebread has done a fantastic, small volume of useful and everyday Welsh phrases for dogs, many of which are also useful when speaking to your fellow humans. I’m supposed to be reviewing it and then giving it back, but I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.  I’m keeping this copy and everyone else will just have to buy their own. Teach Your Dog Welsh is published by Y Llofa because who else would do this book but “the fun place”? Each of the more than fifty nifty...

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This week sees the publication of Absolutely Huge (Y Lolfa), the hilarious memoirs of Gethin 'Huge' Hughes, Welsh rugby's most famous imaginary player. Affectionately sending up Welsh rugby and the media hype surrounding it, Absolutely Huge spoofs the standard tell-all sports autobiography format, charting the highs and lows of Huge’s remarkable and meteoric rise from youth player to worldwide star, and revealing the truth behind his often controversial career both on and off the pitch. The book has already received great reviews, with The Guardian describing it as “an...

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