Industry Insider – Living in a bilingual country: writers’ perspectives

Two award-winning first-language Welsh writers, Manon Steffan Ros and Melanie Owen, join Cath Barton, Chair of SoA Cymru Committee, to discuss their experiences of living in a bilingual country.

The shameful history of the Welsh Not, a token used by teachers at some schools in Wales, mainly in the 19th century, to discourage children from speaking Welsh, still casts a shadow over the country today, and arguably still causes divisions amongst us. The north-south divide in our country is real and a lot of that is about language.

Now, more than ever, we need to look for ways of overcoming such divisions and strengthening the writing communities in Wales. 

This event is in conjunction with the Society of Authors Cymru

What will this session cover?

• Reflections by our panellists on their personal experiences of living and working in a bilingual country.
• Steps are being taken by the SoA to improve our provision of translated material, but we are conscious that this alone will not make first language Welsh writers feel welcome in the Society. We will discuss what more we might do.
• Discussion on how writers in Wales can find more creative and productive ways of living and working together.
• Consideration of what we can learn from perspectives from beyond our borders on writing/working in environments in which two languages are in everyday use.

#SoAatHome Industry Insider events – free for all + donation

All donations made go towards the Society of Authors’ Access Fund. The fund is to help provide authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. If you would like to make a donation with your booking, please do so when registering for the event below.

Programme

• Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Cath Barton (3 mins)
• Panel discussion chaired by Cath Barton with Manon Steffan Ross and Melanie Owen (60 mins)
• Comfort break (5 mins)
• Q&A with audience (20 mins)
• Summary and closing comments (2 mins)
• This event will be moderated by Emma Boniwell – Head of Membership & Author Communities, SoA

The Line-up

Cath Barton

Cath Barton (she/her) is an English writer who has lived in Abergavenny since 2005, and is the current Chair of Society of Authors Cymru.

Cath won the New Welsh Writing AmeriCymru Prize for the Novella 2017 for The Plankton Collector, which was published by New Welsh Review in 2018. Subsequent publications of novellas are In the Sweep of the Bay (2020, Louise Walters Books) shortlisted for Best Novella in the Saboteur Awards 2021, and Between the Virgin and the Sea (2023, Novella Express, Leamington Books). Cath’s short stories have been published in The Lonely Crowd, Strix and a number of anthologies. She was awarded a place on the 2018 Literature Wales Enhanced Mentoring Scheme to work on a collection of short stories inspired by the work of the sixteenth century Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. She is working on a novel set in the circus.

Website: www.cathbarton.com 

Manon Steffan Ros

Manon Steffan Ros was born in Snowdonia and worked as an actress before becoming a writer. She writes for adults and children and has won the Wales Book of the Year for her adult fiction as well as being four-times winner of the Tir na N’Og Welsh children’s literature award. She has also won  Eisteddfod and National Theatre Wales awards for her drama writing. She lives in north Wales with her two sons and baby daughter. With The Blue Book of Nebo, Manon won the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing.

X: @ManonSteffanRos

Melanie Owen

Mel Owen is an award-winning comedian, writer and presenter. In 2024, Mel published her first novel, Oedolyn(ish!), which was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2025 and selected for the 2026 Quick Reads scheme. Script writing credits include Netflix, Channel 4, BBC One and BBC Radio 4.

About the Society of Authors Cymru

The Society of Authors Cymru is a national group of the Society of Authors. Established in 2018, we provide professional advice and support for Welsh writers at all stages of their career, whether they write in English or Welsh.

We organise regular events and host socials across the year via a volunteer steering committee and local groups. Join us to meet authors across Wales, find out what’s happening in your area and be a part of your local Society of Authors community.

Find out more here

Send us your questions

If you would like to send questions in advance, email EBoniwell@societyofauthors.org with ’AI in Wales’ in the subject header. We will prioritise questions sent in advance and answer as many as we can from the audience on the day.

Accessibility

• Attendees will have the option to turn on the live transcript, to watch with subtitles
• If you require BSL interpretation for this event, please email events@societyofauthors.org

Booking

Please either use the form titled ‘Register – no donation’ or the option of the different ticket options with a donation amount depending on how much you would like to donate towards the Society of Authors Access Fund.