The Book of Cardiff

About

A snowball fight between rival schools, divided by language, melts into a genuine offer of support for a family of newcomers...
 

A homeless man recalls how he inherited his grandmother’s ability to smell lies, only to tell his biggest fib right in front of her...
 

An embattled sweetshop owner plots revenge on a mischievous schoolboy – one who might be familiar to us all…
 

As the stories in this anthology demonstrate, the small but mighty capital of Wales has a lot to boast about: a vibrant independent music scene, an unbreakable community spirit, and a knack for storytelling. But perhaps it’s the city’s sense of defiance that comes closest to defining the ‘Cardiffian’.
 

Whether in the playgrounds of Splott, the shop-fronts of Llandaff, or the bars of Butetown, we meet streetwise characters who upend our expectations: forgiving those who’ve wronged them, flouting conventions, and offering warmth where none was expected.

Press

Read Co-Editor Martha O'Brien's Author's Notes piece in Western Mail's Weekend Magazine.

‘The Book of Cardiff is a riotous, textured collection of local voices past and present. The co-editors and contributors should take pride in the superbly weird glimpse they’ve given here.’ -  Folding Rock Magazine

'An authentic, warts-and-all representation of what it is to be a part of the city’s unbreakable community, consider The Book Of Cardiff essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the modern heart of Wales.' - Buzz Magazine

‘This anthology proves that Cardiff’s greatest strength is its people. Messy, imaginative, defiant, and endlessly worth writing about.’ - The Edit Wales