Calon unveils spring 2024 list

Calon, the new trade imprint launched in 2022 by the University of Wales Press, has unveiled its 2024 spring list.

World rights to all titles were acquired by publisher Amy Feldman directly from the authors. The books include titles on landscape, travel, music, poetry, wildlife and the NHS.

Maria Vassilopoulos, global sales manager of Calon, said: “There’s something for everyone, from celebrations of Wales’s landscape, literature and the explosive 1990s music scene, to a no-holds-barred look at general practice in the NHS, an institution launched by a Welshman 75 years ago. That we have been able to curate such an exciting and diverse list while remaining true to our mission of publishing books that address subjects that have universal appeal, but a Welsh flavour just goes to highlight the breadth and beauty of this country, and its influence on the world.”

Why Can’t I see my GP? by Dr Ellen Welch publishes on 8th February and takes a timely look at the state of general practice in the NHS, from its creation in 1948 to the crises we’re living through today. This book includes personal accounts from GPs as well as international perspectives.

Poems from the Soul Twelve of the Great Hymns of Wales by M Wynn Thomas brings together a dozen of Wales’ best-loved hymns, ranging from the visionary intensity of Ann Griffiths to the striking biblical imagery of Wales’ unofficial national anthem, "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer". It reveals the heart and soul of a people’s poetry and will publish on 29th February.

In Tir: The Story of the Welsh Landscape, author of the acclaimed Welsh Food Stories (2022) Carwyn Graves takes us on a tour of seven key elements of the Welsh landscape, ranging from ffridd, or mountain pasture, to the rhos, or wild moorland, and diving deep into the history and ecology of each of these landscapes. It will publish on 21st March. 

With the company of Gwendoline, his trusty but ancient scooter, in The Long Unwinding Road travel writer Marc P Jones follows the titular road that is the A470, linking North to South Wales, on a warm and funny quest to discover what makes his homeland tick. The book will publish on 4th April.

In Sheeplands: How Sheep Shaped Wales and the World farmer and author Alan Marshall explores how landscapes both in Wales and across the world have been impacted and influenced by one specific thing: sheep. It will publish on 25th April.

Sea Glass: A Collection by Kathryn Tann, publishing on 9th May, draws together creative non-fiction with nature writing and memoir, connecting her own life experiences with the natural world around her with her collection of sea glass in which each piece has a memory of a significant moment.

Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature is a personal, unique and funny approach to exploring Welsh literature, from the bardic tradition to contemporary experimental writers. With a nod to Dante’s "Inferno", writer and broadcaster Gary Raymond imagines himself to be led through the many-layered realms of Welsh literature, not by Virgil but by the late Professor Raymond Williams. It will publish 23rd May.

Finally International Velvet: How Wales Conquered the ’90s Charts by Neil Collins tells the story of well-known chart-topping bands such as the Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics and Catatonia, electro/techno music legends Underworld, Welsh-language acts such as Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, as well as a host of exciting lesser-known bands. It will publish on 13th June.