Pantolwen Press launches with Rivett’s The Priest’s Wife

Publisher of Pantolwen Press, Gillian Paschkes-Bell, has acquired world rights direct from the author for A G Rivett’s novel The Priest’s Wife.

It will be the launch title for Pantolwen Press and will be published as a paperback original and an e-book on 20th October 2023.

Rivett said: “In The Priest’s Wife, Morag follows the hero’s journey within a Celtic setting that takes the reader back towards the roots of the culture of the British Isles. I wanted to explore the struggle between nature-affirming and nature-denying world-views which I believe will strike a chord with the present awareness of the precariousness of the course humanity has set in seeking to control nature.”

The synopsis reads: “The Priest’s Wife tells the story of Morag’s journey after the tragic death of her husband, the priest of the community, which culminates in her becoming a priest in her own right, defying the culture in which she lives.”

Paschkes-Bell said: “I am proud to be launching Pantolwen Press with three very fine titles. And I am deeply grateful to the Books Council of Wales for its recognition and the support it has offered with finance, advice and distribution services. The Priest’s Wife will be my first new book and it works on so many levels, charting the arc of loss, change and emancipation in one woman’s life at the same time as holding up a mirror to the interdependence between community and individual.”