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Blorenge Books

Chris Barber is a writer, photographer and publisher and his publishing house, Blorenge Books, is a small business established in 1985 that specialises in producing works about Wales.

Chris has spent all of his life in the Newport and Abergavenny area and his publishing house takes its name from the nearby Blorenge Mountain. He has been a full time writer ever since taking an early retirement from his position as Chief Countryside Warden with Gwent County Council in 1994 and now has 30 published books to his name.

His titles have ranged from detailed guidebooks of the Welsh countryside to the histories and legends of the country he is so proud of. He was awarded an MBE for Services to the Community and Tourism in the 2008 New Year's Honours List.

Brenda May Williams

Brenda grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but now lives in Nelson, a small village in the county borough of Caerphilly.

She is a children's author and creates fun stories that are perfectly complemented by her husband Raymond Williams' colourful and imaginative illustrations.

Her previous book titles include 'The House of Useful Things' and 'The Unusual Pet Shop', while her most recent release is called 'The Shop of Magical Things', for which Brenda will be attending a book signing at Erwood Station Craft Centre on Saturday March 16th.

Caroline Downey

Working from her home in the Black Mountains, Caroline Downey is an award winning artist who has also published a range of illustrated storybooks in recent years.

Caroline first started producing fabric craft items and scraperboard pictures to sell at the Pump House Teas and Crafts business she jointly owned with her mother. After that she started an art, design and printing business before attending a two year course at Hereford College of Art and Design as a mature student, gaining a certificate in Fine Art.

After several successful exhibitions selling her paintings Caroline finished her printing business to focus solely on her paintings full time. She has sold her work all over the world, including at the Royal College of Art, and in 2002 she won the Daley-Rowney Worldwide Golden Jubilee 'Image and Story' competition.

In 2006 she published the first book in her series 'Proper Dragon Tales' and has gone on to write and illustrate four more installments in the years since.

Karl Dixon

Brecon-based cartoonist and illustrator Karl Dixon has been drawing professionally for over 15 years, his work appearing in comic books, newspapers, film promotions and on children's TV.

His portfolio of cartoons includes illustrations for Dandy, the world's longest running comic, for whom he helped create a new character named Ollie Fliptrik. Karl has had two book collections of his cartoons produced by a European publisher.

More recently he secured a contract to write and illustrate three graphic novels titled Brabbles and Boggitt, and he followed this up by producing another graphic novel about the inhabitants of a medieval castle.

Llandoddie Books

The Llandoddies, a mythical group of elf-like creatures who have become something of a town symbol for Llandrindod Wells, are an idea that originates from Michiel Blees, Pat Welch and David Bellamy (see David's artist profile here).

The thought process was to create a group of characters and stories that would appeal to the younger generation and help give the Llandrindod a sense of good-natured humour and an identity that would attract visitors. A series of six 'Llandoddie' sculptures can be found around the town.

The books are written by Griswallt ap Llechitwyt, the pseudonym of David Bellamy, and are full of life, fun and wit suitable for children and adults alike. The illustrations are also superb and convey the character of these strange creatures.

Logaston Press

Run by Andy and Karen Johnson, this small book publisher commissions, edits, designs and distribute books from a small hamlet in Herefordshire that lends their company its name; Logaston.

The books they produce have a relevance to the geographical area they are surrounded by, with books written on Worcestershire, the Black Country, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and a large part of Wales.

Since setting up their business in 1985, Logaston Press has been responsible for the release of more than 250 titles.

Mike Parker

Mike is a British travel writer, born in Birmingham but now living near Machynlleth in Powys.

He started out as a freelance journalist but wrote his first books while still only 24 years old and has continued writing ever since.

Mike's love of travelling led him to write guide books and he is the co-author of the well-known Rough Guide to Wales series. He has presented offbeat travelogues on British TV, including Coast to Coast and Great Welsh Roads. In 2010 he has his own Radio 4 series, entitled On the Map, commissioned by the BBC.

Richard Hartnup

Author Richard Hartnup was born in Halling, Kent and studied Botany, Zoology, Biochemistry and Soil Science at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

He went on to work for the Soil Survey of England and Wales before returning to Aberysytwyth as a lecturer in Environmental Studies at the University. Now retired, Richard leads excursions along the west coast of Wales, passing on his knowledge of the Welsh landscape.

His book, 'Gold under Bracken', attempts to analyse that landscape through the different soil types it contains, explaining the dynamic process that has created those conditions and throwing a new light on the nature of the Welsh countryside.