New Welsh Short Stories Launch

This month, Seren is launching its much-anticipated anthology New Welsh Short Stories.  It features a brilliant selection of contributors, including Deborah Kay Davies, Stevie Davies, Cynan Jones, Owen Sheers, and Rachel Trezise.  Tyler's contribution to the book is a new story entitled 'Night Start.'   He and many of the other authors will be at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff this Wednesday (April 8th) for the first in a series of launch events and readings.  The evening starts at 7 p.m., so if you're in the area, come along and enjoy the wine and readings!

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Burrard Inlet Longlisted for Edgehill Short Story Prize 2015

It's unnerving how Facebook has actually become the chief source of news for many of us.  There are issues with that, which we are certain need discussion, by people qualified to do so.  But we at Tyler's publicity team can forgive Facebook its dominance of our lives when the news is good news, which today it is: Tyler's collection, Burrard Inlet, has been longlisted for The Edge Hill Short Story Prize.  We managed to catch Tyler between lectures, wood-cutting, and playing super tackle football with his son (their new favourite past-time - very hard to explain).  He had this response to the news:

It's a real honour, being on the Edge Hill Longlist.  There's such an eclectic mix of authors on there this year, and it's great to see both independent and mainstream publishers represented.  I've got my fingers crossed for the shortlist, of course, but just being in such good company is both exciting and gratifying. 

Tyler is indeed in good company; the longlist includes relative newcomer and fellow Parthian author Georgia Carys Williams, nominated for her stunning debut Second Hand Rain, as well as literary heavyweights like Hilary Mantel and Rose Tremaine.  We'll be watching out for news of the shortlist announcement in May.  Good luck to all the contenders, and go Team Parthian!

'Samhain' published in Black Static

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As we all know, Tyler is quite inarticulate, considering he lectures for a living - and all the more so when it comes to his own work.  So we should have known better than to ask him to describe his new story, 'Samhain,' which appears in the most recent issue of horror magazine Black Static (44).  Tyler mumbled something about the story being too disturbing to explain.  Now this, we thought, is one we have to read.  (Yes, we'll admit, we at his publicity team don't read all of his works - he has to tempt us just like any other reader).  However, that didn't solve our problem of having to summarize the piece for this blog, but fortunately critic Gareth Jones at Dread Central has done a wonderful job of that in his review:

The final fiction entry in this issue comes in the form of Tyler Keevil’s Samhain, which sees American-born Tod, now living in England with his wife, lamenting the Brits’ lack of engagement with the US style of Halloween festivities. Driving back from the gym, he notes the lack of pumpkins, the drawn curtains and the general feeling of discontent within the population. Completely enamoured with all of the pizzazz surrounding trick or treating, Tod stops his car to shout his address to three teenage boys who he believes are having little luck in their quest for candy, hoping to increase footfall so that his annual efforts don’t go unnoticed. Something seems wrong about these boys, however… and later that evening, they do indeed pay Tod and his wife a visit – and they have a peculiarly old-school approach to the ancient traditions of Samhain.

It sounds creepy as hell to us, and you can read Jones's full review over at Dread Central.  The story is accompanied by some evocative artwork by George Cotronis, a sample of which you can check out below.  It appears alongside stories by Catherine Tobler, Simon Avery, and Pria Sharma, among others, and full details of the issue are available at TTA Press.

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