HONNO - Key Persons
Gemma June Howell was born in Caerphilly Miners hospital into a politically active family from Rhymney housing estate, Graig-Y-Rhacca. She is a grass-roots activist, editor, writer, poet, academic and co-founder of the Cardiff Sisters of Solidarity. Previously Associate Editor for Culture Matters, she edited Land of Change - a vibrant prose anthology which reflects the diversity of contemporary Wales.
She began performing and publishing with the Red Poets over 20 years ago, with poetry appearing in Bloodaxe Books (2015) and The London Magazine (2020). She's also published a volume of poetry, Rock Life (2015) and Inside the Treacle Well, a collection of short stories (Hafan Books: 2009). In 2021 Gemma appeared on BBC R4 'Tongue & Talk,' to discuss her Anglo-Welsh dialect poetry.
Gemma has a PhD in Creative & Critical Writing from Swansea University. Underpinned with critical theory, her research focuses on the lived experiences of working-class women within the form of a künstlerroman novel. Her work mainly explores working-class identity in post-industrial Wales.
Lynzie Fitzpatrick was born in Hull, East Yorkshire but grew up and still lives near Aberaeron, Ceredigion with her young family and too many animals. She worked in Aberystwyth for a decade in accountancy and business management before moving to the National Trust to work in business and fundraising. Whilst working and raising a family, Lynzie also found time to write her own novels and set up a successful editing business.
Rebecca Parfitt has worked in publishing for 15 years. She also worked as a bookseller for Waterstones for many years. Her experience of the book industry is wide-ranging. In 2013 she founded a magazine and publishing imprint called The Ghastling which specialises in folk horror, psychological horror, ghost stories, the uncanny and the weird - of which she is publisher and editor. She is also an avid reader and lover of books of all genres.