Lucent Dreaming

Poetic Wales is back 🔥🎉 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 An intimate night to enjoy poetry and spoken word performed by some of London’s and Cardiff’s best poets Headline poets: @chloe.tenesha @jannatexists Hosted by @tiazakura Event details: Date: Thursday 11th June 2026 Location: @paradisegardencdf Doors open 6.30pm
Show closes 9pm Limited early bird tickets available via link in bio Open mic sign up:
To sign up to the open mic please arrive at the venue between 6.30pm-7pm. There are limited performance slots available and you have a maximum of 5 mins to perform. We look forward to seeing you there! Brixton to the world! 🌍 #PoeticWales

We are still recovering from such a successful event celebrating the release of ‘Prema’ by Rithvik Andugula. Thank you so much for everyone who came along, who gave the night such essence and meaning. Here at Surely Sounds, we aim to build community through diversity and art. That’s what love, ‘Prema’ is. Few moments from the night, performers, crowd, books and love. 📸 - @hemkumarphotography Location - Elephand and Barrel.

📚 Why not pop in to your local bookshop this weekend? 🔹Books from Wales and the world 🔹Reading recommendations 🔹Personalised service 🔹Supporting the high street. #ChooseBookshops

🌟 Am wythnos anhygoel! O ddathlu 15 mlynedd o Twm Clwyd gyda Liz Pichon i gwrdd ag Alice Oseman am barti Curiad Coll, roedd Ffair Lyfrau Bologna yn hollol wych! Diolch o galon i’n holl ffrindiau a chydweithwyr, hen a newydd, am wneud hwn yn brofiad bythgofiadwy. 📚 What a week! From celebrating 15 years of Tom Gates with the brilliant @pichon.liz to meeting the wonderful @aliceoseman at the Heartstopper Publisher Party, Bologna Book Fair was an absolute blast! Thank you so much to all of our friends and colleagues, old and new, for making this a truly unforgettable experience. @cyhoeddi_cymru @scholastic_uk @hachetteuk @bolognachildrensbookfair @llyfrau.cymru

New author portraits for Dr Sophie Buchaillard. Sophie Buchaillard is a writer and cultural practitioner based in South Wales. She is the author of This Is Not Who We Are, Assimilation, and the poetry collection Painting Over the Cracks. Her work moves across genres, exploring questions of belonging, language and memory, and the uneasy spaces between them. She holds a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from Cardiff University, where her research examined the colonial and gendered histories of travel writing and their afterlives in contemporary narratives of identity. Her writing has been shortlisted for several prizes, including Wales Book of the Year. Alongside her literary practice, she works at the intersection of the arts and public life as Head of Arts at Arts & Business Cymru, and teaches at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She is the founder of Creative Circles Cymru, a platform supporting writers and artists across Wales. Thank you Sophie for trusting my vision for these pics, we had a lovely rainy afternoon in Gorsedd Gardens! This was my first time using Ilford XP2 film and I'm hooked. Traditionally used by photojournalists working for tabloid newspapers, it has such a beautiful, paperyness(?) to it, soft contrast and grain. It's b&w film that gets developed in colour - so it actually comes out in magenta! It's stunning. Maybe I'll post some of these shots in the original colouring of anyone's interested ✨ I'm available for portraits? Get in touch 🖤 @growriter @lucentdreaming @gwasghonnopress @serenbooks

What skills, techniques and approach are needed when you feel ready to submit your work to publishers? Julia Forster has the answers! At a week-long retreat at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre, you’ll learn how to send your manuscript out into the world - whether that’s because you’re looking for a literary agent, a book deal, or publication elsewhere. Bestselling novelist Carole Hailey and publisher at Lucent Dreaming Jannat Ahmed will also be adding their experiences to the mix from both sides when it comes to hooking the interest of a major publisher. Don’t wonder ‘What if?’, book your place today: tynewydd.wales

PREMA LAUNCH. 4/4/26 For our second event, we launched the book, ‘PREMA’, by Rithvik Andugula, also in addition with some beautiful poets and singers to accompany on the night. Each artist gave their soul and spirit, in dedication to their art form and for that, we couldn’t have been more proud. We were honored to welcome such a diverse group of people, who were old time friends, or newcomers wanting to find a community. Prema, meaning love, is the foundation of our Surely Sounds team, which wouldn’t be possible without all your support. Thank you again for showing up, for buying a copy and having fun with us, on this beautiful intimate night. Until next time❤️

No handouts no blueprint. 🗺️ Just figuring it out as I go along. Life is all about lessons and blessings! 💯 The Notebook Of A Classclown: A Life Of Lessons will be available this summer. Huge shout out to @lucentdreaming @mrdoodlesubhan Alhamdulilah as always❤️

Catch @meganangharad_ and me celebrating Beyond / Tu Hwnt: The Anthology of Welsh Deaf and Disabled Writers (@lucentdreaming ) being shortlisted for the @thebritishbookawards 🎉 We joined @garyraymond_ on the BBC Radio Wales Arts Show- tune in at 6.30pm tonight! It was also such a joy to meet the incredibly talented @carl_chapple . Don’t miss his stunning portraits and dance exhibition at @momamachynlleth ✨ #BritishBookAwards #nibbies #Deaf #disabled #arts

3 x books I’m excited to get stuck into over Easter 📖 ✨ I’m travelling with my son from the west coast of Wales to near the east coast of England over Easter, to stay with family. Realistically, I’m not sure how much reading I will be able to get done, so I’ve chosen three enticing, slim volumes… - Salt by @catrinkean Published by @gwasggomerpress in 2020 Overall Winner of #WBOTY 2021 - Birdsplaining by Jasmine Donahaye @jdonahaye Published by New Welsh Rarebyte in 2023 / @newwelshreview - Painting Over The Cracks by Sophie Buchaillard @growriter Published by @lucentdreaming in 2025 Beautiful cover art by Shan Ahmed ✨ What’s on your TBR pile over Easter? X #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer

Searching for your next read? Let me give you some ideas 📖 Alongside producing my own work, I spend a lot of time reading the works of other Disabled and Deaf writers. Some of them are so exciting, original and thought-provoking – not merely because the writers are disabled or deaf, but because of their unique perspectives on living in today's busy world, being a human and what really matters in life. Disabled and deaf authors often push against the usual stories we're told about bodies, about independence and about what life is supposed to look like. Their work is often freeing, sharp, funny, eye-opening, emotional and complex. And whether you're disabled/deaf or not, there's something to be gained from reading these voices. So, if you’re looking for something that feels fresh and real, start with these disabled and deaf writers. I promise you’ll come away seeing the world a little differently. As for where to begin, I’ve put together this list of some personal favourites. Let me know if you've read them, or if you have any recommendations I can add to my overflowing bookshelf! PS thank you Frida for keeping me cosy while I read 🐾 #booklover #disabledauthor #disabilityawareness #amreading #booktok

i held on to this until now.🫠 here’s my poem, “mouth string”, published in the 14th issue of @lucentdreaming to the editors, Samiha Meah, @sodiq_oyekanmi and the editorial board, gracias!