Pantolwen Press

Celtic fantasy – Speculative fiction – Experimental fiction – Spiritual enquiry

VU – experimental fiction attempting a new literary form

Our most recent publication is an experimental fiction. In Vu former playwright Kenneth Sinclair attempts a new form. His captive storyteller finds himself face to face with the legendary Princess Scheherazade. Narrating to her in the mythic and exotic location of her private apartments, he presents a collage of vividly-painted lyric pictures – his personal selection from two-thousand years of culture across the globe. Writing for the Historical Novel Society reviewer Susie Helme exclaims, “I’ve never seen a book like this. The words are so beautiful, so image-rich, a cornucopia for the senses.”

The ISLE FINCARA TRILOGY – speculative fantasy fiction

Our previous publications include The Seaborne and The Priest’s Wife by A G Rivett. Damian Walford Davies described The Seaborne as “a parable for our particularly torn times.” Rolf Billes, an educator with the Iona Community, described the novels as “works of great beauty and imagination.” They are the opening books of the Isle Fincara Trilogy.

The Isle Fincara Trilogy is speculative fiction, Celtic fantasy and a time-slip narrative all at the same time. Each book is set on the same mythical island and includes many of the same characters, but each tells its own distinctive story. In The Seaborne the Trilogy opens with a modern man on a medieval island a thousand years ago, and fantasy becomes a mirror reflecting the direction of real historical change. With The Priest’s Wife the perspective shifts to a woman trying to find her place in challenging times that reflect the tensions played out over centuries between the Celtic and mainstream churches. In the final book of the trilogy, due for publication in 2026, these tensions will come to a head as an authoritarian hierarchy seeks to sweep away old traditions, bringing about major repercussions for the protagonists and reaching a radical conclusion.

Printing and Publication

We print our books using the outstanding services of Gomer Press to produce a quality product, locally, on carbon neutral paper. Our books are also available print-on-demand through IngramSpark for worldwide distribution.

We are grateful for support from Llyfrau Cymru, the Books Council of Wales, who distributes our books. You can buy from them direct at their on-line shop, Gwales.com

Ask for Pantolwen Press books at your local bookstore, or buy online