Rebecca F. John is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

novelist. She won the

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

New Voices Award in 2015, and has been shortlisted for the

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in United Kingdom, UK and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first ...

and the

Wales Book of the Year The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently ...

Early life

Rebecca F. John was born in 1986, and grew up in

Pwll Pwll is a small coastal village, located between Llanelli and Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Situated on a narrow ledge above the tidal Burry Estuary, the village offers panoramic views across the water to the Gower Peninsula and is travers ...

, a small coastal village in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Career

John's first solo publication was ''Clown's Shoes'', a collection of short fiction published by

Parthian Books Parthian Books is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan, Wales. Editorially-led, it publishes a range of contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, art books, Translation, literature in translation, and non-fiction. Since its ...

in 2015. A month before publication, one of the stories that would be included in the collection – 'Moon Dog' – won the

New Voices Award at a ceremony in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. John's début novel, ''The Haunting of Henry Twist'', followed in 2017. Published by

Serpent's Tail Serpent's Tail is London-based independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It specialises in publishing work in translation, particularly European crime fiction. In January 2007, it was bought by a British publisher Profile Book ...

, it was shortlisted for the

Costa Book Award for First Novel The Costa Book Award for First Novel, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971–2006), was an annual literary award for authors' debut novels, part of the Costa Book Awards which were discontinued in 2022, the 2021 awards being the last made. ...

. After a five-year publishing hiatus, in 2022 John published three novels. The first was ''The Empty Greatcoat'', a fictional reimagining of John's great-great uncle's experiences of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The second was a novella – ''Fannie –'' a feminist reimagining of the story of

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young ''Grisette (person), grisette'' in Paris who is impregnated by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look ...

, the young '' grisette'' from

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's 1862 novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''. In May 2023, ''Fannie'' was shortlisted for the

award, with the shortlisting announced on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Wales, Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4. As of August 2022, the stat ...

. John's third publication of 2022 was ''The Shadow Order'', her first novel for young people. The publication of ''The Shadow Order'' by Firefly Press was closely followed by her taking up a role as Senior Editor at the publisher, having previously worked as an editor at

Gomer Gomer ( ''Gōmer''; ) was the eldest son of Japheth (and of the Japhetic line), and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah, according to the "Table of Nations" in the Hebrew Bible ( Genesis 10). The eponymous Gomer, "standing for the whole ...

and Honno. In 2023, John published her fifth novel: ''Vulcana''. Like ''The Empty Greatcoat'' of the previous year, ''Vulcana'' is a fictionalised account of real events, centred upon the story of Welsh

strongwoman A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions ...

Kate Williams, who achieved fame using the stagename Vulcana in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Haunting of Henry Twist'' (2017) * ''The Empty Greatcoat'' (2022) * ''Fannie'' (2022) * ''The Shadow Order'' (2022) * ''Vulcana'' (2023)

Short fiction

* ''Clown's Shoes'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Rebecca F. 1986 births Living people Welsh women novelists 21st-century Welsh women writers Welsh short story writers 21st-century Welsh novelists