Category: Fiction
-
13 Jan 2026 – Leonard and Hungry Paul – Ronan Hession
Leonard and Hungry Paul is a quietly radical, deeply humane, and disarmingly funny novel. It is about choosing kindness in a world that prizes noise. Ronan Hession writes with extraordinary gentleness. He invites us into the lives of two men. Their decency becomes an act of quiet resistance. The novel does not chase drama. Its…
-
10 Feb 2026 – Morgan Is My Name – Sophie Keetch (Author in attendance)
A bold, reimagined Arthurian tale reclaiming Morgan as a complex and powerful woman. Sophie Keetch challenges myth, history, and gendered storytelling with confidence and emotional depth. The author will be joining us. This promises a rich discussion about power and prophecy. We will explore who gets to shape the stories we inherit. Historical fiction that…
-
10 Mar 2026 – Tu Hwnt – Short story collection
Tu Hwnt — meaning ‘beyond’ — is a collection of short stories rooted in Wales and reaching outward. These are stories of edges and in‑between spaces, written with care and ambition. Short stories reward close reading and shared discussion, making this an ideal CardiffRead pick. Expect multiple voices, sharp insights, and moments of quiet brilliance.…
-
9 June 2026 – James – Percival Everett
In James, Percival Everett reclaims a classic piece of American literature. He does this by retelling The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. The result is sharp, unsettling and often darkly funny. Everett exposes the moral blind spots of the original text, using wit and satire to interrogate race, language and power.…
-
14 July 2026 – Ishmael – Daniel Quinn
Ishmael is a novel that has quietly changed the way many readers think about civilisation. It has influenced their views on progress and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Framed as a series of conversations, it poses deceptively simple questions with far-reaching implications. Daniel Quinn challenges the stories modern societies tell themselves about dominance, growth…
-
11 Aug 2026 – The Ministry of Time – Kaliane Bradley
The Ministry of Time is a bold, genre-defying novel that blends speculative fiction, romance and political satire. At its centre is a government programme. It brings people from the past into the present. These actions have unexpected emotional consequences. Kaliane Bradley uses the framework of time travel to explore love, power, bureaucracy and historical responsibility.…
-
8 Sept 2026 – Endling – Maria Reva
Endling is a darkly comic, politically sharp novel that explores extinction, nationalism and survival in unsettling ways. Maria Reva’s writing is bold, inventive and unafraid to take risks. The novel mixes satire with moments of real emotional weight. It examines what societies choose to protect. It also considers what they are willing to sacrifice. Reva’s…
-
13 Oct 2026 – Monstrilio – Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Monstrilio is a novel about grief that takes an unexpected and unsettling form. Blending elements of horror with emotional realism, it explores how love persists after devastating loss. The book asks difficult questions about attachment, transformation and the boundaries of care. Its strangeness is purposeful, giving shape to emotions that resist easy explanation. Rather than…
-
10 Nov 2026 – If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller – Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is a playful, challenging classic about the act of reading itself. Structured as a series of interrupted beginnings, it constantly resets expectations. The novel invites readers to consider why they read, how stories work and what it means to be absorbed by a book. It is…
-
8 Dec 2026 – Murder at Christmas – G B Rubin
To close the year, Murder at Christmas offers a seasonal atmosphere with a sharp edge. Snow, secrets and social tension combine in a classic festive mystery setting. This is a book that understands the pleasures of the genre while still offering thoughtful characterisation and intrigue. Perfect for December reading, it balances escapism with enough substance…
-
14th January 2025 – Sarn Helen by Tom Bullough
Wales is the measure of all things in this time-shifting story of ecological change. Just as the first lockdown was beginning to lift in late summer 2020, Tom Bullough set out to walk Sarn Helen, the Roman road that once cut through Wales from Neath in the south to Caerhun in the north. It still…
-
11th February 2025 – Assembly by Natasha Brown
Here is a short sharp shock of a novel about the kind of person the UK government’s recent commission on race would have wanted to profile in their report. Natasha Brown’s virtuosic debut follows a British woman who is preparing to attend a party, and who is musing about her life and her place in…
CardiffRead 