About

Originally from Belfast, Elaine Canning is a writer, editor, public engagement specialist and Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. Author of a monograph and papers on Spanish Golden-Age drama, as well as several short stories, her debut novel, The Sandstone City, was published by Aderyn Press (2022) and featured on Wales Arts Review’s 2022 list of top ten long-form fiction titles. Elaine currently lives in Swansea, South Wales.

Elaine Canning’s short stories have appeared in Nation.Cymru and The Lonely Crowd. She is editor of Take a Bite: The Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology (2021), New World, New Beginnings: Resilience and Connectivity through Poetry (2021), Cree: The Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology (2022) and Harvest: The Rhys Davies Short Story Award Anthology (2023), published by Parthian Books. Her debut novel, The Sandstone City (Aderyn Press) was launched in Wales, Ireland and India between November 2022 and January 2023 and her edited volume on Maggie O’Farrell, the first full-length study of O’Farrell’s work, publishes with Bloomsbury in January 2024.

When she is not writing and editing, Elaine is Head of Special Projects at Swansea University, including the international Dylan Thomas Prize, Rhys Davies national short story award, the DylanED education programme for young people, and the Cultural Institute. She was elected a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales in 2023 for leadership in public engagement and understanding and is a member of the British Council Wales’ Advisory Board.

In her spare time, she loves walking, especially by the sea, reading as much fiction she can get her hands on, and spending time with her son, Matthew.

Books

You can order a copy from:
Aderyn Press | Cover to Cover | Amazon | Waterstones

You can pre-order a copy from:
Bloomsbury

  • A dazzling debut. Elaine Canning’s words sing with grace and a quiet, glowing energy as she inventively fuses the real and the fantastic.

    Prajwal Parajuly, author

  • Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet brought her the critical acclaim she has long deserved, and now this excellent collection of essays brings her the scholarly attention she merits. These essays are theoretically savvy and offer smart but accessible readings that will return readers and scholars to the delights of O’Farrell’s work.

    Jo Eldridge Carney, Professor of English, The College of New Jersey, USA

  • A story of ghosts and healing, The Sandstone City is an assured and compelling debut novel by author Elaine Canning.

    Jenny White, arts & culture writer, Western Mail

  • A cracking, richly absorbing read on familial bonds, loss and the ways we heal.

    Irenosen Okojie, author

  • Canning is a new voice in fiction: emotional rather than sentimental, with an ability to move seamlessly into magical realism and to capture the complexity of the human condition and its search for acceptance.

    Jane Fraser, author

You can order a copy of Harvest from:
Parthian | Waterstones | Cover to Cover

You can order a copy of Cree from:
Parthian | Waterstones

You can order a copy of Take a Bite from:
Parthian | Waterstones | Cover to Cover

Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the AHRC and British Academy, the Being Human festival explores the very essence of what makes us human through humanities research. The poems within this collection, written by members of the public as well as poets Eric Ngalle Charles, Natalie Ann Holborow and Owen Sheers and edited by Elaine Canning, first featured as part of the 2020 festival. They offer reflections on the past, contemplations of new experiences, and a celebration of human resilience and connectivity.