The Real Writers' Residency

It is a little-known fact, but for the past hundred years g39 in Cardiff has been the site of the ‘Real Writers’ Residency Programme’. This year, Rachel Pantechnicon will be the 100th writer in residence, and to celebrate this benchmark in the literary world she has been charged with the task of looking back at the Residency’s history and its notable ex-residents…


As part of the centenary celebrations, Pantechnicon will be engaging with previous writers in residence to give an impression of the Residency’s influence in the literary world. A documentary will follow Pantechnicon’s progress through her residency, with contributions by the following ex-residents: Anna Harriett Leon-Owens; pretentious performance poet Paul Hamilton; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will perform his own Holmes story; John Hegley will read a selection of newly commissioned Cardiff and Wales based poems; Nathan Penlington will read a poem about being a trampoline attendant in Rhyl; Tim Wells will read a selection of his own poems about being English in front of a Welsh Presbyterian Church. Jessica Voorsanger, Bedwyr Williams, comic actor Simon Munnery, Andy Black, Megan Broadmeadow, Sioned O’ Connor, Jane Fox and Peter Finnimore also appear. The eminent Sir Gideon Vein supplies narration.

An exclusive cabaret performance will be held to launch the occasion, compèred by Rachel Pantechnicon, who will also be performing her own poems and stories. Suzanne Andrade will perform two HP Lovecraft stories accompanied by animation and vintage found film projection accompaniment; John Hegley will perform specially commissioned Cardiff poems; Megan Broadmeadow’s alter-ego Enid Blaenau (arch rival of Enid Blyton) will perform a recital; Gwdihw will recount postcards from the Mabinogion to the present day from the ‘Gog Observer’; also featuring Bedwyr Williams. Music supplied by DJ Brian Nylon.

Be sure to also pay a visit to the Real Writers’ Residency information centre and souvenir shop, where you can buy delightful gifts, souvenirs and memorabilia representing every writer from the Residency’s legacy: Jennet Thomas & Paul TarragoLaurence LaneDavid Mackintosh – John Hegley – Pamela BrabantsSally O’ReillyBrian DewanJohn Tozer – Jessica Voorsanger – John StruttonPeter LiversidgeSimon FaithfullDuncan MaclarenCaroline McCarthyEdwina AshtonIan RawlinsonEmily WardillWayne LloydKlega – Simon Munnery – Cathy HaynesMel BrimfieldSean Parfitt & Alisdair Hopwood – Peter Finnemore – Sally Mees - Rebecca Gould – Megan Broadmeadow – Andy Black – Rabab GhazoulJulia PeatJane Fox – Gwdihw – Chloe Needham – Bedwyr Williams – Kate WatkissSimon Rowe – Tim Iliffe – Femke van GentView CreativeTim AlbinJennie Savage – Ruth Iliffe – Ruth RoweRoger Hughes – Gwyn Williams – Kevin Hunt.

The Real Writers’ Residency Programme centenary celebrations promise to be a truly unforgettable event in the literary calendar.

Founded in September 2000 in direct response to the paucity of alternative cinema in North Wales, the Rêl Institiwt is a group that initiates contemporary art events. It has organised over thirty such events in various locations, including regular alternative film nights in Betws-y-Coed, and several multidisciplinary special events. It is an entirely voluntary not-for-profit group comprised of a 300-strong membership of artists and supporters from across Wales.

  • Rachel Pantechnicon

Programme