Karen Owen
Born in Bangor in 1974, Karen was brought up in Pen-y-groes in the slate quarrying Dyffryn Nantlle in Gwynedd, where she still lives. Educated at Ysgol Gynradd Pen-y-groes and Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, she then studied Pure Mathematics at University of Wales Bangor, before deciding she would rather forge a career in journalism.
She joined Welsh language weekly magazine Golwg as Arts Correspondent in 1995, before becoming editor of the publication in 2000 - a post she held for seven years. After spending three years as Producer of Religious Programmes at BBC Cymru in Bangor (2007-2010), she returned to print media in December 2010 and is currently a journalist on Welsh language newspaper Y Cymrobut is also a freelance writer.
She has published two volumes of poetry - Yn Fy Lle (In My Place) in 2006, and Siarad Trwy'i Het(Talking Through His Hat) in 2011, both with Barddas press. She travels Wales and beyond discussing and performing her work, and has been awarded a Winston Churchill 2011 Memorial Scholarship to travel to Colombia, India, Ukraine and South Africa in order to study strands of their poetic traditions. Her third volume of poetry, Math (poems based on mathematics) will be published in 2012/13 by Gwasg y Bwthyn press.
As a practiser of Cynghanedd (ancient Welsh strict metre), she teaches the craft in night classes and workshops. Karen has won numerous Chairs and Crowns in local and provincial eisteddfodau, and is a literary adjudicator and critic, contributing to radio and television programmes.
Her television documentary Cyfrinach Olaf Frida (Frida's Last Secret), based on the murder of her great-grandmother, was broadcast on S4C in July 2009.
News
Word Express writer Ognjen Spahić from Montenegro will be visiting London for events with his UK publisher, Istros Books, from the 15th - 18th of May. See the Istros Books website for more details.
This year's Prague Book Fair - Svet Knihy - is focusing on literature the Black Sea region. Word Express writers Ivan Hristov (Bulgaria), Zaza Koshkadze (Georgia) and Pelin Özer (Turkey) will talk about their Balkan literary journey and read their work at the gala evening. Go to the Literature Across Frontiers website for more details.
Word Express interviews Georgian poet Zaza Koshkadze, and talks to Owen Martell and Milan Dobricic about translating and publishing Owen's novel into Serbian after meeting on the Word Express journey. All on the Travel Blog.