(un)common people
In 2024 Lucent Dreaming published (un)common: anthology of new Welsh writing, a collection of poetry, short fiction, novel extract, and creative non-fiction by the second cohort of writers chosen for Representing Wales, the writer development programme run by Literature Wales, the national company for the development of literature in Wales. Rosy Adams was editor as well as contributor, and this experience inspired her to set up a magazine dedicated to publishing only under-represented writers. She recruited fellow writers Alix Edwards, Gemma June Howell, Ben Huxley, and Katrina Moinet.
Our ethos is punk, our method is DIY. We have no funding, and very little capital, so we want to build an outstanding magazine as cheaply and as ethically as possible. With minimal outlay that means the majority of any money we generate will go directly to the writers. The magazine will be digital to begin with, but we are exploring the possibility of releasing it in a format that can be printed at home for those uncomfortable with reading on a screen. Accessibility is of paramount importance so we will be making a large print version of the magazine available, and we are researching the possibility of audio.
We’re starting small, but we have big ideas for the future!
Rosy Adams
Writer and editor from Powys. BA and MA Creative Writing from University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Part of Representing Wales 2022/23. Hay Writer at Work 2025. Granta Writing Workshop alumna. She draws inspiration from myth and fairytale, and from the natural world. Her writing has been published by Writing Magazine, Lucent Dreaming, These Pages Sing, Gwyllion, Poetry Wales and Folding Rock amongst others.
Alix Edwards
Italian-English writer and artist based in Cardiff, Wales. Her work envoices untold histories primarily about women whom society has dismissed or ignored. Alix’s large-scale intuitive paintings have been exhibited in England, Spain, LA and Wales and include ‘Myth Women’ from Welsh folklore. Her poems have appeared in various publications including Acumen, Cardiff Review, Poetry Wales and (un)common: anthology of New Welsh Writing. Alix has MA’s in creative writing from Goldsmiths and in photography from Central Saint Martins. She was part of Reinventing The Protagonist 2023, Firefly Ignite 2024 and Representing Wales 2022-3, for which she wrote a poetry pamphlet that challenges stereotypes about domestic abuse. She set up Company of Words 2018-22 to encourage under-represented writers to perform their work and has facilitated workshops for women survivors.
Dr Gemma June Howell
Author, editor, independent scholar and activist whose work centres marginalised and underrepresented voices, with a particular commitment to English-language and dialect writing. Grounded in her PhD research exploring working-class identity in post-industrial Britain, she is drawn to innovative, ground-breaking writing that challenges form, voice and literary convention. Editor of Land of Change: Stories of Struggle & Solidarity from Wales (Culture Matters, 2022), she is also Production Editor at Honno, Welsh Women’s Press, Founder of Women Publishing Wales – Menywod Cyhoeddi Cymru, Hay Festival ‘Writers at Work’ alumna and a member of the Swansea University Creative Writing Department Industry Expert Panel. Her debut novel, The Crazy Truth (Seren, 2024), is a hybrid poetry novel that launched at Hay Festival to critical acclaim.
Ben Huxley
Writer and journalist from Colwyn Bay. With a focus on video games, his writing has been published by Radio Times, The Escapist, TechRadar, Live Science, WhatCulture, and the mental health charity Safe in our World. Shortly after finishing his MA in creative writing, he was selected for Literature Wales’ Representing Wales programme. In this year, mentored by Niall Griffiths, he finished his first novel. In 2024, his short fiction was published in (un)common: anthology of new Welsh writing (Lucent Dreaming, 2024). He has mentored aspiring writers for Young Critics Conwy, and remains passionate about giving marginalised writers a platform.
Katrina Moinet
Bardd o Ynys Môn yw Katrina Moinet. Cafodd ei chasgliad cyntaf Portrait of a Young Girl Falling ei gynnwys ar restr fer Llyfr y Flwyddyn 2025. Enillodd gystadleuaeth pamffled Gwasg Hedgehog a wobr Gŵyl Bournemouth yn 2024 a chafodd ei cherdd ei chynnwys ar restr hir Cystadleuaeth Barddoniaeth Genedlaethol, allan o 21,000 cerddi. Cyhoeddir ei gwaith yn Ffosfforws (Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp), Poetry Wales, Natur Gogledd Cymru, Mslexia, Raw Lit, ar fap diwylliant Nation.Cymru, ag ac amrywiol flodeugerddi, yn cynnwys ‘O Ffrwyth Y Gangen Hon’ (Barddas, 2025). The Art of Silence yw ei hail bamffled gyda gwasg Hedgehog, a bydd trydydd pamffled yn dod allan yn fuan gyda Atomic Bohemian. Cwblhaodd Katrina M.A. mewn Ysgrifennu Creadigol ym Mhrifysgol Bangor. Mae’n cynnal noson meic agored misol yng nghaffi Blue Sky, Bangor.
Katrina Moinet is a writer from Ynys Môn published in iamb, Black Iris, Raw Lit, Poetry Wales, Ffosfforws, Barddas, Bath Flash Fiction Anthology and Mslexia Best Women’s Short Fiction. Katrina’s debut pamphlet Portrait of a Young Girl Falling shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2025. State of the Nations is out with Atomic Bohemian. Their pocket collection Lessons in Language Learning and Hedgehog prizewinning pamphlet The Art of Silence will release in 2026. Katrina longlisted in the 2024 National Poetry Competition, is Best-of-the-Net and Pushcart nominated, and has won or placed in international fiction competitions including Globe Soup & New Writers. Katrina completed a creative writing master’s, with distinction, at Bangor University, hosts Versify monthly open mic, enjoys surfing and was recently BBC Radio Cymru Bardd Y Mis.