My cats keep trying to eat the fake snow off my plastic tree, and my local ASDA is blasting Mariah Carey on repeat, which can only mean one thing… Christmas is around the corner.
If you haven’t started your Xmas shopping yet then worry not – I’m here to help. You may not know this about me but, as well as being the Marketing person for all things Folding Rock, I am also a book lover who is well versed in Welsh small & indie businesses. So I’ve had a word with Santa to discuss what readers would love to see under the tree this year, and have made this list just for you.
Did you know that you can gift a year long subscription of Folding Rock to your favourite bookish friend? This would be absolutely perfect for someone who wants to read the best new Welsh writing, or maybe a writer who wants to submit to Folding Rock themselves and could benefit from getting a taste of the magazine. This one-off gift subscription delivers three beautiful copies of the magazine to their door that they can look forward to throughout 2026, and they also get an exclusive Folding Rock tote bag too. I mean who doesn’t love a tote bag (I know I do – as is evidenced by the growing pile of tote bags in my bedroom). So this is totes not one to miss.
This beautiful book by Elin Heron, released by the brilliant Lucent Dreaming, is the perfect gift for someone who is thrilled by folklore or loves to read LGBT+ YA. Reading this book gave me all the feels and I just loved getting to live in the world of Nick and Jude and The Green Man. Atmospheric and full of summer longing, this would be a great book for your chronically-on-booktok friend who wants to read more indie.
“Fifteen-year-old Nick has just finished his GSCEs and is stuck at home in the seaside village of Brexenham. What starts as a boring summer quickly transforms, as Nick meets Jude Fletcher, a wild and otherworldly boy. Nick is pulled into another world, but the disappearance of local girl, Jemma Cox, hangs over the community, a disappearance that runs farther back than they realise.”
Firefly Press have tonnes of options for your little ones who are big readers, from fantasy to literary, ages six+, and you are sure to find something perfect. I love the historical elements of Honesty and Lies, and am also a huge fan of Eloise Williams who is a fantastic writer (and also super lovely in person). Set in the cold months of Tudor times, this would make a wonderful winter read.
“On her first day in London, Honesty manages to get a job with Alice as a maid at the court of Elizabeth 1. But while Honesty looks for attention and praise, to make a better life for herself, Alice must stay invisible, hiding a terrible secret. In a world of treason and revenge, their friendship will put them both in danger. Can they even trust each other?”
This may seem super specific, but as someone who is that fantasy-fanatic that collects crystals, I know that this is a thing. And if your friend is anything like me then they would be delighted to find Witsh in their stocking this year.
“Sixteenth century Wales, amidst relentless rain and failing crops, a woman is accused of Witchcraft. Whispers of witchcraft and hangings begin to cross the border from England, catching like wildfire in the small village of Llynidwen. After several miscarriages, a bereft Doli seeks the help of a local soothsayer, putting herself and the women around her in danger.”
If you want to find out more about this book you can check out this article on our website.
Price:
You may have heard of Nordic Noir, but have you ever heard of Welsh Noir? If that sounds like the pinnacle of perfection for your Noir-obsessed friend then Truth Like Water is a winner.
“This is a story of lost women – some who can be found again, and some who can’t. In a small estuary village on the Welsh coast, Catrin is mourning the anniversary of her mother’s drowning when a teenage girl disappears on the same mudflats. Terrified of history repeating itself and driven by unresolved grief, Catrin becomes obsessed with finding Emily. Her search dredges up dark revelations from the village’s past and present, uncovering secrets about Catrin’s own family. Secrets that her parents had never wanted her to discover.”
We have also reviewed this book on our website – check it out here.
The Prose & Poetry Bundle is a joint offer between Folding Rock and Poetry Wales that showcases some of the most exciting new writing from Wales and beyond in both poetry and (you guessed it) prose. From short stories to personal essays, creative writing workshops to insightful interviews, and poetry of all forms, this bundle is ideal for writers and readers alike wanting to expand their literary horizons.
Originally written in Welsh, Still Here by Elin Ap Hywel, translated by Laura Fisk, draws from centuries of Welsh poetic tradition to explore contemporary themes of politics and feminism. If your friend is a a fan of the Mari Lwyd and other Welsh folkloric traditions then they will love this collection.
“Still Here is a richly layered collection that traverses memory, myth, and womanhood with lyrical precision and political depth. Drawing from Welsh poetic tradition and feminist poetics, these poems move between domestic interiors, historical echoes, and folkloric landscapes, often blurring the line between the living and the spectral. Fisk’s translation captures the tonal shifts of ap Hywel’s voice, wry, intimate, elegiac, rendering its cadences and imagery with clarity and care. What emerges is a work that honours language as both inheritance and resistance, attentive to the textures of loss, survival, and quiet transformation.”
Cymru & I is made up of nine wonderful essays from across Wales. There is also some crossover with Folding Rock as some of our brilliant writers (like Anthony Shapland and Gosia Buzzanca) are featured, so keep your eyes peeled.
“In Cymru & I nine new writers look at what Wales means to them as people from backgrounds previously largely underrepresented. Their various viewpoints make this book a new look at Wales, or show a Wales for the most part hidden: a Wales unwritten. Here are essays on identity, integration, the power of language to welcome or divide, acceptance, personal aspiration, civic decline, and hill walking. Wales is the first official Nation of Sanctuary. Among the contributors are those who have sought sanctuary and space in Wales: immigrants – current and first or second generation – neurodivergent, LGBTQ+ and working class people. Their compelling essays demand attention.”
The welsh agenda is the perfect read for anyone who is interested in contemporary Welsh issues and wants to keep up to date with politics, policies and culture. (You can also find me in this issue talking about bogs…)
“The IWA’s print and online journalistic platform the welsh agenda is one of Wales’ most respected current affairs publications, hosting robust debate on all aspects of Welsh political, cultural and civic life.”
Film & TV places of Wales is the perfect read for all your friends who are obsessed with the big screen. I may also love this one because my predecessor (Frances Turpin) is one of the writers and she is just brilliant.
“In Film and TV Places of Wales Celyn Jones and Frances Turpin zoom in on Wales’ cultural and artistic links to cinema. Through stunning location shots and behind-the-scenes content, they explore TV favourites, Hollywood epics and homegrown classics from Wales’ varied on-screen history.”
Most book shops offer gift cards, so if you want to give your bookish friend a great gift this year by letting them pick out the book they want, then why not get them a gift card to use at your local indie bookshop.
Here are some Welsh options:
The Bookshop by the sea (Aberystwyth)
The Old Electric Shop (Haye on Wye)
Prices: From £5+
For those friends who can’t make it in person to any of our amazing Welsh bookshops – maybe because they live somewhere like England (don’t worry, we don’t judge) – you can get them an online book token that still proudly supports Welsh business.
Also ideal for those super-last-minute purchases… Not that you forgot or anything.
An online gift card bought from bookshop.org supports shops like The Berwyn Bookshop and The Bookshop, Mold.
Prices: From £5+
Thanks for reading – and Nadolig Llawen.
Kaja is the Marketing Associate for Folding Rockand is also a freelance writer, editor and content creator based in South Wales. She has worked for a variety of Welsh publications over the years and has a life-long love of literature. She can often be found reading a fantasy book or working on her YA manuscript.
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