Six passionate professionals bring their expertise to help steer Folding Rock into its next exciting chapter.
Just over a year since our first formation as a company, Folding Rock has appointed its first advisory board comprising of six experienced professionals who will support the magazine and its wider mission to champion excellent new writing from and connected to Wales. Following a public call for applications and a round of interviews earlier this autumn, the successful board members who have been appointed are:
Sophie Buchaillard (writer and experienced strategist and policy campaigner)
Nataliya Deleva (novelist and digital engagement strategist)
Cathryn Summerhayes (award-winning literary agent at Curtis Brown)
Ben Lloyd (experienced in politics, policy and public affairs)
Cathy Madge (experienced in governance across community and non-profit settings)
Emily Dafydd-Drew (Creative Manager at Literature Wales).
Co-founder and editorial director Kathryn Tann said:
“We’ve known from the start that we wanted the future of Folding Rock to be steered by more hands than just Rob Harries’ and my own. We’re a small team with big ambitions, and so bringing the expertise of others into the fold – from both within and beyond the creative industry in Wales – feels like an essential move as we cross into this next phase as an established literary magazine. Conditions are as challenging as ever and while we have a lot to celebrate, there’s still a mountain to climb: we need all the help we can get. Our first advisory board is full of shared passion for what we’re trying to reach for, care deeply and, most importantly, comes brimming with knowledge and experience.”
The board will meet at intervals throughout the year to review, advise and offer support. Specialisms within the board include marketing, fundraising, strategy, policy, public affairs, governance, inclusivity, literature development and wider UK publishing.
Sophie Buchaillard said:
“I am delighted to offer my support to Folding Rock in delivering their inspiring mission to increase the national and international visibility of a rich and diverse Made in Wales ecosystem of writers, poets and essayists. Kathryn and Rob’s ambitious vision, their commitment, professional expertise and creative flair, commend respect. I believe that with our support, Folding Rock can become the plinth on which contemporary Welsh literature is raised to meet the international recognition it deserves.”
Cathryn Summerhayes said:“I am thrilled to be joining the board of Folding Rock. It is wonderful to see a journal celebrating the wide-ranging talent in my much loved homeland – it is about time the rest of the world put Welsh literature firmly on their maps and it’s exciting to be part of the journey.”
Ben Lloyd said:
“The first issues of Folding Rock have fizzed with creativity and I am keen to help support the team to publish long into the future.”
It’s especially exciting to be sharing this announcement following a sell-out launch for our third issue, Undersong, which completes Folding Rock‘s first year’s cycle as a publication. In July, we also appointed three contributing editors – authors Alys Conran, Horatio Clare and Joshua Jones – who support the creative direction and editorial approach to each issue. The next, themed around folklore, publishes in March 2026. If you’re a writer you can submit your work for consideration until 15th December.
More about our board members:
Sophie Buchaillard writes novels (This Is Not Who We Are, Assimilation), poetry (Painting over the cracks), creative essays, art critic and political commentaries. Her work has been shortlisted for a Womenspire Award, Wales Book of the Year and the Bridport Poetry Prize. She is passionate about growing regenerative communities through the Arts. Sophie has twenty years’ experience as a strategist and policy campaigner, and as Translation Board member for The Other Side of Hope magazine, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and former Women in STEM Advisory Board member to the Welsh Government.
Nataliya Deleva is a novelist (Four Minutes and Arrival) and digital engagement strategist whose fiction and criticism have appeared in Granta, Words Without Borders, Asymptote, Lunate and L’Esprit Literary Review. With 25 years’ experience delivering impactful fundraising and digital engagement strategies for major charities, she joins Folding Rock’s advisory board to bring inclusive storytelling, strengthen audience growth and help shape a space for regionally diverse new writing.
Cathryn Summerhayes is a literary agent with Curtis Brown. She previously worked at WME, where she established an eclectic list of high profile clients including multi-million copy crime thriller writers Chris Whitaker and Lucy Foley, record-breaking Dr Adam Kay (This is Going to Hurt and many others), Anita Rani, Tiffany Murray, Grace Dent, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and many more. Cathryn also works with major US authors through partner agencies UTA and CAA.Cathryn was named The British Book Awards’ Literary Agent of the Year in 2019. She is on the Committee of The Book Society, works with Literature Wales and The Hay Festival and in her previous life in events and PR worked on high profile awards such as The Booker Prize.
Ben Lloyd grew up in Radnorshire and moved to Cardiff to study in 2004. He has lived in Cardiff since, apart from four years in Belfast. His career has been spent working in politics, policy, and public affairs and he currently works for a university, focusing on political and community engagement.
Cathy Madge has over 20 years of governance experience in roles spanning government, housing, education and non-profit sectors. With a strength in long-term thinking and innovative approaches, she is excited to support Folding Rock to evolve and bring more Welsh writers to the forefront of the UK and global literary scenes.
Emily Dafydd-Drew is a Creative Manager who leads on writer development programmes across Wales. Passionate about inclusion, she has served as a Critical Friend to arts organisations, helping to broaden representation and strengthen diversity within the Welsh arts sector. Emily is a committed advocate for underrepresented writers, championing their voices and the stories that deserve to be heard. When she’s not supporting writers, she can often be found lending a hand on her family’s farm in North Wales.
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