Nigel Jarrett is a former daily-newspaperman and a double prizewinner: the Rhys Davies award for short fiction and the inaugural Templar Shorts award. His first collection of stories, Funderland, was published by Parthian and warmly reviewed, among others, by The Independent, The Guardian, and The Times; it was also long-listed for the Edge Hill prize. The Independent‘s Lesley McDowell praised the stories for ‘teasing out the emotional complexity of seemingly innocent situations’. In the New Welsh Review, the book was welcomed by the critic Bob Walton as ‘a new voice in Welsh fiction’. Parthian later published his first poetry collection, Miners At The Quarry Pool, described by Patricia McCarthy, editor of Agenda, as ‘a virtuoso performance’.
Jarrett’s full story collection, Who Killed Emil Kreisler?, was published in 2016 by Cultured Llama, and GG Books brought out his first novel, Slowly Burning, in the same year. He is a regular contributor to the Wales Arts Review, Arts Scene in Wales, Jazz Journal (for whom he writes a popular column, Count Me In…), Acumen poetry magazine, and others.
His work is included in the two-volume anthology of 20th- and 21st-century Welsh short fiction, published by the Library of Wales. In 2019, Templar published his short fiction pamphlet, A Gloucester Trilogy. In 2022, his full-length work of fiction, Notes From The Superhorse Stable, is due from Saron Publishing, and his fourth story collection, Five Go To Switzerland, from Cockatrice Books. Both publishers are Welsh independents. Jarrett is an accomplished self-taught artist and has created the cover art work for some of his books. His poetry, essays, reviews, and stories appear widely on line and in print.
For many years, Jarrett was chief music critic of the South Wales Argus newspaper, succeeding the distinguished critic and broadcaster, Kenneth Loveland. Born in Pontnewydd, he was educated at Jones’ West Monmouth School, Pontypool, and Cardiff University. He lives in Monmouthshire and when he can find time he swims.
