How the OED (inadvertently) helped promote my short story
The revisions and copy-edits etc. are all done and I’m delighted to say that my short story, “Don’t Forget to Feed Barry”, will be published by Wizard’s Tower Press in their anthology “They Are Still Here” on 8 October 2026. And read on to discover an unlikely, and extraordinarily well timed, new addition to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) that is helping me promote this story.
They Are Still Here
I’m really excited to see this anthology out in the world. I’ve got my hands on an advanced reader copy of the ebook and it really is fantastic. The stories all explore the themes of resistance of Welsh communities, culture and identity (with the aid of Welsh mythological folk) and I’m super proud to be a part of it. I am very grateful to the editors, Joanne Hall and Roz Clarke, who plucked this humorous story of mine from the slush pile and helped me polish it up, and also to the publisher, Cheryl Morgan, for making it all happen (and she also provides a very interesting bestiary detailing the mythological creatures featured in the anthology).
The title of the anthology is inspired by the Welsh language folk song, “Yma o Hyd” by Dafydd Iwan, which is all about Welsh resistance and endurance over the centuries, and translates as “Still Here”. It’s a song written to inspire the people of Wales that, “we’re still here, despite everything and everyone and even ourselves.” If you want a goosebump-inducing experience, watch the video below of Dafydd Iwan singing Yma o Hyd ahead of the Welsh men’s football World Cup playoff semi-final playoff.
If that hasn’t whet your appetite, then hopefully this summary of my story will. A group of elderly, somewhat mischievous, ladies set out to thwart a corrupt local councillor from forcing through a planning application to destroy their local library, and they are aided by a brandy drinking, prank loving bwbach named Barry. If you haven’t guessed, it’s a lighthearted tale that I hope will bring a smile to your face.
What’s [the OED] got to do with it?
Well, in wonderfully serendipitous timing, the OED recently announced that it was adding a number of Welsh words, one of which is none other than “bwbach“!
The timing of this couldn’t have been more perfect, announced a mere fortnight before my weird little story featuring a bwbach is released. I couldn’t have asked for a better springboard off which to promote my story, perhaps the stars have just aligned for me on this one.
If you want to see the full bwbach entry in the OED for yourself, click here.
And if you’re interested in finding out what other Welsh borrowed words were added to the OED, then click here to read the Nation.Cymru article. (Thank you to Cheryl Morgan for flagging this article to me.)