Honno

Honno is an independent Welsh women's press based in Aberystwyth and operated as a cooperative. Established in 1986 by a group of volunteers, it was created to address the limited publication opportunities available to Welsh women writers and to broaden the readership for Welsh women's writing. Its publishing programme has remained focused on work by women connected with Wales, making the press both a literary publisher and a cultural institution concerned with representation, preservation, and access. The press attracted substantial community participation early in its existence: within six months of formation it had approximately 400 shareholders. Its development has also been supported financially by the Welsh Books Council and the European Union. Honno's cooperative structure and Welsh focus distinguish it from general commercial publishers, while its catalogue links contemporary writing with the recovery of neglected works by earlier authors. Most Honno titles are published in English and include novels, autobiographies, short-story collections, and anthologies. The press also publishes poetry, books for children and teenagers, and selected works in Welsh. Its Honno's Classics series brings books that have been out of print for many years back to readers, helping preserve and recirculate the literary heritage of Welsh women. The catalogue has included work by authors such as Lindsay Ashford, Anne Beale, Brenda Chamberlain, Gillian Clarke, Carol Ann Courtney, Amy Dillwyn, Dorothy Edwards, Menna Gallie, Juliet Greenwood, Mererid Hopwood, Siân James, Anne Lewis, Eiluned Lewis, Gwyneth Lewis, Catherine Merriman, Lynette Roberts, Kitty Sewell, and Hilda Vaughan. Honno's books have received recognition across Welsh and British literary circles. Carol Ann Courtney's Morphine and Dolly Mixtures won Wales Book of the Year in 1989 and was later adapted for television. Luminous and Forlorn, the press's first short-story anthology, received the Raymond Williams Prize from the Arts Council of England in 1994. Anne Lewis's Who's Afraid of the Bwgan-wood? won the Welsh Books Council's Tir na n-Og Award for Best Children's Title in English in 1996, while Siân James's Not Singing Exactly won Wales Book of the Year in 1997. Later Honno titles reached shortlists including the 2006 Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the 2006 Wales Book of the Year, and the Crime Writers' Association New Blood Dagger. The press's cultural contribution has been publicly acknowledged in Wales. In 2006, Dai Smith, then chair of the Arts Council of Wales, praised Honno's work in returning women's literature to print. During the press's twenty-first anniversary year in 2008, founder Luned Meredith described its role as contributing to a wider change in social consciousness that had given greater prominence to women's voices. The name Honno is the Welsh feminine form of the demonstrative word meaning “that.”

Honno was established in 1986 by a group of volunteers who wanted to improve the prospects of Welsh women writers and expand the public audience for their work. The press emerged from a cultural and publishing environment in which women's writing, including writing from Wales, was insufficiently represented in print. Rather than functioning solely as a conventional commercial imprint, Honno was organized as an independent cooperative, allowing supporters to participate through shareholding and giving the press a community-based institutional foundation. It had approximately 400 shareholders within six months of its establishment. From the beginning, Honno's remit was geographically and culturally specific: it concentrated on writing by women of Wales. Its programme nevertheless covered a broad range of genres. Novels, autobiographies, short stories, poetry, and literary anthologies formed the core of the list, while children's and teenage literature and selected Welsh-language publications extended the press's reach. Most of the catalogue has been in English, but the press's Welsh identity has remained central to its publishing choices and cultural role. An important strand of Honno's work has been literary recovery. Through Honno's Classics series, the press has republished books by women that had disappeared from commercial circulation or remained out of print for many years. This activity connects contemporary publishing with archival and historical work, giving readers access to authors and texts that might otherwise be overlooked. The broader catalogue has included writers such as Brenda Chamberlain, Dorothy Edwards, Menna Gallie, Eiluned Lewis, Lynette Roberts, and Hilda Vaughan, alongside later authors including Lindsay Ashford, Juliet Greenwood, Gwyneth Lewis, Kitty Sewell, and Siân James. Honno's institutional development has benefited from support from the Welsh Books Council and the European Union. Its titles have also achieved significant recognition. Morphine and Dolly Mixtures by Carol Ann Courtney won Wales Book of the Year in 1989 and was later made into a television film. The 1994 anthology Luminous and Forlorn won the Raymond Williams Prize of the Arts Council of England. Who's Afraid of the Bwgan-wood? by Anne Lewis received the Welsh Books Council's Tir na n-Og Award for Best Children's Title in English in 1996, and Siân James's Not Singing Exactly won Wales Book of the Year in 1997. In the 2000s, Honno books continued to appear on notable award shortlists, including those for crime fiction and Wales Book of the Year. The press's importance has been recognized beyond individual awards. In 2006, Dai Smith, chair of the Arts Council of Wales, commended Honno for bringing women's literature back into print. In 2008, during the press's twenty-first anniversary year, founder Luned Meredith characterized Honno as part of a wider change in social consciousness that had made women's voices more prominent. Based in Aberystwyth, Honno continues to represent a distinctive model of regional, cooperative, and feminist publishing centered on the literary work of Welsh women.

• 2008

  Twenty-first anniversary reflection

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Founder Luned Meredith reflects on Honno's contribution to the wider recognition of women's voices.

• 2006

  Arts Council recognition

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Dai Smith, chair of the Arts Council of Wales, praises Honno's contribution to returning women's literature to print.

• 1997

  Not Singing Exactly wins Wales Book of the Year

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Siân James's Not Singing Exactly becomes another Honno title to win Wales Book of the Year.

• 1996

  Children's publishing award

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Anne Lewis's Who's Afraid of the Bwgan-wood? wins the Tir na n-Og Award for Best Children's Title in English.

• 1994

  Luminous and Forlorn wins the Raymond Williams Prize

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Honno's first short-story anthology receives the Raymond Williams Prize from the Arts Council of England.

• 1989

  First Wales Book of the Year success

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Carol Ann Courtney's Morphine and Dolly Mixtures wins Wales Book of the Year.

• 1986

  Honno is founded

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  A volunteer group establishes Honno as a Welsh women's publishing press with a mission to increase opportunities for Welsh women writers and broaden readership for their work.

• 1986

  Early cooperative support develops

  [1]Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org

  Honno reaches approximately 400 shareholders within six months of its establishment.

A specialist, mission-led Welsh women's press combining cooperative publishing, contemporary literary discovery, and the recovery of historically important works by women of Wales.

• Literary reprints

  Honno's Classics

  A series devoted to republishing books by women that have been out of print for many years. The series supports literary preservation and makes historically significant Welsh women's writing available to new audiences.

• Novels and short fiction · 1986

  Welsh women's fiction

  Honno's fiction list includes novels and short-story collections by women of Wales, spanning contemporary writing and recovered or republished works. The catalogue includes literary and crime fiction alongside writing rooted in Welsh social and cultural experience.

• Autobiography and memoir · 1986

  Women's life writing

  The press publishes autobiographical and other nonfiction writing by Welsh women, reflecting its original aim of expanding the visibility and circulation of women's voices from Wales.

• Children's and young adult publishing

  Children's and teenage books

  Honno publishes books for children and teenagers, including award-recognized titles such as Anne Lewis's Who's Afraid of the Bwgan-wood?, which won a major Welsh children's literature award.

• Poetry and Welsh-language publishing

  Poetry and Welsh-language books

  Alongside its predominantly English-language fiction and nonfiction, Honno publishes poetry and some books in Welsh, extending its programme across literary forms and both principal languages of Wales.

1. 1Honno (publisher)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Honno official websitehonno.co.uk