Gareth Hill

Gareth Hill


With an MA (passed with distinction) in Creative & Media Writing from Swansea University, Gareth has had short fiction published by Parthian Books in Wales and is a former winner of the Speakeasy Short Story Prize. Having variously worked as a cleaner, a chauffeur, a sales rep, an account manager and a sausage batterer, these days he keeps the wolf from the door as a sales and marketing executive for a tech company in Cardiff. A disciple of Cheever and Carver, Gareth writes short stories and creative non-fiction as well as essays, features, poetry and anything else that might require words. He's also been known to run creative writing workshops for school-aged students and children in Cardiff, always amazed at the capacity for creativity that exists in young minds. Gareth lives in Cardiff with his wife and two sons.

Credentials


Gareth Hill in 60 seconds

When did you start writing?

1983 Rhiwbeina Junior School in Cardiff - specifically Mr Harding's classroom in the 'aluminiums' (if you attended the school you'll know what I mean - if you didn't, it's not that interesting).

What do you love about short stories?

VS Pritchard says a short story is like catching a glimpse of something in the corner of your eye. It’s a sentiment to which I can really relate. I love the sense that, as the reader, you have dipped into a life ongoing but at a moment in time that is somehow pivotal to a character, a moment of epiphany or change. And when we leave, that life or that world will continue in some way, in our absence.

Do you write in other forms?

I’ve written poetry along the course of my writing life although this tends to arise out of the blue, as though implanted into me at certain moments. I also write articles and web content, primarily for small businesses as well as the occasional film and book review. At present I am working on a longer piece of creative non-fiction / memoir.

What distracts you from writing?

A good film or the latest HBO series might turn my head away from the page / screen for a time and the passionate pursuits of my children are a constant (though never unpleasant) time away from my writing.

Outside of writing, what are your other passions?

Film and sport have always featured heavily in my life. I have a deep love for the cinema as well as film history and, for better or worse, am often similarly drawn towards football and rugby. Over and above all of these however, my greatest passion is reserved for my family – my wife of 14 years and my two sons.

What is your favourite book?

Brightness Falls by Jay McInerney, Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Underworld by Don Lillo and anything by Raymond Carver.

Who are your favourite writers?

Raymond Carver , William Boyd and Douglas Adams.

Where is your dream location?

Somewhere near the sea in New England, USA.

What one item would you put into Room 101?

The incessant number of phone calls I get telling me that either my computer is riddled with bugs or that my loft is insufficiently insulated.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I suppose the obvious piece of advice for new writers is that they need to write. A common burden of the new writer I think is that a lot of time is spent wanting to write something without actually putting it on the page. Be free with your first draft, make mistakes, allow the ideas pour onto the page. Then edit, edit and edit some more.

Work by Gareth Hill:

Last Day of Summer
Gareth Hill
£0.99 Added
September 10th 2001 - Chris and Annie are on the final leg of their road trip around the USA. Heading towards New York, the frayed edges of a relationship spawned from post-graduation euphoria are beginning to show as they confront the end of their summer and the swan-song of their youth. Aware that their lives are going to change, they face up to an uncertain future, completely unaware of the global events into which they are about to be propelled.

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