News Archive

Cambrensis Editor Retires After 18 Years and 67 Issues

Arthur Smith has announced his retirement as editor, publisher and almost the sole inspiration of the magazine Cambrensis, which he founded in 1987 and whose first issue appeared in 1988.       

This is the end of a quite remarkable and long–running achievement, a big contribution to the literary scene in Wales. For the 18 years of its run and through 67 issues, Cambrensis published around 60 original short stories annually (complementing them with a range of features and reviews). Meanwhile, in Wales, Planet was publishing just 6 stories per year and New Welsh Review around 12. The more prolific of Welsh short fiction writers rejoiced at Cambrensis’ arrival.       

Arthur produced Cambrensis on a typewriter, ran all his business affairs single-handed and, amazingly, he replied to every correspondent individually (and often at some length), editing for an extraordinary 18 years without recourse to a rejection slip.       

Since other better-resourced magazines were glossier, in design, style and content maybe (and paid a fee!) it was inevitable that Cambrensis would trawl more widely and deeply for contributions, but it would be simplistic to suggest that a Cambrensis acceptance ranked lower (if anyone in literature looks at rankings anyway). If we look at the many writers like Mike Jenkins, Penny Anne Windsor, Phil Carradice, Herbert Williams, Robert Nisbet, Corinne Renshaw and Nia Williams who contributed often, along with Raymond Humphreys’ regular Reviews and Stray Thoughts, we can see one large part of the magazine’s value.       

Arthur grew up in a world in which short-story magazines like Argosy commanded large readerships, and much of his style owed a lot to an Argosy manner, through indeed to the neat tag-line at the start of each story. His was a market-place in which, certainly, stories with a mid-century/Somerset Maugham ambience could still find a home, but the remarkable thing is that Arthur’s tastes ranged so very far beyond, simply, the “well-told tale”. A surprising amount of the work he accepted was variously experimental, racy, explicit, bloody-minded even. Arthur’s tastes have always been more catholic than those of most editors I’ve known. And, among practitioners well-known nationally, there was always room in Cambrensis’ pages for the many good writers, like Ray Jenkin, Joyce James, Chris Williams and Carole Ann Smith, who were regular contributors for years.       

Increasingly the progress of the magazine was entwined, in South Wales certainly, with the growth of writers’ circles and creative writing workshops, many of whose members (and tutors) were contributors, subscribers and aficionados. Indeed the magazine held, over the years, eleven Writers’ Days (and one Weekend) that offered talks, workshops, and a social base for its ever-growing community of writers       

Cambrensis’ contribution to Wales’ literary life has been off-beat, distinctive and wholly positive. Arthur Smith has brought off a publishing achievement like few others, and his many friends, readers and writers will wish him a happy retirement.

Robert Nisbet

Click here to visit the Cambrensis website where you can read Arthur Smith’s letter explaining his decision to retire.