If you’re looking for Gwyneth Box, the writer, you’re in the right place: this is my personal website, where you’ll find information about my writing projects, books and courses.
If you’re looking for my alter ego in the business world, you probably meant to go to tantamount.com.
If you don't find what you’re looking for on either of these sites, feel free to drop me a line!
Amor, amor
(after Garcilaso de la Vega)
Love offered me a cloth so fine and rich,
with folds so ample, I could not refuse
but sewed myself a habit, stitch by stitch.
I find the garment shrinks with daily use:
its generous measures pucker and draw tight,
I suffocate where once I’d room to spare;
I stretch and strain to free myself, I fight,
yet still the precious fabric will not tear.
Come, show me one who wants to cut these ties –
these homespun tapes we fashion for our lives
to bind ourselves to husbands or to wives –
and I will show you one who’s spinning lies.
Each wears the cloth he wove, though I confess
I wonder if mine’s shroud or wedding dress.
Saison Poetry Library magazine collection: audio recording
This poem won first prize in the Torriano Poetry Competition, 2007, judged by
Katherine Gallagher and June English. It was subsequently published in “Brittle Star” magazine No 19.
From Judges’ Report:
The winning poem ‘Amor Amor’ (after Garcilaso de la Vega) by Gwyneth Box is a sonnet, in which mood, meaning and form are stitched ‘feelingly’ together. The octave begins with the words, ‘Love offered me a cloth so fine and rich’, which immediately pins the abstract of the opening word ‘Love’ to a concrete image: ‘a cloth so fine and rich’ and this, within the space of another line, is ‘sewed’ into a ‘habit’. A word that suggests both the ideals, the sacredness of marriage and the boring routine of ‘a garment’ that ‘shrinks with daily use.’ until gradually, tightly corseted within the confines of the rhymes, the picture of a suffocating marriage is both ‘lived’ and revealed. This, as the sestet reveals, is not a poem of hope or change, but a believable and very human portrayal of loyalty and hard-won acceptance…
Biography
Award-winning poet, writer, translator and businesswoman, with a career spanning IT, teaching, design and publishing, Gwyneth specialises in copy writing and transcreation, particularly in the fields of lifestyle, travel and technology.
As joint owner of Tantamount, Gwyneth works with freelance creatives, businesses and educators on projects that draw together the threads of publishing, design, technology and training. Through the From Authority to Authorship online programme, she mentors business experts on their journey to publication.
As a writer, Gwyneth is fascinated by the multi-layered aspects of language revealed through translation and poetry. Her creative writings explore the blurred borders between writer and narrator, between translation and creation, between memoir and invention and between poetry and prayer.
Author Brochure, 2015
This multimedia profile spans Gwyneth’s work as writer, translator and business woman. As well as biographical and bibliographical information, it includes original photographs, an exclusive video interview, and a reading of one of her pueblo stories.
Free
Courses
All courses can be run for writers’ groups or other organisations, either online via Zoom, or in person. Bespoke courses in creative writing and poetry are also available.
Inspirations for creative writing
Some writers always have things to write about: they never seem to run out of ideas. Others struggle to start new work, sitting around waiting for inspiration to come. But experience shows that the Muse likes to find us working, so it's good to have a range of activities you can use when you're not sure what to write next.
Each class in this course provides a different prompt or activity to get the creative process started. How you use these resources will depend on your particular interests and aims as a writer.
Many of the classes are accompanied by examples of writing that has resulted from the activity described. Most of these are taken from my own work and, as my own main interest is in poetry, the examples are mostly poems; even so, the course should be of interest to any creative writer who’s looking for inspirational activities.
A taster selection of lessons from the course are available on YouTube.
How to set up a writers’ group that works
Writing can be a lonely activity and one of the best things a writer can do, both to combat this isolation and to help with the development and improvement of their writing, is to join a writing group.
This course is based on my own experience over several decades of belonging to a number of different writing groups, both as organiser and as rank-and-file member. It is intended to give an idea of the range of group formats and focus, to help you avoid the main pitfalls of organisation and admin, and, above all, to make sure that the group you set up meets your needs as a writer.
Video | Animation
Curently not available for enrollment
You may find the book “Writing in Circles. A writers’ group handbook” useful
The essential poet's toolbox for readers and writers
The course contains more than 20 lectures and over 2 hours of video content. It is especially suited to novice poets and readers, as well as writers of other genres who are interested in expanding their repertoire or in understanding their poetical colleagues.
I developed this course to shine a light on to some of the inner workings of poetry, to enable others to understand and appreciate what poets are doing, and to help them recognise when this is working. Like most things in life, poetry is more fun when you know what's going on: I hope that by taking the course, you, too, can share the fun.
This course has ranked consistently as both Bestseller and Highest Rated on Udemy.
Poetry and Copywriting: a shared approach
Discover the crossover between poetry and copywriting and how the same techniques can be used in both disciplines. At first sight, poetry and marketing copy would seem to be two entirely different writing genres: on the one hand, poetry is an art - one of the highest literary forms - while the commercial nature of marketing materials place copywriting firmly at the other end of the scale.
This brief course aims to show that there is no such dichotomy: the same techniques that poets use to convey their message and meaning, and to produce the desired emotional response in their audience, can also be used in marketing materials to affect and influence the potential client.
Better business networking
Networks have always been important for business - from family-run businesses, to the old-school tie, jobs-for-the-boys and the whole ugly world of nepotism. But now, perhaps more than ever, we have the idea of networking as an activity, an activity that has become a keystone for small and medium-sized businesses, especially those who work with other businesses.
But face-to-face networking can be frightening - the idea of walking into a room full of strangers, of pitching your business to a crowd of people you don't know - and it can also be a tremendous drain on time and money. It really helps if you understand the general landscape of networking and how the different organisations function so that you can make more informed decisions about where to focus your resources.
In this course, we'll take a look at the types of group, the obligations that membership can involve, and the activities you can expect at different meetings.
From Authority to Authorship: kickstart your book
You’re an expert in your own business field and now you want to share and show your expertise by writing a book; but publishing is a whole new ball game and suddenly you’re faced with becoming a novice again. You’ll need some help to ensure you don’t lose your authority when you become an author.
Whether you want to write your influencer memoir, a sector-specific authority book, or a more general business book, Gwyneth can help you plan the project to ensure you’re building from a sound foundation.
Additionally, if required, bespoke one-to-one mentoring is available: Gwyneth can continue to work with you during the writing process, drawing on her experience in the worlds of publishing and business to provide practical advice, guidance and accountability.
Books
Turn of the wheel
A year of modern Pagan prayers and praise
Continuing the collaboration with Lucía Moreno-Velo, the third book in the "Modern Pagan Prayers" series (modernpaganprayers.com) celebrates the principal Pagan festivals that mark the passing of the seasons through voices ranging from joyful gratitude and thanksgiving to introspective meditation and mindfulness.
The forty-six pieces are grounded in the authors’ own cultures and folk traditions, with references to Celtic, Germanic and Greek theologies blended with a clear recognition of our relationship with the planet we inhabit.
Ebook
B09B7ZGN6Z
Paperback
979-8544123651
Elemental Voices
Pagan prayers for a modern planet
Again co-authored with Lucía Moreno-Velo, this second book in the "Modern Pagan Prayers" series (modernpaganprayers.com) turns attention to the planet, to the five elements – Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Spirit – and to the elementals. The collection comprises 27 pieces that sit in the space between devotion, mindfulness and poetry, and foster a deeper appreciation of the natural world and of our role in its welfare.
Touching on global and individual concerns, the book offers consolation, comfort, and occasional challenge for all who recognise the pains of the modern planet and the healing power of nature.
Ebook
B08M5XQ91Z
Paperback
979-8555218124
A wound in time
Pagan prayers for a modern world
This joint project was the brainchild of Lucía Moreno-Velo, who asked for my help editing the book of Pagan prayers that she was writing during the 2020 pandemic lockdown. It quickly turned into a full collaboration, with prayers and poems blending seamlessly together and each of us sharing and contributing to each other’s work in a joyful co-authoring partnership.
The result is a book that is spiritual rather than religious and sits in the space between devotion, mindfulness and poetry. With its overriding mood of optimism and gratitude, the book offers consolation, comfort, and occasional challenge, for all who face the ills of the modern world.
Ebook
B08GHZ7R78
Paperback
979-8672274850
From Authority to Authorship
The definitive guide to jump start your book
If you’re a professional who would like to become a published author, this is the book for you. Here, you’ll find all the information you need to equip you for the journey to authorship.
You’re an expert in your own business field and now you want to share and show your expertise by writing a book; but publishing is a whole new ball game and suddenly you’re faced with becoming a novice again. You’ll need some help to ensure you don’t lose your authority when you become an author.
Information from the world of publishing helps contextualise your book project, while practical advice and guidance levels the learning curve and smooths the writing process so you can finally get your manuscript written.
Ebook
978-1-909929-38-8
Paperback
978-1-909929-37-1
Capital Letters
These essays were originally published between 2004 and 2008 as the Capital Letters column in The New Entertainer, an English-language newspaper based in Mojácar and distributed principally to the large population of British ex-pats and other foreign nationals based in the Múrcia region of Southern Spain. Minor corrections and adjustments have been made, but the essence remains unchanged.
Paperback
978-1-909929-40-1
Ebook
978-1-909929-20-3
Los vecinos and other animals
Brief essays from the pueblo
The essays of ex-pat life in Los vecinos and other animals have been adapted from articles published in The Reader, an English-language newspaper based in Almería and distributed principally to the large population of British and other foreign nationals based in the Murcia region of Southern Spain.
The column, Outside the Box, which appeared in The Reader between 2009 and 2010, followed the same pattern as the Capital Letters column published for some years in The New Entertainer, with occasional Spanish phrases incorporated into the mainly English texts.
Paperback
978-1-909929-41-8
Ebook
978-1-909929-19-7
Enchufado
These essays were originally published over an eighteen-month period from Spring 2007 in El Indálico, the free Spanish language sister of The New Entertainer, in which the Capital Letters column had already been appearing for several years.
Sprinkled with lighthearted linguistic insights, “Capital Letters” compared and contrasted life in Spain with the UK, occasionally touching on stories in the news and current affairs, both British and Spanish. The columns in the Indálico explored the same topics, revealing an ex-pat’s view of life in Spain to a Spanish readership.
Since the original columns were published, there have been many cultural and lifestyle changes, politicians have been ousted, and policies have been reviewed. The essays do not claim to reflect the current situation, but, written with perception, sympathy and wry humour, they retain their appeal.
Paperback
978-1-909929-42-5
Ebook
978-1-909929-19-7
Castles in Spain
This anthology of speculative fiction from ten of Spain’s top genre writers includes hard science fiction, cyberpunk, alternate history, time slip, fantasy and horror.
Gwyneth contributed the translations of El bosque de hielo - The Forest of Ice -by Juan Miguel Aguilera and Mensajero de Dios - God’s Messenger - by Rodolfo Martínez.
Paperback
978-8416637188
Out of print
Writing in circles. A writers' group handbook
Gwyneth has belonged to many writers’s groups in the UK, in Spain and online, and she realises that no two groups are the same; they do, however, have things in common, and there are lessons to be learned from all of them.
This handbook includes a discussion of points to consider before setting up a new writers’ group, as well as a series of short first-person essays – Group Encounters – based around the meetings of a fictionalised group. In addition, the final section – A Critter’s Companion – includes advice on how to deal with receiving critique, and an essay on how to critique poetry - one of the banes of mixed-genre writing groups.
Ebook
978-1-909929-13-5
Paperback
978-1909929-32-6
A poet's dozen
Touching on such topics as poetry structure, form, sound, perspective, narrators, workshops and readings, this collection brings together thirteen brief essays on poetry written by Gwyneth in her capacity as Poetry Coordinator of the SWWJ, for the Society’s in-house magazine “The Woman Writer”, between 2012 and 2015.
Ebook
978-1-909929-13-5
Paperback
978-1-909929-14-2
Around the Corner from Hope Street
Around the Corner from Hope Street is a contemporary poetry collection by Gwyneth Box, written in English but set in Spain. Illustrated by the graphic artist Lance Tooks, and seen from the point of view of a single female narrator, the poems deal with themes of love, alienation and isolation, recovery and renewal, as well as demonstrating a keen observation of nature and the simple pleasures of daily life.
Read sequentially, the collection reveals a narrative thread, with the poems progressing chronologically over a period of 15 months. The first poem – "On Breaking Up" – establishes a post-relationship setting, while the early pieces go on to show us a melancholy narrator holding on to talismans and mementoes but determined to keep going. Despite the autumnal atmosphere, even these early poems demonstrate a quirky outlook and a degree of optimism from a narrator whose very nature places her "just around the corner from Hope Street".
Ebook
978-0-9574084-5-6
iBook for iPad
978-0-9574084-6-3
This enhanced poetry eBook, designed specifically for iPad, includes sound files of the poems read by the author.
Poems from the Pueblo. Haiku and assorted fragments
Nature and human nature, the natural world and everyday life in a Spanish “pueblo” are the main inspirations behind the thirty-five short poems included in Poems from the Pueblo. Haiku and assorted fragments. Arranged by season, from winter and on through to the following winter, and illustrated with photos by the author, the collection also includes the essay “House of Cards” which describes the process from notebook jotting to finished poem.
Ebook
978-0-9574084-1-8
iBook for iPad
978-0-9574084-0-1
In addition to the illustrated poems and essay, this fully enhanced poetry eBook for iPad includes sound files and a video introduction from the author.
Bubbles (Pompas)
At bedtime, white bubbles blossom in the bathroom, taking David on a flight of fancy to a magic world of colors and scents.
A bilingual poetry/picture book in Spanish & English, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez.
Gwyneth has also translated a number of other children's books for Topka. They are all published in bilingual (Spanish/ English) versions.
Hardcover
978-84-936154-1-3
Out of print
Writing under the name of David Aston
Where the hares dance
Commissioned by Jurate Jakstaite of JJ Textile to accompany the company’s delightful woollen blankets for children, this is the story of a house on the edge of an apple orchard where the hares dance under the trees.
Inspired by the natural world and by her childhood in Lithuania, Jurate creates simple textile designs with timeless appeal, adapted and expanded here as book illustrations. She recounted her memories to David, who gathered together the fragments and spun them with dreams to shape a story to be shared by parents and younger children.
Once again, David’s writing uses the patterning techniques of poetry – sound, repetition, rhythm – to weave words into a reassuring tale that acts as a talisman against loneliness.
Paperback
978-1-909929-96-8
The Cat's Miaow. A Waverley story
Waverley is a small cat with a big miaow and he lives with Mr and Mrs Turner and their son Jonathan at 10, Martens Drive.
Waverley likes the house at 10, Martens Drive because it has lots of good places to sleep and a back garden that seems to go on forever. All day long Waverley snoozes in the sunny spots around the house. But at night he goes adventuring.
With beautiful illustrations by Martin Jones, David Aston’s first story about Waverley the cat was ranked number one on Kobo USA in 2017 and 2018.
The enhanced ebook includes a reading by Alex Owen-Hill, which allows younger readers to listen again and again as they follow the text.
Ebook
978-1-909929-07-4
iBook for iPad
978-1-909929-09-8
This enhanced ebook for iPad and iPhone includes video and audio.
The Lonesome Daisy
Year after year, the seasons change, but the great oak tree remains at the edge of the field. One sunny winter’s day, out in the middle of the field, a daisy wakes up thinking that spring has arrived. But she finds herself all alone. The oak asks his friends the squirrels to help him by taking a message of reassurance to the daisy.
Original mixed-medium illustrations by the author add to the appeal of this gentle children’s story of hope, patience and friendship.
Epub/Mobi/
978-1-909929-23-4
Paperback
978-1-909929-99-9
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