Eluned Gramich

Eluned Gramich is a Welsh-German author, translator, and librarian known for creative writing and translation. Her work spans multiple genres, including essays, short stories, and novels.

Gramich is best known for her memoir Woman Who Brings the Rain (2016), which explores her experiences in Hokkaido, Japan, and won the inaugural New Welsh Writing Award in 2015. The memoir was also a finalist in the 2016 Wales Book of the Year.

Eluned Gramich was born in West Wales. She developed an early love of reading, a passion she attributes to her father, Johannes Gramich, a German novelist. Gramich studied English literature at Oxford University, followed by an MA in Creative Writing (Prose) at the University of East Anglia.

She recently completed a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at the Universities of Aberystwyth and Cardiff, funded by the SWW DTP.

After completing her studies, Gramich lived in various countries, including England, Germany, and Japan. Through these experiences, she gained a new perspective on language, culture, and identity. Her time in Japan, in particular, inspired her award-winning memoir Woman Who Brings the Rain (2016).

In this memoir, Gramich delves into her journey of cultural discovery in Hokkaido, where she gradually adapted to the local customs and deepened her understanding of the island's landscape, history, and culture.

Gramich's literary work has won her numerous awards. Her prison ghost story, Sleep Training, won the 2020 Ghastling Novella Award and the New Welsh Writing Award. Her short stories and creative essays have appeared in various magazines and anthologies, further establishing her as a versatile and accomplished writer.

In November 2022, Gramich published her début novel Windstill, set in Hamburg in 2015. It follows Lora, a young Welsh woman, navigating family secrets and personal struggles following her grandfather's death. The narrative, interwoven with the experiences of her German grandparents during and after World War II, reflects Gramich's ongoing exploration of her German heritage.

"Even though you think you are many years removed from such history, you can't escape it," she remarks, underscoring the novel's themes.

Eluned Gramich is now a resident of Aberystwyth and a librarian at the National Library of Wales.

Photo credit: elunedgramich.com