Have you heard of the Mabinogion? No? Well, let me enlighten you.

The Mabinogion is a book of stories that are really, really, really, really, realy, really, really old. In fact, there are some clever people (the sort of people who wear jumpers and who stroke their chins and say things like, “I think you’ll find that…”, or “I simply don’t agree”, or “Help! Help! I’ve lost my trousers”) who think that they might be the oldest, ever, written-down stories in the history of Britain, ever. 

The stories in the Mabinogion are wonderful and magical and weird. For example, there’s a story about a woman who is made out of flowers and then turns into an owl. And, there’s a story of a giant who has a cauldron that can bring the dead back to life. And, there’s a story about a man who puts a mouse on trial to try and help his wife and friend who have been stuck to a bowl. You see what I mean? Weird. But, the tales in the Mabinogion are also funny and thrilling and brilliant. Trust me, you’re going to love them. 

Together with the Children’s Laureate Wales, Eloise Williams, I am crowdfunding a brand new retelling of the Mabinogion for kids. It’s called The Mab. There are eleven stories and to retell them we have assembled a team of incredible and extraordinary and award-winning authors and writers. They include, Sophie Anderson (The Girl Who Speaks Bear), Catherine Johnson (Freedom), PG Bell (The Train to Impossible Places), Alex Wharton (Rising Star Wales winner 2020), Claire Fayers (Storm Hound), Hanan Issa (My Body Can House Two Hearts), Zillah Bethall (The Shark Caller), Darren Chetty (The Good Immigrant), and Nicola Davies (The Day the War Came). Each story will be told in English and in Welsh and will be vividly illustrated by the brilliant Max Low.

You can help support us by going here https://unbound.com/books/the-mab/

Now, if you’re sitting comfortably then I’ll tell you a story that I’ve written for The Mab. It’s a tale about a prince called Pwyll who lived in a time when the gates between the Real World and the Otherworld were occasionally left open. And sometimes, just sometimes, it was possible to step through.