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Author uses anglicised placename because Conwy looks like ‘printing error’

21 May 2021 2 minute read
Book cover of The Conway Harbour Killings by Simon McCleave

An author has used the anglicised placename of Conway on a book cover and has claimed the Welsh name, Conwy, looks like a “printing error”.

Simon McCleave made the suggestion after he was asked why he called his new crime thriller, The Conway Harbour Killings.

He said that has used the name of Conwy inside the book, but not on the cover because he would be “flooded by messages and emails” if he did.

The book is part of his DI Ruth Hunter series, which also includes The Snowdonia Killings, and the Menai Bridge Killings.

Ruth Rees said: “Ooh will look forward to this one. But shouldn’t you have spelt it Conwy? We were there yesterday.”

Simon McCleave said: “Yes, should be Conwy but I feared that 90% of my readers would think it’s a printing error on the cover. However I have used the correct Welsh Conwy in the book. Hope you enjoy it”.

‘Shouldn’t it be Conwy?’

Helen Jones said: “Can’t wait. But shouldn’t it be Conwy?”

Simon McCleave replied: “Yes, I use Conwy inside the book but not on cover.

“I think 90% of my readers would assume there was a spelling error on the cover, and I’d get flooded by messages and emails.

“So, I explain at the beginning of the book that the real Welsh spelling is Conwy.”

The novelist, who was born in London, lives in the north of Wales with his wife and two children.

He was a Script Editor at the BBC, and a producer at Channel 4, before working as a Story Analyst in Los Angeles. He want on to a script writer for television and film. He has written for TV shows that include Silent Witness, Murder In Suburbia, Teachers, Attachments, The Bill, Eastenders


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Richard
Richard
2 years ago

The path of least resistance leads downhill, as always.

Gareth Plas
Gareth Plas
2 years ago

I have read his first four books. If they were TV programmes I would have been shouting at the tele. Maybe it’s Kindle, but the texts were lacking proof reading, then the Welsh……the spellings and translations were terrible. I have pre- ordered the “Conway” novel, but only out of interest as it was my home. His priority seems to have been ticking boxes in each book to reflect diversity. Another thing….apart from Sian, the lesbian lover of the chief inspector, nobody else seems to have a Welsh name!

Huw Davies
Huw Davies
2 years ago
Reply to  Gareth Plas

To be fair anyone looking at our recent national rugby teams would assume Liam, Louis, Josh, George, Daniel, Kieran, Leigh, Jake, Ken, Shane, were Welsh names. Even Sir Gawain’s brother, Sir Gareth, was a knight from Orkney before the more famous Sir Gareth (Edwards) came along! The Scarlets new ‘old boy’ coach is Dwayne Peel and he’s as Welsh as you can get. A taxi driver in Las Vegas assumed Calzaghe was a Welsh name as he knew the Welsh language had different letters to English. I was there for the boxing and felt a little foolish explaining that the… Read more »

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
2 years ago

His books are mediocre, and limited by an outsider’s-eye view of the region of Wales that he attempts to write about. It is totally unsurprising that he would make such a crass decision as this. Their one redeeming feature is that they are substantially better than the “novels” of Julian Ruck.

Last edited 2 years ago by Wrexhamian
Jeannie
Jeannie
2 years ago

What a strange excuse he uses for mis-spelling Conwy.

CJPh
CJPh
2 years ago

If he’d said “Oh, yeah, but I tend to call it Conway, as many people do, but nothing wrong with Conwy either – in fact, that’s the official name, I’m just using the English colloquial spelling” it would have been fine. But no, there has to be a utilitarian, democratization of culture which only sees minority concerns squashed. This head-patting, hand-waving nonsense underlines why we are seeing an increasing clamor for separation. Our culture, despite Mr. McCleave’s right to engage or not, isn’t for him to define via the (assumed) proclivities of a ‘majority’ of crime novel readers.

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago
Reply to  CJPh

Agreed but our national journey to independence is not a “clamor” but an idea whose time has come.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

Man is a dunce, so I’m surprised that he can read and even more so that he claims to be a writer ! There again he may not be a good writer.

Andrew Dawber
Andrew Dawber
2 years ago

I don’t believe it. I think this was a genuine error that they are trying to cover up. Why would you spell it differently inside the book. That then does look like an error.

cudyll
cudyll
2 years ago

There is a station in “Conway”. I suggest he catches the next train out from there to “Ingland” if that’s all the respect he has for Wales.

Nia Jones
Nia Jones
2 years ago

Does it matter what people think? Isn’t time to educate them to realise that Wales is a country in its own right with its own language?

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