My friend Mick (Michael) Felton, who has died aged 67 of cancer, was a publisher, a fierce advocate for literature in Wales and for nearly 40 years worked to promote original poetry, fiction, memoirs, psychogeography and criticism.
He joined a fledgling publisher based in south Wales – Seren (star in Welsh) – that was set up by Cary Archard in 1981 as an extension of the magazine Poetry Wales. It was run from a kitchen table in Bridgend and later from the Ogmore-by-Sea house of the poet and writer Dannie Abse. Mick worked at the editing desk as the sole employee and eventually became the chief executive. He also served as a trustee of the Poetry Society.
The significance of Seren’s books went far beyond Wales and among its achievements were titles that featured on shortlists and as winners for UK awards such as the Forward and Ondaatje prizes, the Booker, Wales book of the year, the Costa book awards, National Poetry book choices and the Paul Torday prize.
Born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, Mick was the son of John Felton, a miner, and Marjorie (nee Tomlinson), a shop assistant. He went to Belmont primary school, followed by Ashby grammar school and later studied English literature at St David’s University College (now the University of Wales, Lampeter), graduating in 1978.
His first job was as a rep for the trade publisher Prentice-Hall. He met Allison Jones, a secondary school English teacher at a poetry reading in Bridgend, and they married in 1988.
Many writers have already spoken of the way in which working on their manuscript with Mick was a rewarding and surprisingly humane experience. There are drawbacks to publishing with a smallish, regional outfit with a limited budget for publicity and promotion, but the compensations lay in the personal commitment of Mick and his colleagues and the care taken with cover designs and presentation.
I published more than 30 books of poetry, anthologies and criticism with Seren. In 2021, Mick accepted my first novel, written when I was 74. If he believed in your work, he brought it into print.
He retired last year and would have been aware of the threats to literary publishing in an increasingly cash-strapped Wales. Maintaining literary standards over the next few years would have been more secure with him still at his desk.
Mick is survived by Allison, their three children, Catherine, Ruth and Rhys, and two grandchildren, Joshua and Eli.
