Authors

Jonathan Richards

Jonathan Richards is a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practioners (FRCGP) and has had a distinguished career as…

Authors information

Derec Jones

Derec has been writing books, scripts, articles, opinion pieces, blogs and poems forever (it seems). Much of his work has…

Croeso / Welcome

Opening Chapter is a publisher and a publishing service company established in Wales in the early 2000’s

This website is currently undergoing a makeover and an update.

In the meantime please contact us at

c r e a t i v e m e d i a @openingchapter .c o m if you need more info

Everything changes, it’s always the same . . .

 

Weaving Yarn Book Launch

We are delighted to announce that

Weaving Yarn

the latest collection of poetry from

Jonathan Richards

will be launched at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on

Tuesday January 20th 2026, at 5:30pm.

The event will take place in First Space which is a fully accessible meeting room near the front entrance to Chapter, near the cafe-bar and the cinema foyer.

Click on the links below for more information about

Jonathan Richards

Weaving Yarn

Weaving Yarn

Weaving Yarn is a deeply meaningful collection of poetry from Jonathan Richards.

“This collection weaves science, faith and wonder at the world together as threads and as anecdotes: my marks upon the page.”

After a long career in medicine as a GP and in other roles, it also displays his caring and compassionate nature as a true person of faith.

Click here to read a sample or for more information

 

Boys from the Backfields

Who killed Betty Fish? In 1963 the world is rocking to the Beatles, and being rocked by the Cold War and the assassination of President Kennedy. There are far more important things on the mind of Mick Matthews, a 13 year old boy growing up on a council estate in Wales, such as the murder of a middle-aged widow in one of the posh houses across the road.

Mick and his small gang are out gathering blackberries and scrumping apples when they witness the murder as it happens. Around the same time as the demise of Betty Fish, Mick falls in love with the enigmatic Angel, a girl of the same age. Fifty years later, the murder is still unsolved and the shadows it casts over their lives are as dark as ever.

Get it here: Boys from the Backfields

 

 

Jonathan Richards

Jonathan Richards is a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practioners (FRCGP) and has had a distinguished career as a doctor.

He has also chaired Home Start Cymru and Valleys Steps, both important charities operating in the Welsh Valleys, and was a visiting professor of Primary Care at the University of South Wales.

Alongside his career as a clinician, Jonathan developed a deep interest in poetry and completed a Masters degree in Creative Writing. He realised that there is a ‘similar dance’ between the poet and the reader and  between the doctor and the people they treat.

Weaving Yarn is his third and most significant collection of poetry. It weaves the threads of both ‘dances‘ together with a deeply spiritual and caring sensitivity.

Click here to read more about his poetry collection Weaving Yarn

For the Time Being

A loose collection of bits and bobs

Not for public sale

Dead Flowers and other stories

What does the richest man in the world want more than anything else?How do you cope when your loved ones are blown up by a bomb?Is it such a bad thing to break the rules?These questions and more are dealt with in this collection – a special mix of stories selected to blend and bounce off each other and portray the amazing complexity of life as a human being on this crazy, cruel planet.

See more and buy at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1904958524

Derec Jones

Derec has been writing books, scripts, articles, opinion pieces, blogs and poems forever (it seems). Much of his work has been published by Opening Chapter. He is also an artist and has dabbled in podcasting and in songwriting. There’s a lot more on his website derecjones.com.

Here’s a list of Derec’s books published by us.

The Three Bears a meta-fiction novel

The Words in Me – poetry

The Walker and other stories – short stories

Skin and Bones – a novel

Cheats and Liars – a novel

Bums – a novel

Dead Flowers – short stories (as Derek Wynford Jones)

Is this who I am? – a meta-fiction novel (as Del Brennan)

Busted – a novel

Blodyn – poetry

To Me – metafiction novel and ramble – not publically available

For the Time Being – collection of bits and bobs (as Derek Wynford Jones)

Coven of One

See more by clicking this 

In the bluestone caverns, deep under Masterbridge someone is taking notice. It has been a long time since there’s been anything to notice, anything at all, but there is, imperceptibly, something there. The yellow ridged fingernail reaches out to swirl the inky black water. With a sprinkle of chosen herbs the scene bursts into life once again. The shrouded face watches intently as the picture clears, expands, shudders and then settles down to admit the truth . . . yes, she is coming.Coven of One is the story of a simple Hedgewitch’s journey into the furthest recesses of the darkest heart of the darkest demon. A story of spells and potions, imbued with Pagan magic.