A music scholar makes an unlikely friend in a retired sea captain. In the trenches in WW1 France, a soldier befriends a young Tommy before they both go over the top. A poet uses sumptuous imagery to take us on a journey from summer to autumn. For eleven years the Terry Hetherington Young Writers Award has provided a platform for emerging young writers from and living in Wales. In this skillful and diverse collection of stories and poems, we celebrate the very best entries to this year's award.

A dolphin washed-up on the Welsh coast marks the crisis point in the life of a family. A shopkeeper's daily jogs with her friends allow her to reflect on her relationships, her life. A poet explores the ways in which 'Wales is a small coat/made of deep pockets.' Another combines, in a single poem, the experiences of an elderly relative with the little matter of the entirety of human history.Cheval 9 contains a selection of the best work submitted this year to the Terry Hetherington Award, which has become known as one of the most significant awards for young writers in Wales. The anthology also collects new work by previous winners, including Tyler Keevil, Anna Lewis, Thomas Morris and Katherine Stansfield. What this adds up to is an anthology which thrillinglyrepresents the reality of where new Welsh writing is now, offering readers the chance to discover brand new names and to enjoy the work of established masters.