PREMA and UNREQUITED LOVE LETTERS: the CARDIFF LAUNCH

Don't miss the event of the season. Join us for the Cardiff Launch of 'Prema' the debut pamphlet from Rithvik Andugula

Rithvik Andugula was born in Cherukuwada, Andhra Pradesh, India and moved to the UK at the age of 5, living in Ilford, Cardiff and Shepherd’s Bush.

Having performed his spoken word at The Royal Albert Hall and The Roundhouse, to name a few, he is releasing Prema as his debut pamphlet.

He appears as series regular DC Evan Chaudhry in the BBC series Death Valley alongside Timothy Spall, and in Geremy Jasper’s Searchlight Pictures feature O’dessa opposite Sadie Sink. Other screen credits include the Disney+ series Extraordinary.

His theatre work includes Our Town for Welsh National Theatre, Branwen for Fran Wen (Wales Millennium Centre), for which he received rave reviews, and 3,2,1 (National Theatre). While training at LAMDA he appeared in The Leftovers (dir. Ned Bennet) and Jesus Christ Superstar in the title role.

In addition to acting, Rithvik is a musician - his songs like ‘Since 1999’, ‘Do You Still Love Me?’ are available on all streaming platforms.

Rithvik also trained at the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts.

There will also be performances from Kelly Newgreen, reading from her debut collection 'Unrequited love letters', alongside special guests Tia Zakura-Camilleri, Jamie Woods, J. Beli Friel and Dee Montangue.

Tia-Zakura is a writer and spoken-word poet from Cardiff. First published at just 18 in the anthology Cymru & I, she has since built a strong career as both a facilitator and performance poet, working across the UK. Known for her distinctive rhythmic style, ‘flowetry’, Tia blends wordplay with musicality, captivating audiences on iconic stages including the Southbank Centre and the Jazz Cafe. She is now set to take the stage at the Roundhouse, competing in the final of the UK’s largest poetry slam. Tia believes in using the arts as a tool for activism and education, engaging new audiences, and promoting political discourse in a way that is accessible. Her writing often explores themes of identity, social justice, and the diasporic experience in Britain. Alongside her poetry, Tia is an emerging playwright. Her debut spoken-word theatre production, Girl-Coded, will premiere at the Wales Millennium Centre this year.

Jamie Woods (he/him) is a writer from Swansea, selected as “a poet to watch” by Poetry Wales in 2025. He has been widely published in journals including Poetry Wales, iamb, Lucent Dreaming, Acropolis and Ink Sweat and Tears.His debut pamphlet Rebel Blood Cells about his leukaemia treatment and PTSD (Punk Dust, 2023) received great critical acclaim for its raw honesty and tenderness. The 2025 follow-up, the anti-nostalgia, 1990s set Black Skies Die Starless, has been declared 'an absolute riot of a book' by Natalie Ann Holborow. He is currently writing his third collection.

J. Beli Friel is a trans disabled writer and artist from Pontypridd now living in Cardiff. Beli’s work explores themes of fat trans resistance, community, and belonging. Their work is grounded in grief, but they are always seeking hope through truth and vulnerability. In 2025 they published their short story, FAT/CAMP in Lucent Dreaming’s Beyond/Tu Hwnt anthology and received a Creative Steps grant from Arts Council Wales to develop their practice through writing, film, and performance. In 2026, they received the Phoenix Young Artist award from the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales and Disability Arts Cymru, to develop a short film of fat trans disabled people’s connection to nature. They publish a monthly newsletter, queer be longing, for emotional queers who struggle to belong anywhere.

Dee Montague (she/they) lives in South Wales with her husband and their cats, Ahsoka and Bo-Catan, where she writes stories and poems about topics including disability, bereavement, and general farce. Dee has previously been published in Beyond / Tu Hwnt: Anthology of Welsh Deaf and Disabled writers, These Pages Sing, Wales Haiku Journal, and the 2021 Roath Writers Anthology, To the Sofa and Back Again. She hopes that 2026 will be the year she finally finishes their debut novel.

Books will be available to purchase on the day, with a Q&A and book signing to close. Stiwdio Scratch has step-free access. Please email [email protected] for queries about access needs.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Lucent Dreaming