Award-winning Aberystwyth poet Jemma L. King has released what critics are calling her finest collection yet - a deeply personal work inspired by pregnancy, motherhood and her son's extraordinary fight for life.

Raised in Aberystwyth and now living in Powys, King wrote ‘Moon Base One’ after a pregnancy scan unexpectedly revealed her baby was suffering from life-threatening conditions. Two weeks before his birth, doctors diagnosed him with multiple life-threatening issues, including holes in his heart and a disconnected stomach and bowel. After his birth at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Solomon was transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital, where he underwent specialist treatment and spent the first months of his life in the care of its internationally renowned team. 

King wrote beside her son’s incubator as Birmingham’s specialist teams cared for him. The resulting poems became ‘Moon Base One’ - a collection exploring survival, love, history, space and the fierce hope that sustains families through their darkest moments.

Published by Parthian Books, ‘Moon Base One’ has received widespread praise from some of Wales' leading literary voices.

King said: "I never expected motherhood to bring me back to poetry. It’s been a decade since my first collection came out but seeing Solomon on the ultrasound screen was like someone flicked a switch. Later, while he was being cared for in hospital, writing became a way of making sense of fear, hope and love. Looking back now, Moon Base One feels like a record of that journey and a celebration of the people who helped us through it."

Solomon has made a full recovery. In late 2025, he gained a sister, Tabby. 

For King, the collection marks not only a return to writing but also a new chapter in a literary career that began in Wales and continues to be shaped by its landscapes, history and people.

‘Moon Base One’ is available now.