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Benjamin Flower (1755-1829) was a writer and printer who travelled widely in Europe and spent six months in France in 1791. He was appointed editor of the influential provincial newspaper The Cambridge Intelligencer, which had liberal views. In 1799, he was summoned before the House of Lords for libelling Bishop Watson of Llandaff, whose political conduct he had censured. He was imprisoned in Newgate. He married Eliza Gould (d.1810) in 1800, and they had two daughters, Eliza (1803-1846) and Sarah (1805-1848). Later, he became a printer in Harlow.

Richard Bennett (1860-1937), Methodist historian, antiquary and copyist, was born at Hendre Cwm Pennant, Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, a farmer's son who received only a basic education. He manifested an early interest in local history, copying out parish registers and researching their information. Later, he would contribute historical articles to periodicals. From 1905 Bennett regularly visited Trefeca College to read and research manuscripts and it was he who copied out the Trefeca letters for publication in the supplements of the C. M. Historical Journal. Bennett also published several of his own works relating to the history of Calvinistic Methodism in Montgomeryshire.

Idris Davies (1905-1953), poet and schoolteacher, was born in a Welsh-speaking household and community in Rhymney, Monmouthshire, but spent much of his life living and working in London. It was, however, the industrial landscape of the South Wales valleys which was to have the greatest influence on his work, in which Davies frequently denounces the grimness and desolation of the surroundings while also reflecting the idealism and protest of its people during a time of great economic, social and religious change. His first volume of poetry, Gwalia Deserta (London, 1938), written at Rhymney, took as its theme the South Wales valleys during the Depression years of the 1930s. The Angry Summer, written at Meesden in Hertfordshire and published in 1943, is considered to be Davies's finest poem. Tonypandy and Other Poems (London, 1945) was completed while Davies was teaching in Treherbert in the Rhondda valley. In 1947 Davies returned as schoolmaster to his native Rhynmney, where he continued to write, broadcast and lecture. Selected Poems (London, 1953), the last volume to be produced during Davies's lifetime, was published less than a month before the poet's death in April 1953. Some of Davies's later material appeared posthumously in The Collected Poems of Idris Davies (Llandysul, 1972).

Roedd Samuel Roberts (S.R.) yn weinidog Annibynol, awdur, golygydd a diwygiwr Radicalaidd. Ganwyd ar 6 Mawrth 1800 yn Llanbrynmair, sir Drefaldwyn, yr ail blentyn a'r mab hynaf i'r Parch. John Roberts (1767-1834) a'i wraig Mary (m. 1848). Ym 1806 symudodd y teulu i fferm Y Diosg i fyw. Cafodd S.R. ei addysgu gan ei dad, ac o 1819 yn yr academi yn Llanfyllin (a symudwyd wedi hynnu i'r Drenewydd). Cafodd ei ordeinio ym 1827 fel cyd-weinidog i'w dad yn Llanbrynmair a daeth yn adnabyddus fel pregethwr. Ym 1835 roedd yn ysgrifennydd Apel y Capeli Annibynol Cymreig a geisiai ddileu dyledion y capeli yng Ngogledd Cymru. Ymgyrchodd dros ddiwygio cymdeithasol ac addysgiadol, gan fynegi ei farn yn y wasg a mewn traethodau eisteddfodol. Ceisiodd wella iechydiaeth, technegau amaethyddol, twf economaidd a trafnidiaeth yng nghefn gwlad Cymru. Yn 1843 cychwynnodd Y Cronicl, papur newydd Radicalaidd misol a ddaeth yn neillduol o boblogaidd. Roedd S.R. yn lwyrymorthodwr ac yn heddychwr ymroddgar. Gwrthwynebai caethwasaeth a chefnogai rhoi'r bleidlais i ferched. Roedd hefyd o blaid diwygio hawliau tenantiaid, yn rhannol oherwydd yr anghytundebau parhaol rhwng ei deulu a stiward stad Wynnstay, perchennog Y Diosg. Hyn yn y pen draw barodd i S.R. ymfudo i Tennessee i sefydlu trefedigaeth Gymreig yn Scott County. Aeth ei frawd Gruffydd (G.R.) a'i deulu yno ym 1856 ac ymunodd S.R. a nhw ym 1857. Ond cafodd yno fwy o broblemau gyda goruchwylwyr tir, a rhoddwyd ei fywyd mewn perygl oherwydd ei ddaliadau heddychol yn ystod y Rhyfel Cartref, 1861-1865. Methodd yr ymgais a dychwelodd S.R. i Gymru ym 1867 i fyw gyda'i frawd arall John (J.R.) yng Nghonwy. Sefydlodd papurau newydd wythnosol Y Dydd ym 1868 a'r Celt ym 1878. Ymysg ei gyhoeddiadau roedd Dau Draethawd (Caernarfon, 1834), Cofiant y Parch. John Roberts, o Lanbrynmair (Llanelli, 1837), Farmer Careful of Cilhaul Uchaf (1850), Diosg Farm: A Sketch of its History (Drenewydd, 1854), Gweithiau (Dolgellau, 1856), Pregethau a Darlithiau (Utica, N.Y., 1865), Funeral Addresses (Conwy, 1880) a Pleadings for Reforms (Conwy, 1880). Bu farw yng Nghonwy ar 24 Medi 1885.

John Petts (1914-1991), artist, was best known for his engravings and stained glass. With his first wife, artist and writer Brenda Chamberlain, Petts set up the Caseg printing press in Llanllechid in 1937.

Niall Griffiths (1966- ) is a writer of novels, short stories, poems, articles, guidebooks and media scripts. He was born in Liverpool and lived in Australia for three years as a child, but has lived most of his life near Aberystwyth. He grew up in a family with strong Welsh connections, and much of his work is set in Wales. As a young boy, Griffiths was inspired by the Rhondda writer Ron Berry, and his difficult experiences while growing up convinced him of the importance of education and also fuelled a desire in him to portray the underside of society in unromantic, spiritual and politically conscious writing. After spending some time in menial jobs, Griffiths took a degree in English and was accepted for a PhD scholarship in poetry at Aberystwyth, which he did not complete; he later disowned work that he did at this time, saying that he needed to unlearn much of his academic education. His writing continued, however, and his interest in the disaffected margins of society in rural Wales led to his first novel, Grits, which was published in 2000 to widespread critical acclaim. His later work followed similar themes, and in 2003 Stump won awards as both the Welsh Books Council Book of the Year and the Arts Council of Wales Book of the Year. His work is intense, uncompromising and often employs challenging language - whether outspoken, vernacular or profane - and it has attracted much admiration while also alienating some readers. Niall Griffiths has been in demand as a contributor to many journals, festivals and workshops, writing about a wide range of subjects, and he is an honorary professor at Wolverhampton University.