In 2025 we are celebrating three years of the New Audiences Fund which was established in 2022 thanks to funding from Welsh Government through Creative Wales. Its purpose was to strengthen and diversify the publishing industry in Wales.

When we launched the fund, we were looking for projects that would be catalysts for lasting change in our sector: creating opportunities, increasing representation, and supporting businesses.

Three years and £1.5million later, our Impact Report can look back on over 100 projects across Wales. But the stories behind these figures are more important still as we see how the grants have created jobs, supported fair pay, facilitated collaboration, mentored new voices and enabled the publication of new cultural materials.

We would like to thank Creative Wales and Welsh Government for their support for this transformative fund, which has the potential to continue to create lasting change in our publishing sector for the benefit of all of Wales.

Find out more about the New Audiences Fund and the projects it supports:

New Audiences Grant Impact Report

New Audiences Projects: Grants | Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru

A brand-new Welsh-language podcast series, Sut i Ddarllen is launched today, Monday 10 February 2025, by the Books Council of Wales.

Over six episodes, Francesca Sciarrillo is joined by a range of special guests to discuss reading, its influence and the impact it can have on our daily lives. Among the guests sharing their memories and reading recommendations are Siôn Tomos Owen, Kayley Roberts and Manon Steffan Ros.

Siôn Tomos Owen is the series’ first guest. He discusses reading four books at once, snobbish attitudes towards comics and his love for libraries.

Francesca Sciarrillo is Reading Promotions Officer at the Books Council of Wales. She’s also a familiar face from co-presenting S4C’s arts programme Y Sîn and as a columnist for Lingo Newydd magazine and Lingo 360 for Welsh learners.

Francesca said: “As someone who just loves reading, it was a real pleasure for me to talk with such brilliant guests, and to get to understand more about their own relationship with books. Our chats cover early memories of reading, to reading habits today; from books they couldn’t put down to those they’ve yet to finish. The conversations were revealing and fascinating and I can’t wait to share them!

Bethan Jones, Head of Children’s Books and Reading Promotion at the Books Council of Wales said: “The Books Council of Wales believes in the transformative power of reading for pleasure and its positive impact on our wellbeing and mental health. We’re delighted to share this brand-new podcast series which offers a space to discuss reading and books of all kinds. It shows us that there isn’t one ‘right’ way to enjoy reading and that there is a book out there for everyone.”

The podcasts were filmed on location at Tramshed Tech, Cardiff and at Y Shed, Y Felinheli.

You can listen to the podcast on a range of streaming platforms including Y Pod and AM or watch them on YouTube. Other episodes in the series will be released each week.

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/sutiddarllen

MAE’R DDOGFEN HON HEFYD AR GAEL YN GYMRAEG / A WELSH-LANGUAGE VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE