Congratulations to our Chief Executive, Helgard Krause, as she joins the Gorsedd of the Bards for services to the arts in Wales.

Originally from Pfalz in Germany and multilingual, Helgard has a wealth of experience in publishing both in the UK and internationally.

She came to Wales in 2005 when she started working for the Books Council of Wales as International Sales Officer. She learnt Welsh in order to become the Council’s Head of Sales & Marketing and became fluent within a few months. From 2010–2017 she was Director of University of Wales Press, before returning to the Books Council in 2017 as Chief Executive.

Helgard said: ‘I feel privileged and deeply moved to receive this honour, joining an illustrious circle of bards, writers and other creatives who have contributed so much to the Welsh language and culture. It is a pleasure to be given a platform to further promote the publishing industry in Wales and highlight the importance of books and reading in general.’

Below the Archdruid, Myrddin ap Dafydd welcomes Helgard at the Gorsedd of the Bards ceremony.

Linda Tomos CBE appointed as Chair, Books Council of Wales

Linda Tomos has been appointed as the Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Books Council of Wales at the Council’s AGM, held on Monday, 25 July. Linda succeeds Professor M. Wynn Thomas, who is retiring after leading the Council for 20 years.

Members also confirmed Rona Aldrich to continue in her role as Vice-Chair of the Books Council, a role she has held since 2015.

Upon her appointment, Linda Tomos said: ‘I look forward to working with my fellow Trustees and the talented staff at the Books Council of Wales to deliver an exciting and ambitious strategy over the next five years, strengthening the sector and reaching new audiences all over Wales.’

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, said: ‘I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to Linda upon her appointment to the role of Chair. I, and Linda’s fellow Trustees, have already benefitted greatly from her contribution as a member of the Board since April 2021 and her support to develop our new strategy for the next five years.

I would also like to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution and support given so generously by Professor M. Wynn Thomas during his 20 years as Chair. His leadership has helped us all to navigate some challenging times to emerge as a stronger organisation and I look forward to working with Linda, Rona and the Board of Trustees to build on his legacy.’

Professor M. Wynn Thomas said: ‘It has been an undiluted pleasure and privilege to serve the Council as its Chair, and to watch it develop into a major national body whose work supports the burgeoning Welsh publishing industry in its entirety.

I am especially indebted to all those officers who have served alongside me, to the entire devoted staff of the Council, and most particularly to the three inspired and inspiring Directors with whom I have worked. Watching them has been an education.

I wish my successor the very best, and can assure her, as she takes the Chair, that the Council goes from strength to strength.’

Linda Tomos is a chartered librarian with over 40 years’ experience in the sector and was the National Librarian for Wales from 2015–2019, leading the National Library in Aberystwyth. She has worked as a senior civil servant within the Welsh Government and was the first Director of CyMAL: Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales. A member of the Gorsedd, Linda was awarded a CBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Welsh culture.

Rona Aldrich joined the Books Council’s Executive Committee in 2011 and was appointed Vice-Chair in 2015. She was Vice-Chair of the Welsh Committee of the National Lottery Community Fund until her retirement in 2021 and is a member of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Advisory Panel. Prior to retiring she was Chief Officer for Libraries, Information and Culture with Conwy County Borough Council.

Professor M. Wynn Thomas was Chair of the Books Council of Wales for twenty years. He is a Professor of English and holds the Emyr Humphreys Chair of Welsh Writing in English at Swansea University, and is a specialist in American poetry and in the two literatures of modern Wales. He received the highest honour of the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2000. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and is a founding Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and its former Vice-President.

The Books Council was established in 1961 to support the publishing industry in Wales.

Its mission is to support the publishing industry in Welsh and English, which it does through grants and providing specialist services and advice to the sector; and to promote Reading for Pleasure which it does through a variety of reading engagement programmes.

It is a charity and is funded partly by Welsh Government through Creative Wales, and partly from the commercial operations of the wholesale book Distribution Centre. This was the Books Council of Wales’ second AGM following its transition in 2021 to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The Chair and Vice-Chair were appointed following a vote by members of the charity.

A DAY OF CELEBRATION FOR YOUNG READERS FROM ALL OVER WALES

Aberystwyth Arts Centre was full to the rafters with children from all over Wales on 21–23 June when they came to take part in the national rounds of Darllen Dros Gymru and BookSlam, reading competitions organised by the Books Council of Wales for primary school pupils in Wales.

The national rounds are the culmination of months of work and activity on a county level, with the winners of the county rounds progressing to the finals in Aberystwyth. 35 teams competed for the national titles over the three days.

Years 3 and 4 pupils were first to compete in the national round on Tuesday, 21 June. Ysgol Melin Gruffydd, Cardiff, took first place with their discussion of Y Ferch Newydd and a promotional advertisement for Y Crwt yn y Cefn. Ysgol Bro Cernyw, Conwy, came second, and the third prize went to Ysgol Pennant, Powys.

Wednesday, 22 June saw Years 5 and 6 pupils descend on Aberystwyth for their national final, and once again there was strong competition for the top spot. This year’s award was won by Ysgol Bro Cernyw, Conwy, for their discussion of Dyddiadur Dripsyn: Oes yr Arth a’r Blaidd and their promotional advert for Dirgelwch y Dieithryn. Ysgol Pant Pastynog, Denbighshire, came second, with Ysgol Henry Richard, Ceredigion, taking the third prize.

As part of the activities, the pupils and their teachers also enjoyed sessions with author Caryl Lewis.

Thursday was the day of the BookSlam final in which Llandysilio CiW School, Powys, were awarded the first prize, with their discussion of The Black Pit of Tonypandy and their promotional advert for Where the Wilderness Lives. Cardiff’s Ysgol y Wern came second, and Ysgol Sychdyn, Flintshire, came third.

As part of the day’s activities, author Medi Jones-Jackson held sessions with the pupils and teachers to launch her new book, Wondrous Women of Wales.

This year, Morgan Dafydd judged the Darllen Dros Gymru discussions, Liz Kennedy judged the BookSlam discussions and Lleucu Siôn judged the promotional adverts for both competitions.

Helen Jones, Head of the Children’s Books and Reading Promotion Department, said: ‘Our reading competitions offer children an invaluable experience of reading and discussing books with their peers. They can use their imaginations, analyse a book’s contents and have their say on the events and characters. We must thank the regional organisers for their hard work and dedication to the competition and the county rounds, and the teachers and all those who ensure the competition’s success every year.’

Thanks to the kindness of several publishers, every child who took part in the national rounds chose a free book to take home with them.

Strong characters lead the way to win the Tir na n-Og 2022 Welsh-language children’s book awards

This year’s winners of the Welsh-language Tir na n-Og children’s book awards were announced today, Thursday, 2 June, in a special celebration at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Denbighshire. Although very different in setting and theme, memorable characters who readers will care about are at the centre of the winning novels – Gwag y Nos by Sioned Wyn Roberts and Y Pump, edited by Elgan Rhys.

Established in 1976, the annual Tir na n-Og Awards celebrate the best books for children and young adults in Wales. They are organised by the Books Council of Wales and sponsored by CILIP Cymru Wales, the library and information association.

The winners will receive a cash prize of £1,000 sponsored by CILIP Cymru Wales, as well as a specially commissioned award created by Cardiff-based designers The Patternistas.

Primary school age category winner – Gwag y Nos by Sioned Wyn Roberts (published by Atebol)
The Victorian era and the cruel world of the workhouse are brought to life through the adventures of rebel Magi, the likeable and mischievous main character of the story. We follow Magi as she goes from the Gwag y Nos workhouse to Plas Aberhiraeth, and encounters memorable characters such as Mrs Rowlands, Nurse Jenat and Cook. As we follow the twists and turns of the story, we want to know the answer to the same question as Magi – what is the dark secret of Gwag y Nos?

Alun Horan, Chair of the Judging Panel, commented: “This book grabs the reader’s attention from the first paragraphs and gets straight to the middle of an exciting story. The striking artwork must be praised; the cover conveys the chilling atmosphere of the workhouse and the illustrations inside the book prompt the readers to paint the world in their own imaginations. We admired the originality and imagination of the author, and the depth of the research that makes the Victorian Age so real for the reader.”

Sioned Wyn Roberts said: “I’m delighted that Gwag y Nos has won the Tir na n-Og 2022 Award in the primary category. Many thanks to the Books Council and the judges for this honour. I would also like to thank Rachel Lloyd for editing, Almon for designing, Atebol for publishing the novel and all the friends and children who have read the early drafts and made some perceptive comments.

“I never would have started writing if I hadn’t attended a course at Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre about three years ago. I was inspired by talented writers to give it a go, and I haven’t stopped writing since.”

Secondary school age category winner – Y Pump, edited by Elgan Rhys (published by Y Lolfa)
Y Pump (The Five) follows a group of pupils at Llwyd Secondary School, as they discover the power their otherness gives them when they come together as a community. Through the unique perspectives of Tim, Tami, Aniq, Robyn and Cat, we get to recognise the complex reality of being a young person who is marginalised. With editor Elgan Rhys, five young writers have worked in collaboration with more experienced authors to create this ambitious, experimental, powerful series of stories.

Alun Horan, Chair of the Judging Panel, said: “What makes these stories different and especially relevant is the collaboration between the co-authors, and all of the characters, their situations and their interrelations feel very, very real. Having several authors creates individual voices for each of the characters, something that is extremely effective. The undoubted achievement of the editor is the way he has brought all of these stories together effectively. It would take many pages to do justice to these volumes – they were so rich in terms of content. Many congratulations to the team behind this ambitious venture, and I’m sure we will be discussing and considering the content of these volumes for years to come.”

The titles and authors of the five individual volumes are: Tim (by Elgan Rhys and Tomos Jones), Tami (by Mared Roberts and Ceri-Ann Gatehouse), Aniq (by Marged Elin Wiliam and Mahum Umer), Robyn (by Iestyn Tyne and Leo Drayton) and Cat (by Megan Angharad Hunter and Maisie Awen).

Elgan Rhys, the editor of the series, said: “This award is a recognition of the passion and hard work of all the members of the team, who came together from all over Wales during the dark days of lockdown with the ambition to create a truly new and authentic picture of young people’s lives in Wales today. We would all like to thank the judges, Y Lolfa and the Books Council and everyone else who has contributed to the creation of Y Pump, and most of all, everyone who has picked up and immersed themselves in one of the books.”

Amy Staniforth from CILIP Cymru Wales said: “Many congratulations to the winners on their terrific achievement. We are proud to sponsor the Tir na n-Og Awards again this year, and to continue helping children and young people to discover the very best of books from Wales and about Wales.”

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, said: “The Tir na n-Og Awards have been celebrating the very best books for children and young people in Wales since 1976, and the quality of the entries just keeps getting better and better. I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in this year’s competition, which has been a wonderful showcase of the talents of writers and illustrators in the field of children’s literature in Wales.”

The other shortlisted titles in the Welsh-language categories were:
Primary age category
• Gwil Garw a’r Carchar Crisial by Huw Aaron (Broga)
• Sara Mai a Lleidr y Neidr by Casia Wiliam (Y Lolfa)
Secondary age category
• Fi ac Aaron Ramsey by Manon Steffan Ros (Y Lolfa)
• Hanes yn y Tir by Elin Jones (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)

The winner in the English-language category is The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr (published by Bloomsbury) and was announced on the Radio Wales Arts Show on 20 May.