Call for comfy clothes for World Book Day® in Wales

Call for comfy clothes for World Book Day® in Wales

Gwahoddir plant ledled Cymru i ddewis gwisgo dillad cyfforddus i ddarllen, gan swatio’n glyd ac ymgolli mewn llyfr da ar Ddiwrnod y Llyfr® eleni, sy’n cael ei ddathlu ddydd Iau 6 Mawrth.

Fel rhan o’i neges i annog mwy o blant i brofi manteision darllen er pleser sy’n gallu newid bywydau, mae elusen Diwrnod y Llyfr yn darparu tocynnau llyfr gwerth £1 i blant ledled Cymru. Gallwch ddewis llyfr am £1 o blith nifer o lyfrau £1, neu ei roi tuag at gost llyfr arall o’ch dewis.

Mae detholiad newydd o lyfrau gwerth £1 wedi eu cyhoeddi ar gyfer Diwrnod y Llyfr 2025. Y llyfr Cymraeg eleni yw Gwyrdd Ein Byd gan yr arbenigwr natur Duncan Brown, wedi ei ddarlunio gan Helen Flook a’i gyhoeddi gan Rily.

Gall darllenwyr ddarganfod ffeithiau diddorol am fyd natur a’r bywyd gwyllt anhygoel sydd o’n cwmpas, o bysgod hynafol yn Llyn Tegid i’r aderyn sy’n nythu mewn tyllau cwningod ar Ynys Sgomer, a’r coedwigoedd glaw sydd gennym yma yng Nghymru.

Eleni, mae Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru yn annog darllenwyr ifanc i ddewis dillad cyfforddus i ddarllen ac ymgolli mewn llyfr gwych, boed hwnnw’n llyfr newydd am £1, yn hen ffefryn, neu’n llyfr y maen nhw wedi bwriadu ei ddarllen ers oesoedd.

Dywedodd Helgard Krause, Prif Weithredwr Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru: “Mae Diwrnod y Llyfr yn ymwneud â dathlu darllen, ac eleni neges Diwrnod y Llyfr i ddarllenwyr o bob oed yw ‘Darllen dy Ffordd dy Hunan’. Rydyn ni’n credu bod hynny’n rheswm gwych dros ddewis pa lyfr bynnag rydych chi’n meddwl y byddwch chi’n ei garu, cael eich hun yn gyfforddus, a mwynhau! Mae cymaint o lyfrau gwych ar gael, naill ai i’w prynu gyda thocyn llyfr gwerth £1, neu i’w benthyg o’ch llyfrgell leol.”

Ychwanegodd Cassie Chadderton, Prif Weithredwr Ddiwrnod y Llyfr®: “Mae Diwrnod y Llyfr yn ymwneud â gwneud darllen yn hwyl ac yn hygyrch i bob plentyn. Rydym yn gwybod pan fydd plant yn mwynhau darllen, y bydd hyn yn cael effaith barhaol ar eu dyfodol. Mae’r neges ‘Darllen Dy Ffordd dy Hunan’ eleni yn ymwneud â grymuso plant i ddod o hyd i’r hyn maen nhw’n ei garu a mwynhau ei ddarllen yn eu ffordd eu hunain, mewn ffordd sy’n teimlo’n gyfforddus iddyn nhw.”

Mae cwmni dillad Cymraeg, ani-bendod, wedi dylunio crys-T arbennig i ddarllenwyr i’w gwisgo er mwyn mwynhau darllen yn gyfforddus trwy’r flwyddyn. Rhoddir £1 o werthiant pob crys-T i gronfa arbennig a ddarperir gan y Cyngor Llyfrau i gefnogi’r ddarpariaeth o lyfrau i blant ar gyfer banciau bwyd yng Nghymru.

Rhwng 13 Chwefror a 23 Mawrth, mae modd i blant gyfnewid eu tocyn llyfr £1 am un o’r 15 llyfr sydd wedi’u creu yn benodol ar gyfer Diwrnod y Llyfr, yn eu siop lyfrau leol, llyfrgelloedd a manwerthwyr y stryd fawr, neu ei ddefnyddio fel cyfraniad o £1 tuag at unrhyw lyfr pris llawn neu lyfr llafar sydd ar gael gan y manwerthwyr sy’n rhan o’r cynllun.

Celebrating three years of the New Audiences Fund

Celebrating three years of the New Audiences Fund

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

Call for comfy clothes for World Book Day® in Wales

Sut i Ddarllen – A brand new Welsh-language podcast all about reading

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 

 

Season’s Greetings 2024

Season’s Greetings 2024

Season’s Greetings 2024

The Books Council and the Distribution Centre will be closed from Monday afternoon,
23 December 2024 and will re-open after the holidays on Thursday, 2 January 2025.

We wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Call for comfy clothes for World Book Day® in Wales

Announcing the winners of the Book Cover of the Year Awards 2024

Announcing the winners of the Wales Children’s & Young People’s Book Cover of the Year Awards 2024

Today, Thursday 28 November, the Books Council of Wales has announced the winning titles of its brand-new Children’s & Young People’s Book Cover of the Year Awards, which are awarded for the first time in 2024.

The awards have two categories – English-language Book Cover and Welsh-language Book Cover. The winners are:

English-language category winner:

The Song that Sings Us Cover illustration by Jane Matthews. Cover design by Becka Moor. Author: Nicola Davies. Published by Firefly Press.

Welsh-language category winner:

Mynd i Weld Nain Cover illustration by Lily Mŷrennin. Cover design by Richard Pritchard. Author: Delyth Jenkins. Published by Y Lolfa.

Jane Matthews, illustrator of the winning English-language cover, said: “Wow, this is such fantastic news! I’m delighted to win this wonderful new award, especially given the three beautiful, lively covers that The Song that Sings Us was up against. I love that this prize has been established to celebrate book cover design, and it means a lot to have the recognition of the Books Council of Wales and their Young People’s Panel.”

Penny Thomas from Firefly said: “We are really thrilled to see Jane and Becka’s stunning paperback cover for The Song that Sings Us win the inaugural Welsh Children’s Book Cover Award. This is a wonderful recognition of their outstanding artistic and design skills and imagination!”

Lily Mŷrennin, illustrator of the winning Welsh-language cover, said: “What an honour to hear that this little winter book has been chosen to win the award! The illustrations celebrate the cosiness of this time of year, and I hope everyone can experience a little magic in its pages.”

Ellyw Jenkins from publisher Y Lolfa said: “Y Lolfa are very proud that the cover of the book Mynd i Weld Nain has come out on top in the 2024 Children’s Book Cover Award competition, and that Lily Mŷrennyn’s fantastic artwork has been acknowledged. I hope everyone will go out and buy this special book – it’s a perfect Christmas present!”

The awards have been established to celebrate and recognise the contribution of illustrators and designers in bringing stories to life, and creating eye-catching, attractive books that appeal to young readers.

The eight books on the shortlists were selected by members of the Books Council of Wales’ Young People’s Panel; and the category winners were chosen by an online public vote held between 12 and 25 November. The designer/illustrator of the winning cover in each category wins or shares a cash prize of £500.

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, said: “Many congratulations to Lily Mŷrennin and Richard Pritchard, and Jane Matthews and Becka Moor for winning the very first Children’s & Young People’s Book Cover of the Year Awards

I’m sure we’ve all picked up a book because it’s caught our eye from the shelf, or spotted a cover that’s made us want to find out more. In books for children and young people, book covers play such an important role as young readers are starting to discover new books, themes and genres – and a brilliant book cover can start them on a reading journey they may not otherwise have thought of.

So I’m delighted that we have been able to celebrate the creativity and talent of our illustrators and designers in or from Wales through these awards, and I would like to thank everyone involved in all of the books on this year’s shortlists.”

 

The other shortlisted titles were:

English-language Book Cover:

Ceri & Deri: 1,2,3 Cover illustration by Max Low. Cover design by Joana Rodrigues, Graffeg. Author: Max Low. Published by Graffeg.

Lilly & Myles: The Torch Cover illustration by Hannah Rounding. Cover design by Joana Rodrigues, Graffeg. Author: Jon Roberts. Published by Graffeg.

Tapper Watson and the Quest for the Nemo Machine Cover illustration by Becka Moor. Author: Claire Fayers. Published by Firefly.

 

Welsh-language Book Cover:

Ac Rwy’n Clywed Dreigiau / And I Hear Dragons Cover illustration by Eric Heyman. Cover design by Becka Moor. Editor: Hanan Issa. Published by Firefly. 

Diwrnod Prysur Cover illustration and design by Huw Aaron. Author: Huw Aaron. Published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch.

Mwy o Straeon o’r Mabinogi Cover illustration by Valériane Leblond. Cover design by Gwasg Rily Publications. Author: Siân Lewis. Published by Gwasg Rily Publications.