Welsh-language shortlist revealed for Wales’ oldest children’s book award – the Tir na n-Og Awards 2022

Exciting mysteries and comic book capers… a fresh look at the history and people of Wales… and powerful and empowering stories of growing up in Wales today. The Books Council of Wales will reveal the Welsh-language shortlists for this year’s Tir na n-Og Awards on S4C’s progamme, Heno, on Thursday, 10 March. This year’s awards are an eclectic mix of the very best of stories from Wales and stories of Wales published in 2021.

The Tir na n-Og Awards are the oldest and most popular awards for children’s literature in Wales and are held every year by the Books Council of Wales, sponsored by CILIP Cymru Wales. They celebrate the talents of authors and illustrators who either create original works in Welsh, or who write about authentically Welsh themes or backgrounds through the medium of English.

Some of Wales’ leading authors and illustrators have won the Award in previous years, including Manon Steffan Ros, Jac Jones, Caryl Lewis and Gareth F. Williams. The aim is to celebrate reading for pleasure and to inspire reading choices for young readers. Through the Awards, children and young people can enjoy and be inspired by stories and writing from or about Wales.

Primary Age Shortlist

Gwil Garw a’r Carchar Crisial, Huw Aaron, Broga
A book full of humour, imaginative events, special monsters, and a main character who can somehow survive all misery and disorder.

Sara Mai a Lleidr y Neidr, Casia Wiliam, Y Lolfa
A story that grips the reader from the outset; the writing is skilful, well proportioned and has an easy humour.

Gwag y Nos, Sioned Wyn Roberts, Atebol
An action-packed story that captivates the reader from the first few paragraphs, and captures the alien world of the workhouse subtly and compellingly.

Secondary Age Shortlist

Hanes yn y Tir, Elin Jones, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch
A beautiful book that, in its simplicity of presentation and language, makes complex history accessible to the reader.

Y Pump, ed. Elgan Rhys, Y Lolfa
A collection of challenging and experimental stories that inverweave into one complete composition.

Fi ac Aaron Ramsey, Manon Steffan Ros, Y Lolfa
A contemporary and gripping novel that presents real characters of flesh and blood that can resonate with today’s young readers.

Independent panels of judges select the shortlists and decide on the winners for the Welsh and English awards each year. This year’s judges on the Welsh language panel were Alun Horan (Chair), Morgan Dafydd, Sara Yassine and Ceri Griffith, who bring with them a wealth of experience and passion for children’s books. 

• More about the Tir na n-Og 2022 Judges

The Chair of the Welsh-language Panel, Alun Horan, said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to chair the Welsh-language Panel this year with the output being a clear indication that the industry is very healthy. It was nice to see a number of new names and the standard of writing and the appearance of the shortlisted titles was excellent. Amongst the titles, there were several highly original books, taking children and young people’s books in Welsh to exciting new areas, with the potential of attracting reluctant and harder-to-reach readers.”

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, said: “Huge congratulations to everyone who has been involved in creating the excellent books on this year’s shortlists. The aim of these awards is to celebrate the best of original Welsh writing and it’s a real pleasure to see such innovative and exciting books being recognised. I’m very glad that I don’t have to choose the winners from this wonderful selection!”

The shortlist for the best English-language book with an authentic Welsh dimension (age 4–18) will be announced at 18:30 on Friday, 11 March on the Radio Wales Arts Show.

The winning titles in each category will be announced on 20 May on the Radio Wales Arts Show (English-language) and on 2 June at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Denbighshire (Welsh-language). 

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Celebrating 25 years of World Book Day

This year’s packed programme will help more children than ever to discover a love for reading.

The charity World Book Day turns 25 on Thursday 3^rd March 2022 and is inviting everyone to its party celebrating the past, present and future of children’s reading.

Reading for pleasure is the biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income[1] – however, it is in decline and at its lowest level since 2005.

This year, World Book Day is inspiring children and families to think of themselves as readers and to read together more regularly.

Highlights of the World Book Day campaign in Wales include: 

• New Welsh-language £1 book by renowned Welsh author, poet and children’s TV star Anni Llŷn – Lledrith yn y Llyfrgell (Y Lolfa)
• Fun and colourful resources filled with ideas of how to celebrate with a reading-inspired party to mark the 25^th birthday celebrations
• Competition on Books Council of Wales social media channels to win a stack of 25 books
• Sponsored competition on Awr Fawr Cyw (S4C) where children and schools are encouraged to send photos of their World Book Day celebrations and costumes

Helgard Krause, CEO of Books Council of Wales, said: “I am delighted that the Books Council is able to support the delivery of World Book Day in Wales, and to celebrate this special anniversary. We know that developing a habit of reading for pleasure at a young age has lifelong benefits, and we firmly believe that everyone can be a reader. That’s why we’re so pleased to be able to make another £1 book available in Welsh this year and to work with our friends at World Book Day to encourage everyone to find the right book for them, wherever they are on their reading journey.”

To make it easy for everyone to take part in World Book Day 2022 and to encourage a celebration of reading, there will also be a suite of online resources available on the World Book Day website, including activity sheets and discussion guides for teachers, parents and carers.

Alongside this, the Books Council is encouraging people to go along to their local bookshop or library to discover which books capture their imagination. There will also be a range of activities in the lead-up to and on the day itself, including a widespread You Are A Reader social media campaign, where World Book Day legacy authors, influencers and talent from TV, film, music and literature will share their favourite stories and encourage children and their families to find themselves in books and enjoy reading together regularly.

 Getting involved
Thanks to National Book Tokens working alongside publishers and booksellers, World Book Day distributes over 15 million £1/€1.50 book tokens across the UK and Ireland every year through schools, nurseries, libraries, prisons and other charities. The single-use digital token can also be downloaded from the World Book Day website.

Tokens can be redeemed for any £1 book from Thursday 17 February – Sunday 27 March 2022 in bookshops, bookshop chains and supermarkets. Alternatively, they can also be used as a £1/€1.50 contribution to any other book.

[1] OECD amongst other evidence – https://www.worldbookday.com/about-us/the-evidence/

The Books Council will be closed from Thursday, 23 December 2021 until after the holidays and will return on Tuesday, 4 January 2022.

Welsh Government announces £5m investment in reading engagement and book-gifting for children and young people across Wales

The Books Council of Wales warmly welcomes the announcement of the significant additional funding from Welsh Government which will deliver the #SchoolsLoveReading book-gifting campaign starting in spring 2022. As part of this multi-million-pound investment in reading engagement, a selection of 50 books will be sent to every state school in Wales, in addition to an individual book for every pupil to keep. The programme will mean that learners across Wales have equal access to a diverse range of appealing and quality literature, in Welsh and English, that has been specially selected for children and young people.

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, said: “This significant investment by Welsh Government underlines the importance of reading engagement in childhood, and we know that a habit of reading is one of the greatest determining factors in terms of educational attainment. We are delighted to support Welsh Government’s book-gifting campaigns as they make such a difference to schools and pupils across Wales, and this additional funding means that we can deliver more books to more pupils and spark a love of reading that they will benefit from for life.

Our newly published 5-year strategy sets out the Books Council’s vision for Wales as a Reading Nation and underlines our own commitment to increasing reading engagement and to expanding universal book-gifting programmes. I’m delighted that Welsh Government have recognised the importance of this area of work and we’re looking forward to working in partnership with them to support this exciting and ambitious programme.”

In his announcement of the extra funding, Jeremy Miles, the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, said: “Speaking, listening and reading skills play a fundamental part in our everyday lives. If we want to close the attainment gap between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers, then improving reading skills is vital.

“We must ignite a passion for reading in children at a young age so that we can give them the habits and skills they’ll need later in life.

“Reading is essential in making sure learners have every opportunity to access the full breadth of the new Curriculum for Wales, the aims of which are underpinned by improved literacy and oracy among younger learners.”

The Minister added: “I am delighted that I am able to demonstrate the life-changing importance of books, reading and oracy by providing a book for every child and young person in Wales – as well as funding for more books in schools and families.”

Our Story – publishing voices today

To mark our 60^th anniversary, two short films have been commissioned, Our Story – publishing voices today and Ein Stori – Lleisiau cyhoeddi heddiw, celebrating the publishing industry in Wales.

Through the voices of Richard Davies, Jannat Ahmed, Lynda Tunnicliffe and others, Our Story – publishing voices today explores the contribution of the Books Council of Wales over the past 60 years and looks forward towards future challenges and opportunities.

Watch Ein Stori – lleisiau cyhoeddi heddiw, our Welsh-language film, here.