The winners in the Welsh-language categories of the 2024 Tir Na n-Og Awards were announced on Wednesday, 29 May, in a special ceremony at the Urdd Eisteddfod Maldwyn in Meifod and the announcement of the English-language category was made at a ceremony at the CILIP Cymru Wales conference in Cardiff on 17 May.
The three winning titles in the 2024 Tir na n-Og Awards were Jac a’r Angel by Daf James (Y Lolfa), Astronot yn yr Atig by Megan Angharad Hunter (Y Lolfa) and Where the River Takes Us by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury).
WELSH LANUAGE PRIMARY CATEGORY
Jac a’r Angel by Daf James, illustrated by Bethan Mai (Y Lolfa)
A humorous, charming and sensitive novel. Jac a’r Angel is a lively Christmas story. Children and adults alike can enjoy the ‘coming of age’ story of an innocent boy who uses his imagination to overcome grief and the dark forces of life.
Daf James said: “I’ve been aware of the Tir na n-Og Awards since learning to read as a child, as so many of the authors I enjoyed had won the award: authors such as T. Llew Jones, J. Selwyn Lloyd, Irma Chilton, Gwenno Hywyn, Penri Jones, Jenny Nimmo… the list is never-ending! It’s a really important award that celebrates and draws much-deserved attention to books for children and young people, and being able to join the list of my childhood heroes is a dream come true for me.
Though I am mostly a dramatist, books – not plays – were my first literary passion. Being able to escape into the world of a story was a balm to the soul for me as an eccentric young boy, and I have longed to write a novel since then. Becoming a dad spurred me on; I wanted to write a story for my children and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for being an inspiration; but I also wish to thank those authors who came before me, and made me believe, like Jac in Jac a’r Angel, that anything is possible when your imagination is alight.”
WELSH LANGUAGE SECONDARY CATEGORY
Astronot yn yr Atig by Megan Angharad Hunter (Y Lolfa)
Rosie is mad about the TV series Yr Estronos and about astronauts, and when a spaceship lands in her back garden, she cannot believe her luck. This is a novel about friendship, about time-travelling, about growing up in a complex and difficult world, and about pushing the boundaries of the imagination to the extreme.
Megan Angharad Hunter said: “There are no words to describe how much this honour means to me. As a child and during my teens I always kept an eye on the Tir na n-Og Awards, so winning it – and especially winning it for a book that is so close to my heart – is an amazingly surreal experience.
A novel like Astronot yn yr Atig would have been a big comfort to me when I was in school and so I hope it will be a comfort to children in Wales today as well, while taking them on an exciting and imaginative journey through space!
The Tir na n-Og Awards are so important because children’s books don’t get nearly enough attention, especially original Welsh-language books, which is ironic because we need children to read in order to ensure there will be adult Welsh readers in the future! There are many reasons why I think children’s books are more important, possibly, than books for adults, and this is just one of them.”
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CATEGORY
Where the River Takes Us by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)
This is the second time Lesley has won the Tir na n-Og English-language Award, following the success of wartime novel The Valley of Lost Secrets in 2022. This year’s winning novel is set in 1974; a time of strikes, hardship and the three-day week, but it is also a story full of humour and friendship.
Lesley Parr said: “I’m over the moon that Where the River Takes Us has won the Tir na n-Og Award in the English Language category. I love to write about my kind of Wales; ordinary people doing extraordinary things against a backdrop of working-class Welshness. To receive an accolade at this level – and from my own country – is a very special thing.”
2024 READERS’ CHOICE AWARD CATEGORY
These are special awards chosen by children and young people who took part in the Tir na n-Og Shadowing Scheme and nominated their own winners from the shortlisted titles in each category.
The winners in the three categories were:
Welsh-language primary category – Mari a Mrs Cloch by Caryl Lewis, illustrated by Valériane Leblond (Y Lolfa)
Welsh-language secondary category – Sêr y Nos yn Gwenu gan Casia Wiliam (Y Lolfa)
English-language category – Where the River Takes Us by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)
