The Wales Book of the Year competition, which has always been organized by Literature Wales, became something of a laughing stock last June when Hugh Thomas, the BBC Wales arts and media correspondent, revealed that most of the shortlisted titles had sales figures so low that they had to be hidden rather than celebrated. Some of them had sales figures below 100 copies -- and even if those figures (based on EPOS records) were incorrect, and needed to be doubled or trebled to take account of non-EPOS sales, they were still an embarrassment. The industry responded furiously (as might be expected), but then the Chief Exec of Lit Wales made matters worse by claiming that the sales figures of one book went up by 400% as a result of the publicity associated with the competition (from an earlier grand sales figure of 20 copies), and sales of another went up by 1,433% (yes, you read the figure correctly!) to a grand total of 46 copies. You couldn't make it up..........
I have been banging on about this for years, complaining about the extent to which the writing and publishing industries in Wales are dependent upon taxpayer subsidies, with the number of titles published used as a measure of "activity" or "success" and with sales figures treated as state secrets. Anyway, good for Hugh for blowing this out into the open, and for revealing that the Book of the Year competition (already heavily criticised by the Medwin Hughes Panel) was unfit for purpose. For years the contest has encouraged the ongoing publication of books that nobody really wants, that hardly anybody reads, written by writers dependent upon bursaries and subsidies. I don't blame the writers -- they just want to write and to get published, and will use whatever means they have to fulfil their ambitions. And of course the competition judges, who are both skilled and committed, and who deserve our thanks, will always find some of the submitted titles worthy and even exciting and innovative from a literary point of view. They will decide who gets the prizes, and the winners will be delighted, and the bells will ring.
But the system is broken, and it has to be fixed. Some way has to be found of blocking off books that are so insignificant that nobody wants to read them; and somehow the definition of "worth" has to be adjusted to incorporate a calculation of reader appeal and commercial viability.
Is the process of re-defining the competition under way? It seems so. The Medwin Hughes Panel suggested that it should be taken away from Literature Wales and passed across to the Welsh Books Council. Well, blood might have been spilled behind the scenes, since the competition is moving to Aberystwyth, with the University putting its weight and its name behind two new awards, and with new festivities planned as well. Literature Wales still flags itself up as the organizer, but I wonder how the new rules are being drawn up, and what the input from other interested parties might be?
Watch this space..........
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This is the Literature Wales news item that was published in August:
After a number of successful years held at Galeri Caernarfon, The Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil and Tramshed in Cardiff, the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony has found a new home for 2019, and Literature Wales is delighted to announce that the 2019 Award Ceremony will be hosted by Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
Organised by Literature Wales, the Wales Book of the Year Awards are presented to the best Welsh and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism published in a calendar year, within three categories: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction.
Each category winner will be announced at the prestigious Award Ceremony, with one of the successful titles in each language chosen as the overall winner and named Wales Book of the Year 2019. A total of £12,000 in prize money will be awarded to the successful writers. The Ceremony will be held at Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday 20 June 2019. The theatre is currently undergoing a renovation with major investment in new electrical systems and seating.
Dafydd Gwyn Rhys, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony to Aberystwyth Arts Centre in 2019. To extend the celebrations we will be a hosting a week of activities celebrating literature for young and old. Put the dates in your diary now!”
As part of this new partnership, the fiction awards in both languages will be sponsored by Aberystwyth University, and will be called the Aberystwyth University Fiction Award, and Gwobr Ffuglen Prifysgol Aberystwyth.
Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Director of Welsh Language and Culture and External Engagement at Aberystwyth University, said: “Aberystwyth is often described as the cultural capital of Wales and we have a strong literary tradition here. As well as the University and Arts Centre on our main Penglais campus, the area is also home to the National Library of Wales, the Welsh Books Council and other organisations as well as many poets and writers. It’s therefore an ideal place to hold the 2019 Wales Book of the Year Awards Ceremony and we look forward to working with Literature Wales to ensure the success of this prestigious occasion.”
Key Dates for 2019
The Wales Book of the Year Short List will be announced in early May 2019, and the Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday 20 June 2019. The names of the judging panel will be released in the autumn.
Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales said: “We are delighted to be working with the Aberystwyth Arts Centre to bring one of our biggest literary highlights to this beautiful seaside town. Home to a host of literary organisations, and a number of writers and creatives, Aberystwyth is a natural fit for the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony. We are incredibly grateful to Aberystwyth University for their generous support, and we look forward to working with all our partners to ensure this is a celebration to remember!”
After a number of successful years held at Galeri Caernarfon, The Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil and Tramshed in Cardiff, the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony has found a new home for 2019, and Literature Wales is delighted to announce that the 2019 Award Ceremony will be hosted by Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
Organised by Literature Wales, the Wales Book of the Year Awards are presented to the best Welsh and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism published in a calendar year, within three categories: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction.
Each category winner will be announced at the prestigious Award Ceremony, with one of the successful titles in each language chosen as the overall winner and named Wales Book of the Year 2019. A total of £12,000 in prize money will be awarded to the successful writers. The Ceremony will be held at Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday 20 June 2019. The theatre is currently undergoing a renovation with major investment in new electrical systems and seating.
Dafydd Gwyn Rhys, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony to Aberystwyth Arts Centre in 2019. To extend the celebrations we will be a hosting a week of activities celebrating literature for young and old. Put the dates in your diary now!”
As part of this new partnership, the fiction awards in both languages will be sponsored by Aberystwyth University, and will be called the Aberystwyth University Fiction Award, and Gwobr Ffuglen Prifysgol Aberystwyth.
Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Director of Welsh Language and Culture and External Engagement at Aberystwyth University, said: “Aberystwyth is often described as the cultural capital of Wales and we have a strong literary tradition here. As well as the University and Arts Centre on our main Penglais campus, the area is also home to the National Library of Wales, the Welsh Books Council and other organisations as well as many poets and writers. It’s therefore an ideal place to hold the 2019 Wales Book of the Year Awards Ceremony and we look forward to working with Literature Wales to ensure the success of this prestigious occasion.”
Key Dates for 2019
The Wales Book of the Year Short List will be announced in early May 2019, and the Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday 20 June 2019. The names of the judging panel will be released in the autumn.
Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales said: “We are delighted to be working with the Aberystwyth Arts Centre to bring one of our biggest literary highlights to this beautiful seaside town. Home to a host of literary organisations, and a number of writers and creatives, Aberystwyth is a natural fit for the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony. We are incredibly grateful to Aberystwyth University for their generous support, and we look forward to working with all our partners to ensure this is a celebration to remember!”
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