How to get published

This year I am doing a workshop at the Llangwm LitFest on the theme "How to get published."

Sunday 13th August, Llangwm Village Hall, cost £3 per person.

All details on how to book are on the website:

http://www.llangwmlitfest.co.uk/line-up/sunday?id=697412

Wales Arts Review pours petrol onto the bonfire

Even more extraordinary -- now the Editor of Wales Arts Review, Gary Raymond, has joined in the fierce argument about the validity -- or otherwise -- of the findings of the Medwin Hughes Committee's Review of support for publishing and literature in Wales.  Here it is:

http://www.walesartsreview.org/review-the-literature-and-publishing-review/

The language used by Mr Raymond is colourful to say the least:

"And then, out of the undergrowth comes a galumphing great dinosaur, a punch-drunk, flaking Tyrannosaurus, in the form of the Independent Review of Support for Literature and Publishing in Wales, spitting and bloviating, seemingly desperate to drag Wales back into the mire of its carnivorous old ways. And like all angry dinosaurs, it is only interested in feeding itself."

That's a bit over the top, if I may say so, given that Committees in general have no interest in feeding themselves.  They function by studying things, reporting as required, and then disappearing.  Committee members go back to their day jobs, usually with some relief.  Those who commission reports are the ones who ponder and then, as necessary, take action.  In this case, Minister Ken Skates.

This article, published under privilege by an Editor who can do as he pleases, will do Mr Raymond no good at all, since it widens and deepens the rift in the literary establishment, and since it seems to be based entirely on the premise that Literature Wales is a paragon of virtue which should be immune from criticism simply because it is better than what was there before.  The literary establishment's "sense of entitlement" (which the Medwin Hughes Committee criticised) is encapsulated perfectly in the words which Mr Raymond chooses to use in his polemic.  The writer is way off track in his defence of Literature Wales.  Clearly, from the many comments which came from the Committee's consultation process, many people feel that LW is a deeply flawed organization that needs root and branch reform.  Others clearly feel that nobody would suffer very much if it was to be completely done away with.  It sounds as if that is the preferred view of the Review Committee as well.

Maybe the great and the good of the Welsh literary world think that they can repeat what they did a few years ago, when they managed to reverse proposed cuts to the Welsh Government's literary budgets through a carefully managed lobbying campaign.  This time round, everything is much more messy, and much more dangerous for writers and publishers in Wales.

Having transformed a simmering bonfire into an exploding inferno, Mr Raymond can now sit back and watch what unfolds.  I suspect that it might not be entirely to his liking, and that he and the wales Arts Review might get quite badly burned.  The civilised discussion that we were all hoping for now looks virtually impossible, and the battle lines are drawn.  Senior figures from the world of Welsh literature hurling abuse at one another........

So who is the Tyrannosaurus here?  Why, none other than Mr Raymond himself.

Review of Land of Legends web site

The Visit Wales "Land of Legends" website, put together by a web design team and paid for by grant aid channelled through Literature Wales (sorry that's rather complicated) has been reviewed in Wales Arts Review.  It's written by Emma Schofield and is not exactly unstinting in its praise.  Here it is:

http://www.walesartsreview.org/app-land-of-legends/

Emma's main criticism is that the web site's promised provision of itineraries and extra information for visitors does not actually deliver.  It simply gives information that could be more easily gathered through a Google search.  But on balance she thinks the site is a good idea.

She says:  "There can be no doubt that the concept behind the Land of Legends website is a good one; a fun, interactive and informative website which guides potential visitors towards literary sites in Wales can only be a positive. The text is interesting and readable and, in some instances, accompanied by a fascinating video about the area. The quality of these entries is testament to the work done by the contributors to the site who have clearly put a considerable amount of time and thought into emphasising the literary connections within different locations."

I would agree with most of that.  The site is indeed vivid and varied, giving a nice cross-section of the literary and legendary  traditions of Wales. But "the work of contributors' is variable in quality, and as we have pointed out before, heavily biased towards "approved" authors selected by the Literature Wales officers, with many other perfectly worthy authors left out in the cold.  Some iconic legendary sites with literary associations are simply omitted, at the expense of "nonsense" entries added for reasons that are difficult to fathom.   And some of the information provided  (as in the entry for Craig Rhosyfelin) is plain wrong, and remains wrong, in spite of information provided which should have led to corrections to the text.  That sort of arrogance ("We are right, even if we are wrong") does not do either Literature Wales or Visit Wales any favours........ 

Factual accuracy should be a hallmark of anything put out on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Lit Wales Chairman comes out fighting

This statement has just appeared on the Literature Wales web site.  It's remarkably forthright, using language not often encountered in statements of this type.   Prof Walford Davies accepts virtually none of the Committee's criticisms, and he accuses the Medwin Hughes Committee effectively of being both biased and incompetent.

It's rather rare to see such a public spat being played out in the social media -- and whatever the truth of the matter, it demonstrates that there is deep hostility and animosity in certain sections of the Welsh literary establishment.  Part of a larger power struggle?  How will the Minister Ken Skates react?  Watch this space.....

Statement by the Chair of Literature Wales, Professor Damian Walford Davies, in response to the Independent Review of Support for Publishing and Literature in Wales:

http://www.literaturewales.org/lw-news/statement-by-the-chair-of-literature-wales/

“Chaired by Professor Medwin Hughes, the Panel of the Independent Review of Support for Publishing and Literature in Wales was tasked by the Welsh Government to give a fully informed and impartial analysis of the publishing and literature sector in Wales. It is a matter of grave (public) concern that the Panel has presented a portrait of Literature Wales – and the wider sector – that is in so many respects inaccurate and ill-informed. Its unaccountably hostile analysis of Literature Wales lacks an evidential base. At the invitation of the Cabinet Minister, Literature Wales has, in a formal submission to the Welsh Government, already offered a detailed commentary on those many areas of the Report that are sub-standard, erroneous, under-researched and troublingly subjective. Further, it is of immense regret that certain cultural commentators (who might reasonably have exercised greater scepticism) have ill-advisedly taken the Report’s portrait of Literature Wales as fact. No doubt they will feel the need to readjust their position in the light of the evidence.

The section of the Report that specifically discusses Literature Wales begins with a misrepresentation of arrangements surrounding my own appearance as Chair before the Panel. Full documentary evidence held by Literature Wales in the form of correspondence between Professor Hughes and me clearly demonstrates that I had in fact arranged to meet with the Panel on two occasions. On account of a wholly unacceptable incident at the Panel interview with Literature Wales officers on 23 June 2016 – for which I demanded an apology for the failure of a Panel member to adhere to professional standards – I made it clear to Professor Hughes that, on point of principle, I would not be attending a Panel whose impartiality I considered utterly compromised. I also emphasised that as far as the evidence given to the Panel by Literature Wales officers was concerned, they and I spoke with one voice. An apology was received. It is a matter of regret that I had to ask Professor Hughes twice for his own view of the incident at that June meeting. Having agreed to meet the Panel in the autumn of 2016, I was eventually told by Professor Hughes in a letter of 8 November 2016 that no alternative date for an autumn meeting was possible. These are the facts of the case.

In the section of the Report that purports to profile Literature Wales, the Panel also goes on to make claims concerning Literature Wales’s governance in the complete absence of evidence. An egregious example of incorrect information marshalled by the panel as part of its cumulative non-evidenced argument is the percentage of Literature Wales’s budget that is directed to staffing costs. The true figure is 47% – not, as the Review claims, 75%. The Panel’s conclusions are fundamentally compromised by its inability to report factual evidence and offer an informed, holistic view of the sector. The disjunction between the recommendations and the evidence adduced is another glaring failing of the Report.

As Chair, I refute in the strongest possible terms the Panel’s misinformed depiction of Literature Wales – something that should be of acute concern to the sector as a whole. These misrepresentations are unacceptable in a public document; the sector, and the Welsh Government, deserve better. I have full confidence in my dynamic and diverse Board of Directors and in the excellent and dedicated team of expert staff who share my own vision of literature as a multi-form force for individual imaginative growth and social change. Through literature, and a democratised conception of who has the power and ability to ‘write’, Literature Wales will continue to engage and empower the many, rather than servicing the few.

Literature Wales looks forward to continuing its ongoing dialogue with the sector and the Welsh Government in the light of the above.”

Does Literature Wales face extermination?

So Literature Wales now says it has "serious concerns" about the Medwin Hughes Committee Report on literature and publishing in Wales. So would you or I, if faced with instant extermination! As The Bookseller reports, the organization is likely to have virtually all of its functions taken away from it.... and that being the case, there is really no reason for its continued existence.  You do not need a Cardiff office with lots of staff just to run a small writer's centre (Ty Newydd) in North Wales......

Lit Wales staff met the other day with Cabinet Secretary Ken Skates -- a fly on the wall would have had much to savour.......

Lit Wales will no doubt claim that it is sorely misunderstood, and that it fulfills a number of functions for which it is uniquely qualified. Increasingly, it seems to see itself as a sort of marketing agency.   But an organization that uses up 75% of its annual budget on staff costs is clearly not very useful to anybody except its own employees, and to those who have tried to support it over the years (like me) it has for some time appeared elitist, arrogant, complacent and incestuous, existing primarily to ensure that the subsidy-based culture (or gravy train, if you want to call it that) of Welsh literature keeps going.  The Medwin Hughes Committee mentioned the pervasive culture of "entitlement" that runs through Lit Wales.  That culture is shared by the members of the Welsh literary establishment -- driven by the belief that literary endeavour is a wondrous thing in itself, indicative of a vibrant Welsh culture.  There is a widespread and naive failure to understand the commercial realities of the literary and publishing world. 

Now that everything is under review, the key question that all those in the writing and publishing world need to ask is this:  Is there really any point in paying writers to write things that nobody wants to read, and in paying publishers to produce books that nobody wants to buy?

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/literature-wales-raises-serious-concerns-about-welsh-lit-review-574181

Literature Wales slammed in Welsh Committee Report

For some years I have been concerned about the way in which Literature Wales is run -- as a very comfortable and even complacent organization, spending public money liberally on a few pet projects and not really doing much for the writers of Wales. It seems to have no understanding of writing as a commercial activity, and it seems to be unaware of the difference between self-publishing and vanity publishing.  On its watch, the Welsh Academy has withered  on the vine, leaving Welsh writers without any effective mutual support organization.  Lots of others have shared my concerns, and many of us took the opportunity of feeding in submissions to the Welsh Government Committee charged with looking into the publishing and literature industry in Wales. 

After many delays (put down to the sheer weight of evidence submitted)  the Report of the Medwin Hughes Committee has been published, and its assault on Literature Wales is pretty brutal. It is slammed for its complacency, its poor governance, its elitism, and its rather dodgy habit of spending 75% of its income on its own staff salaries.  There is an extraordinary complaint about the fact that the Chair of Literature Wales, Prof Damian Walford Davies, apparently refused to meet the members of the Committee.

 In many of the comments submitted there were criticisms of its close links with the Welsh universities "literary establishment" and its refusal to accept that there is really not much point in continuing to support, year after year, a few favoured writers who may not have anything significant to say and who have no realistic prospect of ever selling any books in a competitive market place. As far as LW is concerned, the act of writing is all that matters, indicating (to its own satisfaction) that there is a wonderfully vibrant literary culture in Wales, in both English and Welsh. Does anybody actually WANT the books that are written and published?  Hmmm......

Anyway, the Committee suggests that most of Literature Wales's functions should now be taken away and given to the Welsh Books Council.  Many of us would agree with that. LW is also criticised for its chaotic relationship with the Welsh Academy, which is supposed to represent the interests of Welsh writers. 

The PDF of the full report can be accessed here:
http://gov.wales/topics/culture-tourism-sport/media-publishing/publishing/support-for-literature-review/?lang=en

Welsh Books Council recommended to take on Literature Wales' Book of the Year
Article in The Bookseller
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/welsh-books-council-take-literature-wales-book-year-569671

Literature Wales to have funding cut after damning report
BBC report:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-40282717
 

What will happen now? Well, Minister Ken Skates says he is minded to accept most of the Committee recommendations. There will be big LW budget cuts, staff redundancies, and (I hope) a root and branch reorganization. What will be left will be smaller and (we hope) more responsive to the needs of writers in Wales. The end of the subsidy culture and the literary gravy train operated from Cardiff HQ? Let us hope so.......

Eastern Preseli

Occasionally Martha strays off her home patch and sets off eastwards towards the remoter end of Mynydd Preseli.  I've been over there a few times lately -- here are a few photos from my expeditions.