Our Bookshelf
Browse our Bookshelves, selected annually by the Exchange as a window to recent Welsh literary works which we recommend for translation.
“A revealing novel which forces Wales to face the disturbing truths of its national history.”
Alice Jewell, The Welshman
"I predict an appetite for a sequel. Here is a fine story narrated by an innocent and sensitive boy who delights us from the outset by edifying and probing the conscience. This book should be on a social history reading list for children and young people."
Ion Thomas
“Elis and Taid’s excitement sparkle through these pages, but the threat of their misfortune looms throughout, so fear lingers within the reader at the turn of every page."
Bethan Gwanas
Powell
Shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year 2023 (Children and Young People Category)
A powerful and heartfelt novel about the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson through the prism of Wales's relationship with slavery. After exploring the family's ancestry, Elis and Taid travel from Wales to Virginia, USA, to tread in the footsteps of Edward Powell. But as a disturbing history reveals itself Elis begins to question whether this is, after all, a connection to celebrate, and where his own responsibilities lie in relation to his family’s past.
In Powell, Manon Steffan Ros – winner of the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for writing – presents a timely story for young adults imbued with her characteristic boldness and humanity, and successfully creates a space to acknowledge the horrors of our own history with both sensitivity and hope.
- Y Lolfa (2022)
Y Lolfa
Reviews
“A revealing novel which forces Wales to face the disturbing truths of its national history.”
Read more reviewsAlice Jewell, The Welshman