The Wales Book of the Year Awards were announced last night at a ceremony at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, and Wales Literature Exchange were delighted to see many of the authors represented by our Bookcase have been recognized.

The Wales Book of the Year Award is presented to the best literary works published in 2019, in Welsh and in English, in three categories: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction. The Award is administrated by Literature Wales. To read the complete short list, click here.

From this year’s Bookcase, Manon Steffan Ros’ Llyfr Glas Nebo won the triple crown of the evening: the Barn y Bobl Golwg 360 Prize (voted by the public), the Gwobr Ffuglen Prifysgol Aberystwyth (Aberystwyth University’s Welsh-language Fiction Prize), and the evening’s overall Llyfr y Flwyddyn. Congratulations to Manon!

For the Creative Non-Fiction Award, the shortlisted Horatio Clare has also been selected to our Bookcase in 2014 for his Down to the Sea in Ships.

Stevie Davies, whose novels Equivocator and Awakening appeared on our Bookcases in 2013 and 2016 respecitvely, was shortlisted for her latest book, Arrest me, for I have Run Away (Parthian Books). Jerry Hunter’s epic novel Ynys Fadog also made it to the shortlist for the Gwobr Ffuglen Prifysgol Aberystwyth (Aberystwyth University’s Welsh-language Fiction Prize). His novel Y Fro Dywyll appeared on our Bookcase in 2015.

The winner of the Wales Book of the Year was Ailbhe Darcy for her collection of poetry, Insistence, which also won the Roland Mathias Poetry Award last night.

Congratulations to Ailbhe and to all the authors shortlisted and to Literature Wales for a successful evening!

Here is the list of the winners:

Overall Wales Book of the Year Award and the Roland Mathias Poetry Award
Insistence, Ailbhe Darcy (Bloodaxe Books)

Aberystwyth University Fiction Award
West, Carys Davies (Granta Publications)

Creative Non-Fiction Award
Moneyland, Oliver Bullough (Profile Books)

Wales Arts Review People’s Choice Prize
Gen, Jonathan Edwards (Seren)

Welsh-language Overall Winner and the Aberystwyth University Fiction Award and the Golwg360 Barn y Bobl Award
Llyfr Glas Nebo, Manon Steffan Ros (Y Lolfa)

Welsh-language Poetry Award
Cyrraedd a Cherddi Eraill, Alan Llwyd (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas)

Welsh-language Creative Non Fiction Award
Andrew Green (Gwasg Gomer)