Wales Literature Exchange at Frankfurt Book Fair 2024

We are thrilled to unveil our Bookshelf for 2024-25, featuring a vibrant selection of literature by Welsh authors, recommended by Wales Literature Exchange for international attention.

This year’s Bookshelf was announced from the Wales stand during the Frankfurt Book Fair, from 15-18 October, in collaboration with our colleagues from the Wales Books Council and Welsh publishers. The Wales stand is managed by the Wales Books Council and supported by Creative Wales, the Welsh government agency providing support to the creative industries in Wales.

With over 2,500 professionals attending from 130 countries, the Frankfurt Book Fair is the most important meeting place for the global book sector, not only for trading rights but also for keeping one’s finger on the pulse of current developments on the publishing and literary scene. Apart from meeting with publishers and project partners, we attended the ENLIT network annual general meeting where Alexandra Büchler, director of Literature Across Frontiers was re-elected to the board. The network, co-founded by LAF, brings together 30 national organisations dedicated to promoting their literatures and supporting literary translation.

The Bookshelf is the cornerstone of our presence at international book fairs. It provides a unique opportunity for our team to meet with global publishers, promoting the outstanding works and authors featured in this selection. We also highlight our Translation Grants Fund, available to publishers to support the translation of literature from Wales into other languages.

This year, we were proud to present 34 titles, a collection that truly reflects the diversity, creativity, and confidence of contemporary Welsh writing. The Bookshelf selection for 2024-25 offers an exciting mix of genres—fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama.

In fiction, "Local Fires" by Joshua Jones stands out as a powerful debut that explores the lives of Llanelli’s inhabitants, blending themes of gender, neurodivergence, and toxic masculinity. This collection was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and longlisted for the Polari First Book Award, marking Jones as a rising literary voice. Another notable entry is Niall Griffiths’ historical novel, "Of Talons and Teeth," an intense exploration of love and exploitation in a pre-Industrial Wales, hailed for its raw and mythic prose.

In creative non-fiction, Richard Gwyn’s "Ambassador of Nowhere: A Latin American Pilgrimage" blends memoir and travel writing, traversing South America in search of poetry and confronting personal demons. Tiffany Murray’s memoir, "My Family and Other Rock Stars," brings a unique perspective on growing up in the legendary Rockfield Studios, a site of iconic music history. Both works reflect the diversity of voices and experiences in Welsh writing today.

This year’s poetry selection includes "Cowboy" by Kandace Siobhan Walker, which won the 2024 Wales Book of the Year for Poetry and was shortlisted for The Forward Prize. This vibrant, internet-inflected collection delves into themes of family myth, modern life, and spiritual yearning. “Mymryn Rhyddid” (A Scrap of Freedom) won the Welsh Language Poetry Book of the Year prize for multi-genre writer Gruffudd Owen, who is also the author of "Parti Priodas" (A Wedding Party), his humorous and poignant play about belonging and loneliness, a massive hit at the National Eisteddfod of Wales which was followed by a sell-out national tour. Elgan Rhys' "Woof" offers an intimate portrayal of queer relationships, blending humour with moments of tension.

Several other titles have earned prestigious accolades. Mari George’s "Sut i Ddofi Corryn" (How to Tame a Spider) won the 2024 Wales Book of the Year, offering a magical realist tale of illness and recovery, Iwan Rhys’s Trothwy (Threshold) is a moving creative non-fiction tale of becoming a stepfather which darts between Caernarfon and Berlin and was voted the People’s Choice for the Wales Book Of The Year, while Nicola Davies’ "Skrimsli," which won the Wales Book of the Year Award for Children and Young People, is a gripping fantasy adventure.

This collection embodies the dynamic and diverse landscape of Welsh literature, and we are excited to share these stories with the world.