The prize is right

Last week Literature Wales announced that it would be postponing Wales Book of the Year for a certain period while it carried out a review of the awards. This official statement, with information on the consultancy timetable and framework, helped calm public speculation over the future of the awards and, by now, it’s generally accepted that the decision to conduct a review is a sensible and timely one.

The level of public interest since the announcement has been very encouraging, as it demonstrated even before the review had begun how valued the prize has become in Wales. It was the third item on S4C’s nightly news programme “Newyddion 9”, which delivered probably the most measured coverage of what “might” happen to the prize this year.

People become attached to fixed points in the calendar—it grounds us and gives us a structure. Easter, the August Bank Holiday, Halloween, Christmas. World Book Day, the Hay Festival, Eisteddfod, Super Thursday. Literary Prizes, however, have a habit of moving around and they are often tweaked
according to the demands of new sponsors and opportunities for increased public impact.

More accessibility

Wales Book of the Year, like many awards, is not without a troublesome past, and it has been difficult to get it right over the years. It’s changed hands since its inception, and has been run by Literature Wales since the organisation’s inception in 2011.The ceremony used to take place at expensive hotels with three-course dinners, long speeches and a price tag that made it inaccessible for most people.

Then it joined the 21st century, and things started improving. The three-course dinners were ditched in favour of a slicker, more affordable event. The ceremony went on tour, from cinemas to art centres, moving out of Cardiff and taking place in Gwynedd and Merthyr Tydfil in recent years. The shortlisting events now take place online, thanks to a successful media partnership with Caernarfon-based television company Cwmni Da. This gave the awards a far bigger audience, and as it coincided with the emergence of social media, the reach continued to grow. However, much more could be done digitally to enhance the prize and this will be a key focus of the review.

Another crucial issue is sponsorship and, as people working in the sector will know, this is easier said than done. Wales Book of the Year has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Brecknock Society, which looks after the estate of the late Roland Mathias (and sponsors the Poetry award in his name). More recently the Rhys Davies Trust, Open University in Wales and Aberystwyth University have all sponsored categories. Media partners have included Cwmni Da and S4C, as well as the Western Mail, Wales Arts Review and the government funded Welsh-language online news outlet Golwg 360.

However, what is lacking is a major overall sponsor, and in this sense Wales Book of the Year is out of sync with most significant UK literary prizes. It has mostly been run with Arts Council of Wales core funding, and as this has decreased over the years, so has the prize money. This review is an opportunity to take stock, evaluate the awards’ worth and impact, and rally support and buy-in from across the sector. More needs to be done to promote the winners after the awards ceremony, and for this Literature Wales will look to the expertise of the publishing industry.

Future potential

The potential of new categories could spark an interesting discussion. Currently there are three (in both languages): Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction. There is a strong case for including a YA award, and the emergence of excellent new work in this genre from Firefly Press and Accent Press, among others, should provide a strong list of potential nominees. It’s also worth considering that the Welsh Books Council, until recently, ran the Publishing Trade Awards, which focused on sales, design and marketing. The Bookseller also currently runs a successful awards programme that incorporates both literary and industry achievements.

Wales Book of the Year is clearly an important fixture in the literary landscape. It’s the biggest bilingual award for literature in Wales—and possibly in the UK—and this is its unique selling point. As the Welsh-language is thriving in Wales, so is its literary scene, with people creating, consuming
and enjoying literature in many different formats.

In order to survive and thrive, you need to move forward and meet the future head-on. We look forward to seeing a rebooted Wales Book of the Year emerging soon.