Amdani Welsh-language series to be made available as audiobooks

Every title in the Amdani series of Welsh books for learners will be made available as an audiobook to mark five years of publishing. 

There are 40 books in the series, from a variety of Welsh publishers, commissioned through Books Council of Wales grant funding. These include Wynne Evans—O Gaerfyrddin i Go Compare by Elin Meek (Atebol), a biography of the singer and presenter Wynne Evans, and 20 o Arwyr Cymru by J Richard Williams (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch), a book celebrating 20 Welsh heroes and their contributions.

The books are graded at four levels for learners—Entry, Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced—with the aim of providing learners with opportunities to enjoy reading about a range of subjects. The series is the result of a partnership between the National Centre for Learning Welsh and the Books Council of Wales.

The series will also be celebrated through the Amdani Festival, which will be held virtually between 27th February and 3rd March, providing learners with opportunities to enjoy activities and events that are linked to reading in Welsh.

Arwel Jones, head of publishing development at the Books Council, said: “Five years ago there were no books for learners that were designed to match the national learning standards. In collaboration with the National Centre, the Books Council decided to commission a range of 20 books for that purpose and the Amdani series was launched. By now, publishers in Wales are regularly producing books for the series and there are 40 titles available. Thanks to the New Audiences Grant funding from Creative Wales, we have been able to support the production of an audiobook for every title in the series so that you can soon enjoy these stories through your headphones as well as on paper.”

Helen Prosser, director of teaching and learning at the National Centre for Learning Welsh, added: “Creating opportunities for our learners to enjoy using their Welsh outside the classroom is a crucial part of our work at the centre. The Amdani series is extremely popular.

“The wide selection of entertaining books means that there will be a book to enjoy, whether you are just starting to learn or are a confident speaker.

“The audiobooks will enable our learners to gain confidence by hearing the language. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Books Council to introduce even more titles to the series.”

Digital formats of the Amdani series, such as e-books and audiobooks, are available to buy from Ffolio.cymru with new audiobook titles to be added throughout the year.