Aberystwyth to host Wales Book of the Year 2019

Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Aberystwyth University’s Penglais campus will host the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony 2019.

After a number of successful years held at Galeri Caernarfon, The Redhouse in Merthyr Tydfil and Tramshed in Cardiff, the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony has found a new home for 2019 with Literature Wales announcing that the 2019 Award Ceremony will be hosted by Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

Organised by Literature Wales, the Wales Book of the Year Awards are presented to the best Welsh and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism published in a calendar year, within three categories: Poetry, Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction.

Each category winner will be announced at the prestigious Award Ceremony, with one of the successful titles in each language chosen as the overall winner and named Wales Book of the Year 2019.

A total of £12,000 in prize money will be awarded to the successful writers. The Ceremony will be held at Theatr y Werin, Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday 20 June 2019. The theatre is currently undergoing a renovation with major investment in new electrical systems and seating.

Dafydd Rhys, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre said: “We are delighted to be welcoming the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony to Aberystwyth Arts Centre in 2019. To extend the celebrations we will be a hosting a week of activities celebrating literature for young and old. Put the dates in your diary now!”

As part of this new partnership, the fiction awards in both language will be sponsored by Aberystwyth University, and will be called the Aberystwyth University Fiction Award, and Gwobr Ffuglen Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Dr Rhodri Llwyd Morgan, Director of Welsh Language and Culture and External Engagement at Aberystwyth University, said: “Aberystwyth is often described as the cultural capital of Wales and we have a strong literary tradition here. As well as the University and Arts Centre on our main Penglais campus, the area is also home to the National Library of Wales, the Welsh Books Council and other organisations as well as many poets and writers. It’s therefore an ideal place to hold the 2019 Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony and we look forward to working with Literature Wales to ensure the success of this prestigious occasion.” 

Key Dates for 2019

The Wales Book of the Year Short List will be announced in early May 2019, and the Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday 20 June 2019. The names of the judging panel will be released in the autumn.

Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales said: “We are delighted to be working with the Aberystwyth Arts Centre to bring one of our biggest literary highlights to this beautiful seaside town. Home to a host of literary organisations, and a number of writers and creatives, Aberystwyth is a natural fit for the Wales Book of the Year Award Ceremony. We are incredibly grateful to Aberystwyth University for their generous support, and we look forward to working with all our partners to ensure this is a celebration to remember!”

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