13 May 2013

On Monday 13 May Literature Wales and S4C will jointly announce which books have reached the 2013 Book of the Year shortlist.

The announcement will be broadcast on the Pethe website – s4c.co.uk/pethe and the Book of the Year website -llyfryflwyddyn.org on Monday 13 May at 2.00pm.

Alun Gibbard, who chairs the Welsh language judging panel, will be discussing the shortlist with Lisa Gwilym the same evening (Monday 13 May) on the programme Pethe on S4C at 9.30pm.

Emyr Gruffudd, producer of Pethe programme said:

"'Pethe' welcomes the opportunity to work with Literature Wales, the writers and the publishers on the Wales Book of the Year Award, and look forward to broadcast the award ceremony in July. We will also be broadcasting podcasts on the Pethe website between now and then with discussions on the Short List."

There’ll be nine Welsh books on the list, three in each of three categories – Poetry, Fiction and Creative Factual. A shortlist of nine English language books will also be announced.

This is the first year for S4C to work with Literature Wales to announce the shortlist together. The awards are administered by Literature Wales.

Catrin Hughes Roberts, S4C Head of Partnerships said:

“With such a strong relationship between literature and television in Wales, it’s good that the S4C programme Pethe can partner with Literature Wales to celebrate the pinnacle of Welsh books in this way and draw the audience’s attention to some of the varied and entertaining books that have been published in the last 12 months.”

Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales said:

“The aim of the Welsh Book Awards is to promote Welsh books in Welsh and English, celebrate the talent of Welsh authors and encourage discussion of our literature. The growth of digital and the emphasis on accessible information gives us the opportunity this year to reveal the shortlist online for the first time. By working with S4C’s Pethe programme and by using a digital platform to announce the shortlist, we feel sure even more people will experience the excitement of the competition and join in the debate.”