Wales’ book of the year shortlist for 2025 highlights the nation’s “incredible talent, expertise, knowledge, and craft”, according to one of the judges.
The competition includes poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and children and young people categories in both English and Welsh.
Author and Children’s Laureate Wales, Eloise Williams, said the shortlist showed it was “an exciting time to be a Welsh writer sending words from Wales to the world”.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in July.
Fiction award: Earthly Creatures, Stevie Davies (Honno), Clear, Carys Davies (Granta), Glass Houses, Francesca Reece (Headline Publishing Group, Tinder Press)
Creative non-fiction award: Tir: The Story of the Welsh Landscape, Carwyn Graves (Calon Books); Nightshade Mother: A Disentangling, Gwyneth Lewis (Calon Books); Nature’s Ghosts: The world we lost and how to bring it back, Sophie Yeo (HarperNorth)
Children and young people award: A History of My Weird, Chloe Heuch (Firefly Press), Fallout, Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury), Why Did My Brain Make Me Say It?, Sarah Ziman (Troika)
Welsh language shortlist
Poetry award: Rhuo ei distawrwydd hi, Meleri Davies (Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp), Pethau sy’n Digwydd, Siôn Tomos Owen (Barddas); O’r Rhuddin, Sioned Erin Hughes (Y Lolfa)
Creative non-fiction award: Oedolyn (ish!), Melanie Owen (Y Lolfa); Camu, Iola Ynyr (Y Lolfa); Casglu Llwch, Georgia Ruth (Y Lolfa)
Fiction award: Nelan a Bo, Angharad Price (Y Lolfa); Madws, Sioned Wyn Roberts (Gwasg y Bwthyn); V + Fo, Gwenno Gwilym (Gwasg y Bwthyn)
Children and young people award: Cymry. Balch. Ifanc., edited by Llŷr Titus and Megan Angharad Hunter (Rily Publications LTD); Arwana Swtan a’r Sgodyn Od, Angie Roberts and Dyfan Roberts (Gwasg y Bwthyn); Rhedyn, Myrddin ap Dafydd (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)
The competition is judged by two separate panels focusing on each language and it has been run by national charity Literature Wales since 2004.
The awards ceremony takes place at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre on 17 July with a total of £14,000 shared amongst the writers, with £1,000 each for the category winners and an additional £3,000 for the overall winners in both languages.
Credit: BBC
