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Indies win Welsh awards

05.11.07 Tom Tivnan

Gomer Press and Seren cleaned up at the Welsh Book Council's Publishing Trade Awards on Saturday, with the independent publishers winning five and four prizes respectively.

Gomer took home the Children's Bestseller prize for Julie Rainsbury's The Midwinters, and Welsh language awards for Poetry Bestseller, Children's Bestseller, Most Borrowed Library Book and Illustrated Book. Seren won gongs for English Language Poetry Bestseller (John Haynes' Letter to Patience), Design and Production (Patrick Corcoran's Cecil and Noreen), Illustrated Book (Rhodri Jones' Return Yn Ôl) and Best Christmas Cover Design (Nia Wyn's Blue Sky July).

A total of 18 awards were presented at the ceremony held on 3rd November at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The awards, attended by the Welsh minister for heritage Rhodri Glen Thomas AM, recognised bestselling titles and special categories for Welsh books published between 2005 and 2006.

Gwerfyl Pierce Jones, director of the Welsh Books Council, said: "The awards reflect the wide range of books published in Wales today as well as the high standards of production. These are some of the factors, together with the financial support of the Welsh Assembly Government, that have contributed to the development of the publishing industry in recent years."

Other winners on the night included Parthian for Fiction Bestseller (Richard Gwyn's The Colour of a Dog Running Away), Crown House Publishing for Non-fiction Bestseller (Janey Lee Grace's Imperfectly Natural Woman) and Accent Press for Most Borrowed Library Book (Lynne Barrett-Lee's Secrets).

tom tivnan Independents Wales

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