Encyclopaedia

The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales

"A book that every Welsh family that cares about its heritage will want to own" is how we have defined the new Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales.  That such a work does not already exist is perhaps a reflection on the past economic and political status of Wales – with the coming of devolution and the rise in national consciousness the moment was there to be seized.  Supported by a significant grant from The Arts Council of Wales through its Lottery funds, work is almost complete on this ultimate guide to all things Welsh.  The Arts Council of Wales’s ongoing support for the project, both financial and in terms of encouragement and enthusiasm, has significantly helped the project to reach its completion after ten years of work.

Edited by John Davies, Nigel Jenkins, Menna Baines, & Peredur I. Lynch the work runs to more than 1200 illustrated pages.  The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales was published by University of Wales Press on January 31st, 2008 and is available to buy now.


The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales will become the definitive reference work about Wales, containing entries on the people and places which have made it so culturally, historically and geographically rich. From Snowdonia to the pampas of Patagonia, from folk heroes to Welsh Olympians, and the men and women of Wales who have excelled in art, culture and politics. With over 5,000 entries, the work is an ambitious undertaking that covers every aspect of Wales’s past, people, places, arts, industry, environment and traditions.

• This is the  first ever single-volume encyclopaedia of Wales published in separate Welsh and English versions
• It provides easily accessible information on any aspect of Wales and Welsh life, past and present
• It has over 5,000 entries with new material never before published
• It has contributions by more than 300 leading authorities in their fields
• It is illustrated with over 300 images
• It is the indispensable book of Welsh reference for the twenty first century

Publication of The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales was accompanied by simultaneous publication of the Welsh-language edition, Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig, also from University of Wales Press.

2008, approx. pp. 1200  245x164 mm, hardback £65.00
ISBN-13  978-0-7083-1953-6   ISBN-10  0-7803-1953-X

Copies are available at all good local bookshops and at the Academi’s Glyn Jones Centre.  Alternatively, you can order your copy directly from Literature Wales by calling: 029 2047 2266.