Announcing the Wales Book of the Year 2026 Shortlist

Today, Sunday 10 May, the Welsh Language Shortlist was revealed by the award’s judges, Ifor ap Glyn, Gwenno Ffrancon, Dafydd Lennon and Sioned Puw Rowlands, on a special Wales Book of the Year 2026 programme on BBC Radio Cymru, led by presenter Nest Jenkins. Claire Furlong, Literature Wales’ Executive Director, joined the team on the broadcast. Later in the afternoon, on Lynn Bowles’ BBC Radio Wales programme, the English-language Shortlist was announced by Claire and Shirish Kulkari, a judge on this year’s English-language panel.

Wales Book of the Year is an annual award which celebrates outstanding literary talent from Wales across many genres in both English and Welsh. There are four categories in each language – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, and Children & Young People, with one of the category winners going on to win the Overall Award and claiming the title, Wales Book of the Year. The Shortlist includes twelve books in Welsh and twelve in English, with three books in each category.

The English-language Shortlist

This year’s Shortlist includes former winners of the award, as well as authors who are publishing for the first time or who are venturing into a new form. Several of the volumes deal with themes of justice and belonging, offering profound explorations of life experiences, identity and history, along with the suggestion that we can step forward into the future with hope by learning and understanding our history.

Fiction Award – Supported by The Rhys Davies Trust

Pulse, Cynan Jones (Granta Publications)
Cold Grace, Meredith Miller (Honno Press)
A Room Above A Shop, Anthony Shapland (Granta Publications)

Poetry Award – Supported by Parry Davies Clwyd-Jones & Lloyd
Hôtel Amour, Deryn Rees-Jones (Seren Books)
The Storm’s Flora, Laura Wainwright (Seren Books)
Fourth & Walnut, Jeremy Over (Carcanet Press)

Creative Non-fiction Award

One Woman Walks Europe, Ursula Martin (Honno Press)
Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritance, Joe Dunthorne (Hamish Hamilton)
There She Goes, My Beautiful World, Gosia Buzzanca (Calon)

Children & Young People Award – Sponsored by Darwin Gray
Vanishing Edge, Zillah Bethell (Firefly Press)
My Dog, Olivia Wakeford (Harper Collins Children’s Books/ Harper Fire)
The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire, Anna Fiteni (Electric Monkey, HarperCollins)

The Judging Panel

Every year, Literature Wales appoints a panel of talented and experienced judges to read, debate and select the Shortlists and then choose their category winners.

The English-language panel includes four eminent figures from the literary and cultural world; the poet, literary critic and Professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Bangor University Zoë Skoulding; the writer and winner of the main English language Wales Book of the Year Award 2021, Catrin Kean; the award-winning journalist and researcher Shirish Kulkarni; and Maesteg Library Supervisor Julie Golden, who won a coveted place on the CILIP 125 List.

On behalf of the English-language panel, Zoë Skoulding said:   
“It was exhilarating to read such wonderful writing across all the categories, and painfully difficult to narrow the choice down to our final selection. We had to keep asking ourselves what makes an extraordinary book – and this is a question with as many answers as there are readers.”

 

Claire Furlong, Literature Wales’ Executive Director said:
“Many congratulations to the authors on this year’s Shortlist. It has been another excellent year for Welsh literature, which is reflected not only in this incredible list, but also when looking at all the wonderful books published over the past year. The judges must have had very intense periods of head scratching! We always look forward to discovering their choices, and have great enjoyment in the period between the publication of the Shortlist and the award ceremony – a time to read, discuss and celebrate. Go to your local bookshop or library, discover these amazing books, and join the conversation: what is your 2026 Book of the Year?” 

The Welsh-language Shortlist

Poetry Award – Supported by Parry Davies Clwyd-Jones & Lloyd
Trochi -Cerddi Carwyn Eckley, Carwyn Eckley (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)

Mae, Mererid Hopwood (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas)

Chwarter Eiliad, Jo Heyde (Cyhoeddiadau Barddas)

Fiction Award  – Sponsored by HSJ Accountants
Dau, Bethan Nantcyll (Gwasg y Bwthyn)

Hiraeth Neifion, Simon Chandler (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)

Tri, Sonia Edwards (Gwasg y Bwthyn)

Creative Non-fiction – Sponsored by Stori Cymru
Lobsgows – Cariad y Cymry at Fwyd, Ruth Richards (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)

Y Cyfan a Fu Rhyngom Ni – Ar Lwybrau ‘Atgof’ Prosser Rhys , Iestyn Tyne (Gwasg y Bwthyn)

Ynysoedd Gobaith – Mentrau a Syniadau Iwtopaidd yng Nghymru’r Ugeinfed Ganrif, Llion Wigley (Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru)

Children & Young People Award – Supported by Cronfa Elw Park-Jones

Anfarwol, Rebecca Roberts (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch) 

Gerwyn Gwrthod a’r Llyfr Does Neb yn Cael Ei Ddarllen, Siôn Tomos Owen (Atebol) 

Y Cae Ras, Manon Steffan Ros (Y Lolfa) 

On the Welsh-language panel this year are the Chaired Poet, author and former National Poet of Wales, Ifor ap Glyn; the Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor Welsh Language, Heritage and Culture at Swansea University and Director Academi Hywel Teifi, Professor Gwenno Ffrancon; the author, editor and Managing Editor of  O’r Pedwar Gwynt, Sioned Puw Rowlands; and presenter of the television programme Cyw, who is also a drama practitioner, Dafydd Lennon. 

What next?

The Wales Book of the Year awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, July 9 at Galeri Caernarfon. 12 prizes and a total of £14,000 will be shared amongst the writers – £1,000 each for the category winners and an additional £3,000 for the main prize winners in both languages. In addition, the award-winning authors will receive iconic Book of the Year trophies specially designed by the talented artist Angharad Pearce Jones.

The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Nation Cymru and Barn y Bobl Prize is sponsored by Golwg360. Head over to your local bookshop or library now to grab a copy of the shortlisted books before voting for your favourite book on the sponsors’ websites.

Sponsors

Literature Wales is extremely grateful to all the sponsors and partners who make the Wales Book of the Year Award possible every year. This year, the awards are supported by a range of generous organisations, including the main sponsors: Ysgol y Gymraeg, Cardiff University, which sponsors the Welsh Awards, and Cardiff University’s School of English, Communication and Philosophy, sponsors of the English Overall Award. Sponsors and supporters of this year’s categories include HSJ Accountants, who sponsor the Welsh Fiction Award; The Rhys Davies Trust, which supports the English Fiction Award; Parry Davies Clwyd-Jones & Lloyd, supporters of The Welsh and English Poetry Award; Stori Cymru, sponsors of the Welsh Creative Non-fiction Award; Cronfa Elw Park-Jones, which supports the Welsh Children and Young People Award; and Darwin Gray, sponsors of the Children and Young People’s English Award. In addition, we would like to thank our sponsors in goods and services for the awards ceremony, Cwrw Llŷn and Catra, for their generous support.

To find out more about the books on the Shortlist and the authors, go to Wales Book of the Year – Literature Wales
To read more about our partners and sponsors, head over to Partners and Sponsors – Literature Wales.

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