The Books Council of Wales Announces the Tir na n-Og 2026 Award Winners
Anna Fiteni said: “I’m incredibly proud to win the Tir na n-Og this year for a novel in the English language. My main ambition when I wrote The Wicked Lies of Habren Faire was to share my love for Wales, my memories of my childhood growing up here, and my hopes for our future. Winning any award is far beyond anything I expected; winning this award in particular is an honour and an absolute delight. I’m very grateful for the chance to be considered alongside the other excellent authors nominated this year, and for the judges and everyone involved with the Tir na n-Og for all their work promoting and championing excellent works for young people written in Wales.”
Chair of the English-language judging panel, Karen Gemma Brewer said: “Many congratulations to Anna Fiteni for winning this award in the Tir na n-Og Awards’ 50th anniversary year. From its bilingual chapter titles and drawings from folklore, to the title of the mythical land where Sabrina’s quest to save her sister Ceridwen takes place, this is a book imbibed in Welsh culture. But rather than tick-box tropes, author Anna Fiteni delves into Welsh mythology and mining history in a new and unique way, to produce a hard-edged fairyland fantasy with strong female characters, a duplicitous fae prince, and a fresh twist to established staples of Welsh folklore.”
The other shortlisted titles for the English-language category were:
Major and Mynah: Project Puffin by Karen Owen, illustrated by Louise Forshaw (Firefly)
10 Fascinating Stories from Welsh History (that you’ll want to talk about) by Siân Lewis and Charlotte Williams, illustrated by Kyle Legall (Rily)
Also announced today was the winner of the 2026 English-language Readers’ Choice Award. This is a special award chosen by the children and young people who took part in the Tir na n-Og Shadowing Scheme.
The winner of the English-language Readers’ Choice Award is 10 Fascinating Stories from Welsh History (that you’ll want to talk about) by Siân Lewis and Charlotte Williams, illustrated by Kyle Legall (Rily).
Welsh-language Winners
Am Gymro! by Medi Jones-Jackson and Gwen ac Arianrhod by Lleucu Gwenllian are the winners in the Welsh-language categories for the 2026 Tir na n-Og Awards for children and young people’s literature.
The winner of the Welsh-language Readers’ Choice Award in the primary category is Llyfr Sgrap Macs Sion by Mari Lovgreen, illustrated by Cai Tudur (Y Lolfa).
The winner of the Welsh-language Readers’ Choice Award in the secondary category is Y Cae Ras by Manon Steffan Ros (Y Lolfa).
A year of celebrations
The Tir na n-Og Awards 50th birthday celebrations will continue throughout 2026, with a full year of activities planned to celebrate half a century of the very best books for children and young people.
Readers of all ages can join the Tir na n-Og Reading Challenge and enjoy a series of fun challenges to take them on a reading adventure to remember. Challenge leaflets for children, young people and adults can be collected from your local bookshop or library or downloaded from Reading Challenge – Gwobrau Tir na n-Og Awards (opens in new tab) The Books Council of Wales is very grateful to Gwasg Gomer Press for their generous support to print the reading challenges.
Join the Books Council of Wales at the Eisteddfod y Garreg Las for two events in the Literary Pavilion (Y Babell Lên) with special guests:
2 August, 10.30: The best of our storytelling: Half a century of the Tir na n-Og Awards
Dr Siwan Rosser, Manon Steffan Ros, Caryl Lewis and Huw and Luned Aaron will reflect on the past winners and legacy of the Tir na n-Og Awards, celebrating Wales’ oldest book awards for literature for children and young people.
3 August, 12pm: Books for Children and Young People – the next chapter: The Sut i Ddarllen podcast celebrates 50 years of the Tir na n-Og Awards
Francesa Sciarrillo will be joined by Elgan Rhys and Mared Fflur, the Chair of the Books Council’s Young People’s Panel. Together they will celebrate the importance of children’s and young people’s literature today and look ahead to the next fifty years.