These events are supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales.
Celebrating the Winners of Book of the Year
Tuesday 3 February
6.00 – 7.00 pm
Language: Welsh and English, with simultaneous translation service
Join Iola Ynyr and Carys Davies, winners of Wales Book of the Year 2025, to discuss their award-winning books and to consider the impact of winning the main national award on their writing careers. We’ll discuss their development and journey as authors and ask how a writer goes about writing and publishing a book that deserves the title Book of the Year. This will be an opportunity to look back on the beautiful summer we had, to celebrate Iola and Carys’ achievement and congratulate them again and discuss how the literary world in Wales can prepare writers to reach the top of their profession and represent our nation’s literature on the world map. REGISTER
A look at Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts
Thursday 5 March
12.00 – 1.00 pm
Language: Welsh and English, with simultaneous translation service
In this session, we’ll explore the Irish Income for the Arts programme, which has supported artists’ incomes and helped retain talent in the sector since 2022. The scheme has awarded a weekly payment of €325 for 2,000 artists selected at random. With the pilot scheme ending in February 2026, this will be an opportunity to explore how it works, the impact it’s had on artist and the cultural scene in Ireland, and to discuss what a similar scheme would look like in Wales.
The panel will include a representative from the Basic Income for the Arts Research Team at the Irish Government; an Irish writer, Elaine Garvey, who is a recipient of the scheme; and Heledd Fychan MS. More details to be announced soon. REGISTER