The Short List

The Short List Announced at the Guardian Hay Festival

The Short Lists for the Wales Book of the Year 2008 were announced on Monday 26 May 2008, on the Segovia Stage at the Guardian Hay Festival in the presence of the Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas.

Judges Trevor Fishlock for the English-langiage Award and Aled Islwyn for the Welsh-language Award announced the Short Lists of three books which are now in contention for the £10,000 award.

For the English-language Short List the judges have chosen poet Dannie Abse’s remarkable memoir about his late wife; novelist Tom Bullough’s powerful drama set in the Welsh borders and Nia Wyn’s moving account of her son’s cerebral palsy.

The Short List is:

Dannie Abse, The Presence (Hutchinson)
Tom Bullough, The Claude Glass (Sort of Books)
Nia Wyn, Blue Sky July (Seren / Penguin)

The judges for the 2008 English-language award are academic and literary critic Damian Walford Davies, writer and broadcaster Trevor Fishlock and journalist and broadcaster Mavis Nicholson.

Trevor Fishlock commented:

"The books on the Short List are there for their outstanding writing.  They are strong books, strong stories.  They speak of the vigour of writing in Wales.  It’s going to be a close-run thing."

The Short List for the Welsh-language Award is:

Tony Bianchi, Pryfeta (Y Lolfa)
Gareth Miles, Y Proffwyd a’i Ddwy Jesebel (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)
Ceri Wyn Jones, Dauwynebog (Gomer)

The judges are academic and poet Huw Meirion Edwards; author and former winner of the Wales Book of the Year 1995 Aled Islwyn and broadcaster and S4C presenter Siân Thomas.

Peter Finch, Academi Chief Executive said:

"The Wales Book of the Year has again highlighted six of the best creatively-written books by six of our top authors.  The mix could not be better - new voices, high achievers, work that entrances, work that uplifts, work that marks Wales as a powerful literary land."

The winners were announced on Tuesday 1 July at a gala dinner at the Hilton Hotel Cardiff, when each language winner received a cheque for £10,000 and the four runners-up received £1,000 each.

The award is administered by Academi with the financial support of the Arts Council of Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Books Council.

Click here to view short films of the Shortlisted authors.

For further information contact Academi on
029 2047 2266 / post@academi.org