Posted on 13 May 2014
We are delighted to announce that R. S. Thomas: Serial Obsessive by Professor M. Wynn Thomas, published by the University of Wales Press in March 2013, has been shortlisted for the 2014 Wales Book of the Year Award.
Presented for the best Welsh and English-language works first published in 2013 in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism, Professor Thomas is one of eighteen authors vying for one of the most prestigious annual literary prizes in Wales.
Announced last Friday, both the English and Welsh language shortlists consist of nine titles each, with awards for each category: Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, and Poetry. Three titles have been shortlisted in each category, with the nine English-language books having been chosen from more than 100 submitted titles.
Shortlisted for the Creative Non-Fiction category, R. S. Thomas: Serial Obsessive by Professor M. Wynn Thomas is nominated alongside Rhys Davies: A Writer’s Life by Meic Stephens (Parthian Books), and Thelma Wheatley’s And Neither Have I Wings to Fly (Inanna Publications).
Speaking about the nomination for Professor M. Wynn Thomas, Helgard Krause, Director of the University of Wales Press said:
“As well as being a brilliant academic, Professor Thomas has written many books for the University of Wales Press and has been a real long-time and stalwart supporter. His nomination is much deserved and this book certainly deserves the accolade.”
The winners of the 2014 Award will be announced at a prestigious Award Ceremony at Galeri Caernarfon on the 10th of July and each category winner will receive a prize of £2,000. The two overall winners in each language will also receive an additional £6,000.
On the English-language judging panel this year are the lecturer Andrew Webb; journalist and author Jasper Rees; and the comedienne Nadia Kamil. Judging the 2014 Welsh-language books are the writer Gareth Miles; poet Eurig Salisbury; and writer and blogger Lowri Cooke.
Speaking about the shortlist, Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales, said:
“The 2014 Wales Book of the Year Short List reflects the high standard of work published during 2013. Three categories, two languages, and eighteen authors all hoping for the title of English or Welsh-language Wales Book of the Year 2014. Each book is worth reading, and with nine weeks before the Award Ceremony, this is the perfect time to start.”
For more information about the award, and to view the full shortlist, please visit www.walesbookoftheyear.co.uk