Issue 24 Spring 1998 The Tir na n-Og Awards Bethan M. Hughes	Collections under which this       article appears:       Awards Related Articles or Resources

Bethan M. Hughes is Children and Young People and Welsh Service Library Adviser with Denbighshire Library and Information Service (Tel: 01824 70 6763) and Publications Officer, Welsh Youth Libraries Group. She chaired the 1997 Tir na n-Og English Selection Panel and is a member of the Welsh Books Councils Children's Books Panel.

The ancient Celtic folk tradition of Tir na n-Og, the land of the young ones or of eternal youth, is as evocative and attractive today as we approach as new millennium as it was to the bards who sang its praises in the courts of Wales, Ireland, and other Celtic lands. It is the tale of how the poet Osian falls in love with Nia Ben Aur (or Niamh of the golden hair in Irish) and spends three hundred ageless years with her in her fathers island kingdom of Tir na n-Og, knowing no sadness and seeing no death. In tribute to the power of this legend of youth, the annual awards for the best children's books in Wales are known as the Tir na n-Og awards.

Children's Books in Wales

The last 25 years have seen a remarkable growth in the quantity and quality of books for children in Wales. This growth has paralleled both the development of Welsh medium education throughout the country and thus an increasing demand for appropriate reading and learning material, and the developments of new publishing technology enabling even small independent publishers to produce books to a high technical standard. Recognition must also be given to the invaluable support of public funding in the form of publishing and commissioning grants, author bursaries, and the funding of both the Welsh Arts Council and the Welsh Books Council. This latter body plays a pivotal role in the book scene in Wales, providing editorial, commissioning, marketing, promotion and distribution support to a network of small independent publishing and printing companies. The current catalogue of Welsh children's books in print lists 3,535 titles including some 500 new titles published last year. This compares, for example, with a total output of only 88 titles for 1972.

The Awards

In order to raise the standard of books, to encourage the buying and reading of books and to acknowledge the work of authors and illustrators, prizes are awarded annually in three categories Welsh language fiction - picture books, novels and stories Welsh language non-fiction - including poetry English language fiction or non-fiction with an authentic Welsh background. The awards are selected by two panels, one for the Welsh awards, one for the English, and they include 3 members, at least one of whom is a librarian. The panels read and assess every eligible title, draw up a short list, then meet to discuss the short listed books. The guidelines for the selection panels follow similar lines to the Carnegie criteria, for assessing the quality of the writing, the plot, the style, the characterisation and the illustrations in the case of fiction, and authenticity, accuracy, readability, illustrations, scope and bibliographic features for non-fiction.

For the English language award, particular consideration is given to the authenticity of the books Welsh background. Many books in this category are written by authors with little or no cultural connection with Wales, and selectors are warned not to allow over-influence by external stereotypes of Wales, whether of the Celtic twilight variety or the coalmining/male voice choir/chapel going variety. Wales is a land of great variety of environments, both geographically and socially, all of which, if portrayed truthfully, should be accepted as relevant to Welsh life. There is, therefore, no standard of Approved Welshness. Each case is judged on its own merits. Selectors look out for tokenism and set-dressing merely giving a character a Welsh name or nominally setting a story in Wales. Inaccuracies in spelling Welsh names or misquoting Welsh dialogue have sadly been all too common. As Sally Jones says in the guidelines:

"A genuine Anglo-Welsh children's literature would speak to the world through and for Wales, and comprehend the experience of being a part of Wales in all its varieties; as such, a contribution to a genuinely international culture. And, of course, whatever the degree of Welshness, any book selected for an award of this kind, should be of the highest literary standard."

Past winners

The first awards were made in 1976 - to two key figures in the history of children's literature in Wales - T. Llew Jones for Tân ar y Comin and Susan Cooper for The Grey King. Over their 22 year history, the awards have been given to a wide variety of books for different age groups. Angharad Tomos Y Llipryn Llwyd (1986), is one of a series of original picture books for very young children which has become part of contemporary culture for Welsh families and given rise to television series, music cassettes, toys and games. Young adult fiction such as John Owen's Pam fi, Duw, pam fi? (1995), recently made into a hugely successful television series, has also been rewarded. The English award has been given to authors such as Frances Thomas (1981 & 1992), Irma Chilton (1984), Jenny Nimmo (1987), and Catherine Fisher (1995), but has also been withheld five times in the past due to the paucity of quality material. Happily, this situation has changed in recent years, due in no small measure to the output from Pont Books, the English language imprint of Gwasg Gomer.

The 1997 awards

In 1997, the Tir na n-Og awards for the best children's books of the year have been announced. The Welsh language fiction award goes to Ydy Fe! by John Owen (Iaith Cyf.), the fictional diary of a teenage boy in the Rhondda Valley. Written in the characteristic dialect of pupils of the increasing numbers of Welsh-medium secondary schools in South Wales, it presents a gritty, realistic and humorous picture of life for many of Wales young people today. The author John Owen is a former drama teacher, now a full-time writer of fiction, plays and television scripts, and is a previous winner of this award. The Welsh language non-fiction award goes to Dirgelwch Loch Ness by Gareth F. Williams (Y Lolfa), a comprehensive introduction to the mystery of Loch Ness. The book is the fruit of the authors lifelong fascination with the mystery and it breaks new ground in Welsh non-fiction for children.

The 1997 English language award will be given for Cities in the Sea, the text by Siân Lewis and illustrated by Jackie Morris (Pont). This retelling of the traditional tale of the drowned land of Cantrer Gwaelod is told in a haunting and poetic style in the tradition of folk tales. Its roots in the oral tradition are strong - it reads aloud beautifully. The sumptuous full colour illustrations add to the atmosphere created by the words. Author Siân Lewis is a prolific writer, and is one of the very rare species who writes with equal brilliance in both Welsh and English. Her other English titles include Pug, The Bath Rat and Project Kite, winner of the 1984 Earthworm award. This is Siân's first Tir na n-Og win. Jackie Morris striking illustrations are becoming very well-known. She was short listed for this years Children Book Award for The Snow Whale and this is also her first Tir na n-Og prize. It is also worth noting that the winning title and all the highly recommended titles of the English award were published by Pont - an indicator of the imprints impact.

This years awards, which give a financial prize to the winning authors (unlike Carnegie for example), are sponsored by the Welsh Arts Council, the Welsh Books Council and the Welsh Library Association. Support from Books for Students and the Welsh Library Associations Kathleen Cooks Bequest also enables the Welsh Youth Libraries Group to support the awards by publishing two full colour posters featuring the winning and highly commended titles which are distributed free of charge to all libraries and schools in Wales. The awards will be formally presented at ceremonies during the annual Welsh Children's Books Conference, which this year will be held at Carmarthen on October 10-11.