Celebrating authentic voices and the Welsh language
Established in 1976, the Tir na n-Og Awards are the longest- running awards for children’s literature in Wales. Organised by the Books Council of Wales and sponsored by CILIP Cymru Wales, the awards are presented annually to celebrate the work of authors and illustrators published the previous year. Megan Farr looks at how the awards support authentic Welsh voices and Welsh speakers.
T
here are three categories: Welsh- language books for primary school age,
Welsh-language books for secondary school age, and English-language books for children of any age with an authentic Welsh background. Named after ‘Tír na n-Og’ (Land of the Young), one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, the awards aim to raise the standard of children’s and young people’s books published or set in Wales and to encourage reading for pleasure.
As well as celebrating excellence in writing for children and young people in Welsh, these awards are unique in awarding English-language books with an authentic Welsh background. Lorna Herbert Egan, Chair of the Children’s Literature and Reading Promotion Panel of the Books Council of Wales has followed the award from its inception. She highlights the need for works which enable contemporary readers in Wales to “enjoy a sense of belonging, to recognise and enjoy their own language and ways of speaking, stories and characters, sports, music and culture, history, heritage and sense of place – those elements which constitute a Welsh perspective on the world as part of a wider international community: the same elements give those beyond Wales the opportunity to understand what Welshness means, to appreciate what they have in common whilst also being aware of what is unique to Wales.”
Reflecting experiences
Sioned Jacques, Welsh and Children’s Librarian for Cardiff Hubs and Libraries and previous Chair of Judges, goes on to say: “As a child growing up in Wales and a prolific reader, I delighted in finding books that reflected what I knew of my immediate world as much as learning about other cultures – and many of these titles were winners of the awards. Over the years some of the winners have gone on to be shortlisted or win other book prizes including the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards, for example, Susan Cooper, Catherine Fisher, Jenny Nimmo and most recently Jackie Morris have had recognition for their work in a wider publishing context. The books written by these authors and other winners celebrate the diverse culture in which we live but also engage the reader’s imagination regardless of background.”
History of the awards
Wales’ landscape, mythology, people and language have long inspired
Megan Farr (@meggyf) is currently researching into ‘Developing Strategic Action for Internationalisation of Children’s Stories within the Publishing Sector in Wales’, a PhD at the Mercator Centre at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David funded by KESS2 European Social Fund and sponsored by the Books Council of Wales.
children’s writers and illustrators from JRR Tolkien, Alan Garner, Susan Cooper, Roald Dahl and Diana Wynne Jones to Catherine Fisher, Jackie Morris, Philip Pullman and Children’s Laureate Wales, Eloise Williams. The list of previous Tir na n’Og Award-winners is an impressive overview of some of the best children’s authors and illustrators, either from Wales or whose books are set in Wales, published in the past 44 years. Susan Cooper won the inaugural English-language award in 1976 with The Grey King (Penguin 1975) the fourth book in The
Spring-Summer 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
