| Wales Book of the Year | |
| Awarded For: | Best Welsh and English language works by Welsh or Welsh interest authors |
| Presenter: | Literature Wales |
| Country: | Wales |
| Location: | Cardiff, Wales |
| Year: | 1992 |
The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by Literature Wales, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Welsh Books Council.
The longlist of ten works in each language is published in April and the shortlist of three works in each language at the Hay Festival in May. The winners are announced in June or July. Since 2006, the winners have each received £10,000. From 2007, four runners-up (two in each language) also each receive £1000. In 2009, Media Wales sponsored a voted "People's Choice" award for the English-language works.[1]
The format was again changed in 2012, expanding the entries to three categories, fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry; with English and Welsh language winners in each field.[2] In 2019, a sub-category for books for children and young people was added, to be awarded from the 2020 award onwards.[3] An overall winner in each language is still chosen.
Regarding eligibility, the competition specifically excludes self-published authors.[4] The Welsh national book award therefore differs from Ireland's national book award, since the latter does not preclude self-published titles from being nominated.[5]
| Year | Author | Title | Genre | Publisher | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | The Fortune Men | Fiction | Viking, Penguin Random House | ||
| 2021 | Catrin Kean | Salt | Fiction | Gomer | |
| 2020 | Niall Griffiths | Broken Ghost | Fiction | Jonathan Cape | |
| 2019 | Ailbhe Darcy | Insistence | Poetry | Bloodaxe Books | |
| 2018 | Robert Minhinnick | Diary of the Last Man | Poetry | Carcanet | |
| 2017 | Alys Conran | Pigeon | Fiction | Parthian | |
| 2016 | Thomas Morris | We Don't Know What We're Doing | Fiction | Faber and Faber | |
| 2015 | Patrick McGuinness | Other People's Countries | Non-fiction | Jonathan Cape | |
| 2014 | Owen Sheers | Pink Mist | Poetry | Faber and Faber | |
| 2013 | Rhian Edwards | Clueless Dogs | Poetry | Seren | |
| 2012 | Patrick McGuinness | The Last Hundred Days | Fiction | Seren | |
| 2011 | John Harrison | Cloud Road | Non-fiction | Parthian | |
| 2010 | Philip Gross | I Spy Pinhole Eye | Poetry | Cinnamon | |
| 2009 | Deborah Kay Davies | Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful | Fiction | Parthian | |
| 2008 | Dannie Abse | The Presence | Non-fiction | Hutchinson | |
| 2007 | Lloyd Jones | Mr Cassini | Fiction | Seren | |
| 2006 | Robert Minhinnick | To Babel and Back | Fiction | Seren | |
| 2005 | Owen Sheers | The Dust Diaries | Non-fiction | Faber and Faber | |
| 2004 | Niall Griffiths | Stump | Fiction | Jonathan Cape | |
| 2003 | Charlotte Williams | Sugar and Slate | Non-fiction | Planet | |
| 2002 | Stevie Davies | The Element of Water | Fiction | The Women's Press | |
| 2001 | Stephen Knight | Mr Schnitzel | Fiction | Viking | |
| 2000 | Sheenagh Pugh | Stonelight | Poetry | Seren | |
| 1999 | Emyr Humphreys | The Gift of a Daughter | Fiction | Seren | |
| 1998 | Mike Jenkins | Wanting to Belong | Fiction | Seren | |
| 1997 | Siân James | Not Singing Exactly | Fiction | Honno | |
| 1996 | Nigel Jenkins | Gwalia in Khasia | Non-fiction | Gomer | |
| 1995 | Duncan Bush | Masks | Poetry | Seren | |
| 1994 | Paul Ferris | Non-fiction | Hutchinson | ||
| 1993 | Robert Minhinnick | Watching the Fire Eater | Non-fiction | Seren | |
| 1992 | Emyr Humphreys | Bonds of Attachment | Fiction | Macdonald/Sphere | |
Creative Non-fiction
Roland Mathias Poetry Award (discontinued)[6]
Fiction[7]
Creative non-fiction
Roland Mathias Poetry Award