Wales Book of the Year Wales Book of the Year 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
History of the Welsh language health, it was during the nineteenth century that English replaced Welsh as the most widely spoken language within the country. Wales, particularly the South Wales Coalfield, experienced significant population growth and in-migration (primarily from England and Ireland) which changed the linguistic profile of some areas (though other areas would remain Welsh-speaking despite the changes). Welsh held no official recognition and had limited status under the British state. Learning English was enthusiastically encouraged, in contrast, Welsh was not taught or used as a medium of instruction in schools, many of which actively discouraged the use of Welsh using measures such as