Shortlists revealed for Wales’ oldest children’s book award

This week, the Books Council of Wales is set to reveal the shortlists for the Tir na n-Og Awards 2025 – beginning with the prestigious Welsh language primary age category.

The Tir na n-Og Awards celebrate the very best of stories from Wales and about Wales that were published in 2024 and today, Tuesday 11 March, the shortlist for the Welsh language Primary age category was shared on S4C’s flagship series, Heno.

The Tir na n-Og Awards are the oldest awards for children’s literature in Wales and are held every year by the Books Council of Wales, supported by CILIP Cymru Wales. They celebrate the talents and creativity of authors and illustrators who either create original works in Welsh, or who write about authentically Welsh themes or backgrounds through the medium of English.

The awards have three categories: Welsh-language Primary (age 4–11), Welsh-language Secondary (age 11–18) and English-language book with an authentic Welsh dimension (primary or secondary, age 4–18).

The Welsh-language Primary category shortlist

• Ni a Nhw by Sioned Wyn Roberts, illustrated by Eric Heyman (Atebol)

A humorous story-and-picture book about two tribes who have been afraid of each other since the dawn of time. But the little mole and the young squirrel are determined to find out the truth about the ‘others’…
The story of the mole starts from one end of the book and the story of the squirrel from the other, both upside-down, reading from left to right. And in the middle, the two stories meet …

• Arwana Swtan a’r Sgodyn Od by Angie Roberts and Dyfan Roberts, illustrated by Efa Dyfan (Gwasg y Bwthyn)

A short and funny novel from an author who knows how to entertain and delight children. When Arwana Swtan arrives in the town of Caernarfon to stay with her grandad, Taidi, things are looking very bleak for the town. But once the inimitable mermaid Swigi Dwgong makes an appearance, things start to look up.

• Llanddafad by Gareth Evans-Jones, illustrated by Lleucu Gwenllian (Y Lolfa)

Meet Bet, queen of the sheep; Enfys, the multi-coloured sheep; Seren the stylish sheep; Tomos Tatws, Mari fach, and many others! There are 12 stories in this book, each one focused on a particular month, with a variety of themes taking the reader through a year on the sheep farm.

“Work cut out”

Independent panels of judges select the shortlists and decide on the winners for the Welsh and English awards each year.

This year’s judges on the Welsh-language panel were Sioned Dafydd (Chair), Rhys Dilwyn Jenkins and Lleucu Non.

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive, Books Council of Wales said: “Congratulations to the authors and illustrators of all the books on this year’s shortlists.

“The judging panels really had their work cut out to select the shortlists from many wonderful entries, and the standard this year was very high.

“Good luck to everyone shortlisted and I look forward to the announcement of the winning books in the summer.”

The shortlist for the Welsh-language Secondary category will be announced on Thursday 13 March on Heno, S4C. The English-language category shortlist will be announced on Thursday 13 March by presenter Mel Owen and the Books Council of Wales on their social media channels: Instagram @melowencomedy / @books.wales. The winning titles in all three categories will be announced in the summer.

This year, young readers can once again choose the winners in a special category: the Readers’ Choice Award.

The winner of this award is chosen by children and young people who take part in the Tir na n-Og shadowing scheme.

Schools, libraries and other children’s reading groups can register to take part and be unofficial judges to choose winners from the shortlisted books, with the guidance of the shadowing pack. You can find out how to register on the Books Council’s website, books.wales 

Bookshops and libraries will be holding Tir na n-Og Treasure Hunts over the Easter holidays with the chance for children aged 4–11 to take part.

Ask your local bookshop or library for details.

Further information about the awards and the shortlisted titles can be found on the Books Council’s website, books.wales