Three Welsh publishers nominated for prestigious industry awards

Three Welsh publishers have been short-listed for the annual British Books Awards Small Press of the Year Award.

Rily, a family-based publisher, set up in 2001 by Richard and Lynda Tunnicliffe has secured its first ever position on the short list alongside Firefly Press in Cardiff and Ceredigion-based Parthian Books, competing for what is effectively the Welsh publisher of the year crown.

Specialising at first in Welsh language editions of popular children’s books, Rily has now expanded to a fascinating and diverse list in both Welsh and English.

Rily said: “Great news to be on the list. We’re all over the moon. We are advocates of bilingual children’s books as it helps us read to our children in Welsh and also follow the storyline at the same time.”

The British Book Awards – or Nibbies – overseen by The Bookseller, are literary accolades awarded to the best of the book world, with a multitude of award categories, from publishers to bookshops all around the UK.

Delighted

Firefly Press publishes a range of fiction for children and young adults, primarily in English.

The publisher is no stranger to the Nibbies, having won Small Press of the Year for the past two years, but commenting on this nomination, Editor Penny Thomas said: “We are delighted to be finalists in the British Book Awards for Small Press of the Year for Wales- together with the Parthian Books and Rily Books.”

Firefly is currently running a children’s fiction competition for Welsh or Welsh-based writers and has just published Manon Steffan Ross’s critically acclaimed Welsh language novel in translation as the Blue Book of Nebo.

The final shortlist nomination is for Parthian which publishes a range of fiction and non-fiction in stylish “Carnival of Voices”.

In response to the nomination this year, Parthian’s publishing director Richard Davies acknowledges that “publishing in Wales is in a stronger position than ever this year with a lot of fascinating and emerging voices. We really wanted to be on the short-list this year in such a strong field. Delighted.”

The winners will be announced on the 17 March.