Welsh Government to give additional support to the publishing sector in Wales
The Welsh Government has announced £750,000 of additional funding for the Books Council of Wales to invest in a new digital system to manage the sale, supply and distribution of books.
The Books Council of Wales will also receive additional capital funding of £145,000 during the current financial year.
The Welsh Government said that a healthy publishing industry is an essential part of Wales’ cultural identity and that the support will help support essential services for the publishing industry in both the Welsh and the English languages.
Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, said that he was “delighted” to support the Books Council of Wales to invest in this vital sector of the Welsh economy.
“This will be a significant boost to the Books Council of Wales but also the whole publishing industry in Wales,” he said.
“Supporting a successful, bilingual publishing industry in Wales not only makes a contribution to our wider economic growth strategy for the creative industries in Wales, it also supports numerous micro-business initiatives mainly based in rural Wales that contribute to their local economies.”
‘Investing’
The Books Council distributes grants to publishers and supports a number of print and online publications such as Click on Wales, the Welsh Agenda, Planet, New Welsh Review, Poetry Wales, Nation.Cymru and Wales Arts Review.
Welsh language publications supported include Barn, Cara, Y Cymro, Golwg, Lysh and O’r Pedwar Gwynt.
The Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales, Helgard Krause said: “We are very grateful to the Welsh Government for supporting our exciting plans to upgrade our IT systems, ensuring we continue to compete with the publishing industry across the UK and beyond.
“Our distribution centre provides an excellent service to publishers and booksellers and will be able to offer an even better service following this system upgrade. By investing now in a series of transformational improvements, we will help publishing and bookselling businesses to grow thereby supporting the growth of Wales’ foundational economy and the creative industries, as well as promoting reading.”
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Further money wasted on book subsidies for a non existent market. I suppose it will help support the myth of Welsh linguistic demand though
I buy Welsh books and I know a lot of other people who do so as well. If you were to correlate the myth of Welsh linguistic demand into say Welsh music then could you explain the popularity of Alffa on Spotify? Given that you are a retail analyst head of knowledge and have based your observations on hard evidence will you be speaking at the CBI Wales conference this year? If so do let me know.
Next week: How I built my house out of discarded lovebeads by Zen o fobiat.
Alffa have had a million views on spotify.Wow epic. Alfa have ripped of an ACDC rift and had minor success on a global platform . Alffa’s success has nothing to do with the obsolete Welsh language. Majority Welsh linguistic demand is a fabrication. Ninety percent of the principality has no interest in the tribal,obsolete ,minority language. Or it’s apparent “culture,” either. The Welsh language music scene is the most overrated , overhyped music scene globally. SFA were/ are the most overrated band in global world history. Let’s project our jaws and dirty teeth and illustrate xenophobia too. Just as we… Read more »
Someone got up on the wrong side of Clawdd Offa.
….Calling Welsh language “tribal, obsolete, minority language,” echo’s as rather Xenophobic…. Can anyone suggest a good Welsh language book for a 12th generation American (Welsh) ex-pat interested in learning about the culture of my ancestors?… Maybe a few good “overhyped” music groups as well… As “tribal” as possible strongly preferred, to avoid “Xenophobia” towards my ancestors…. Thanks!!!!
In amongst your ramblings and hatred a few points: S4C shows adverts. It’s just that you haven’t watched S4C. Amazon has many Welsh digital books on its website for purchase. Have a look. Whilst your views on Welsh music are subjective, it is nevertheless well respected and commercially viable beyond Wales itself. This applies to both Welsh and English language bands. Arts Council for England scrapped funding. Why should we do the same in Wales when it benefits both writers and consumers? Buy a dictionary and speak to someone regarding your grammar. You can’t even speak English properly so what… Read more »
I wasn’t expressing my apparent hatred. Please accept my apologies if my opinion came across within a tone of hatred. I was merely staying my opinion within a modern, post Brexit, United Kingdom. This isn’t North Korea. ( Even though the mass hysteria of certain bigoted separatists suggests it may be so at times.) Please do refrain from criticising my grammatical errors . This is a rather tiresome approach from a non Welsh origin, far left, anti establishment,Welsh language obsessive. Which I suspect is the category you fall into? What makes you certain that I have never watched S4C? I’m… Read more »
“I’m actually fluent in Welsh but now refuse to speak the lingo due to the corruption within the public sectors and the elitism that has developed around the lingo since the millennium.” Therefore, I’m fluent in English but now refuse to speak English due to corruption within the UK public sectors and the actions of the UK Parliament.
Are you Protic in disguise?
Absolutely, he is Protic!!
This reply is nothing more than the work of a wind up merchant. It has kept me entertained to be fair but what with a fairly xenophobic tone and a sweeping generalisation of everything and anything including myself I really can’t be bothered to answer. It’s so futile.
Errors in grammar. There’s your clue as to who.
Hi Jacques!!!
It’s for publishing in Wales across a range of media in both languages ,not really about books .
Hi Jacques!!!
The article mentions lots of english language publications. Suggest you re-read the article. For a start, the article is in English 🙂