Wales making connections at London Book Fair 2019

London Book fair is one of the most significant global marketplaces for publishing and takes place this week (12-14 March) at Olympia, London. 

Presence at the London Book fair provides a platform to showcase the distinct and unique culture of Wales to a global audience allowing writers, translators, publishers to present their work, strike business deals, make new connections and network. 

The Wales at London Book Fair stand is co-ordinated by seven Welsh organisations working across the literature and publishing sectors (Arts Council Wales/ Wales Arts International, British Council, Literature Across Frontiers, Literature Wales, Wales Literature Exchange, Wales PEN Cymru Welsh Books Council). 

The stand showcases the work of 14 publishers from Wales, as well as our thriving bilingual magazine culture. The publishers showcased on the stand are: Accent; Atebol; Cinnamon; Cyhoeddiadau Barddas; Dref Wen; Firefly; Gomer; Graffeg; Honno; Parthian; Rily; Seren; University of Wales Press and Y Lolfa. 

To coincide with UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages, this year, the Wales stand has partnered with Publishing Scotland to provide a seminar on the subject of indigenous languages and identities in Wales, Scotland and Europe. 

Translation and cultural exchange are key themes of the Wales presence this year. A  launch event on the final day of the fair showcases the exciting new project of Parthian Books; with the help of a grant from Creative Europe, as well as support from the Arts Council of Wales, British Council, Welsh Books Council, , and Literature Across Frontiers, Parthian are translating several books from European languages into English. 

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas said: 

“I’m delighted that the Welsh Government has been able to provide funding for Wales’ presence at this prestigious book fair, and keep up the momentum of developing the publishers’ international profile. Wales has a lot to celebrate, share and promote in both languages and never has it been more important to bridge Wales culturally, digitally and physically to the world.”