Classic and Contemporary E-books from Wales

20 Mar 2012

In an important development for the publishing industry in Wales, gwales.com  –  the Welsh Books Council’s website  –  now sells e-books in addition to printed materials.

Classic and Contemporary E-books from Wales
The website, established in 1999 with the support of the Welsh Government, is a comprehensive source of books and reading material from Wales in both Welsh and English.

Since its inception, the website has been developed to serve the needs of booksellers and libraries, in addition to the general public, and its success is due to the fact that customers world-wide can access the site to find information and order books. A large percentage of orders received come from outside Wales.

"This important development allows us to promote e-books alongside the printed versions," said Elwyn Jones, Chief Executive of the Welsh Books Council. "We regard it as another important step in the process of offering the readers a wide range of reading materials."

There are already almost 150 titles from Wales available as e-books on the website, and emphasis will now be placed on extending the range, especially the choice of Welsh-language titles. Books in the Stori Sydyn/Quick Reads and Library of Wales series, and novels by Owen Sheers, Geraint Evans, Cynan Jones, Stevie Davies, Gareth F. Williams, Malcom Pryce and Euron Griffith, are already amongst the titles available. In the near future, some Welsh classics such as  Cysgod y Cryman,  Y Stafell Ddirgel,  Traed Mewn Cyffion  and the work of T. Llew Jones will be available as e-books, together with titles by contemporary authors such as Bethan Gwanas, Jon Gower and Alun Jones.

With the Books Council selling e-books in EPUB format which can be downloaded onto a variety of reading devices – and developing a relationship with Gardners, the wholesale book distributor – the bookshops will also be able to play a part in the development, offering e-books for sale on their websites. In the same way, libraries will be able to offer these titles to their readers.

"It was vital for us to ensure that bookshops were included in this exciting development," said Phil Davies, the Books Council’s Director of Information and Promotion. "More and more people are now enjoying reading by means of electronic devices, thus increasing the demand for reading material from Wales in both languages."

In welcoming this development, Huw Lewis AM, the Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage, said: "I am delighted that the Welsh Government has been able to provide additional funding of £36,000 to the Welsh Books Council to facilitate the sale of e-books from gwales.com. It is encouraging that readers are now able to buy e-books in Welsh and English from gwales.com and I am pleased that this development will benefit bookshops, libraries and the public."

Gwales

Books from Wales on-line

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