The books are the result of a collaborative writing project by primary school pupils across Ceredigion, and were officially launched on Wednesday, July 9, at the National Library of Wales.
The books—Antur Fawr Tomi Bach, written by year 5 and 6 pupils, and Tro ar Fyd, written by year 3 and 4 pupils—are chain novels developed through a series of workshops that began in early May.
Councillor Wyn Thomas, Ceredigion’s cabinet member for schools and lifelong learning, said: “Congratulations to the young writers on their fantastic work.
“Publishing a novel is quite a feat, and getting a glimpse of the world of publishing by collaborating with an experienced writer was a worthwhile experience.
“Thanks to the Welsh language support team in Ceredigion for the vision.
“This project is a wonderful culmination and a sign of thanks to the pupils for their great work in competing in the county round of the Book Contest, where their enthusiasm in discussing stories, characters and themes and their enjoyment of reading Welsh books was evident.”
The project began with writing squads led by Ceredigion author Gwennan Evans, where pupils developed characters and storylines before drafting the opening chapters together.
Subsequent sessions, supported by the Ceredigion Welsh language support team, allowed each participating school to write a chapter before passing the story on to the next group.
At the launch, pupils from Ysgol Henry Richard (years 3 and 4) and Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth (years 5 and 6)—winners of the Ceredigion county round of the Welsh Books Council Book Contest—presented copies of the novels to representatives from the National Library of Wales, the Welsh Books Council, Ceredigion Library, and Ceredigion County Council.
Other participating pupils from Talgarreg, Llanilar, Penllwyn, Aberaeron, and Pontrhydfendigaid schools attended the launch virtually, hearing readings from the books by Gwennan Evans and seeing the finished novels for the first time.
Copies of both books will be distributed to all county libraries, primary schools, and the National Library of Wales.