Two contemporary and one historical novels were the winning titles in the 2021 Tir na n-Og Awards for children and young people’s literature, with all three books featuring strong girls facing tough challenges.

The three winning novels in the 2021 Tir na n-Og Awards were Sw Sara Mai by Casi Wiliam (Y Lolfa), #helynt by Rebecca Roberts (Gwasg Carreg Gwlach) and The Short Knife by Elen Caldecott (Andersen Press).

Sw Sara Mai by Casia Wiliam (Y Lolfa, 2020) won the Welsh-languge primary age catetory in 2021. It’s a contemporary story about a girl aged around 9 called Sara Mai who grows up on her parents’ zoo, and who finds it easier to understand the behaviour of the remarkable creatures who live there than the other girls in her class.

The secondary age category was won by a novel aimed at older teenagers. #helynt by Rebecca Roberts (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2020) tells the story of a teenage girl and what happens to her after she misses the school bus one morning – a commonplace event but one that changes the course of her life.

The Short Knife by Elen Caldecott (Andersen Press, 2020) – a powerful and exciting YA novel set during the early Middle Ages – triumphed in the English-language category of the Tir na n-Og Awards 2021.

2020

Llyfrau’n ymdrin â rhai o bynciau mawr y dydd a ddaeth i’r brig yng Ngwobrau Tir na n-Og 2020 am lenyddiaeth plant a phobl ifanc yn Gymraeg.

Pobol Drws Nesaf gan Manon Steffan Ros a’r darlunydd Jac Jones oedd yn fuddugol yn y categori Cymraeg oedran cynradd. Llyfr llun a stori ar gyfer plant 3–7 oed yw hwn, yn ein hannog i barchu pawb ac i beidio â beirniadu rhywun sy’n edrych ac yn ymddwyn yn wahanol i ni.

Enillydd y categori Cymraeg uwchradd oedd Byw yn fy Nghroen, a olygwyd gan Sioned Erin Hughes. Casgliad yw’r llyfr o brofiadau dirdynnol deuddeg o bobl ifanc sydd wedi gorfod brwydro gyda salwch a chyflyrau iechyd hirdymor. Mae’r cyfranwyr i gyd yn bobl ifanc rhwng 10 a 26 oed, sy’n trafod afiechydon meddyliol a chorfforol fel cancr, epilepsi, clefyd Crohn’s, spina bifida, nam ar y golwg, OCD, iselder a gorbryder.

Nofel Storm Hound gan Clare Fayers a gipiodd y brif wobr yn y categori cyfrwng Saesneg, stori antur ffantasïol sy’n cyfuno chwedloniaeth Nordig a Chymreig.

Books tackling some of the big issues of the day won the 2020 Tir na n-Og Awards for children’s and young people’s literature in Welsh.

Pobol Drws Nesaf (‘The People Next Door’) by author Manon Steffan Ros and illustrator Jac Jones took the prize for the best title in the Welsh-language primary age category. Aimed at readers aged 3–7, this picture book urges us to respect each other and not judge someone who looks or behaves differently to us.

The prize for the best Welsh-language book in the secondary age category was won by Byw yn fy Nghroen (‘Living in my Skin’), edited by Sioned Erin Hughes. The book collates the difficult experiences of twelve young people who have had to struggle with long-term illness and health conditions. Aged between 10 and 26, the contributors discuss their mental and physical illnesses in detail, including cancer, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, spina bifida, visual impairment, OCD, depression and anxiety.

Claire Fayers novel Storm Hound took the main prize in the English-language category with its wonderful fantasy adventure story steeped in Norse legend and Welsh mythology.