An urgent letter to the following Members of the Welsh Parliament:

Lynne Neagle

Dawn Bowden

Mark Drakeford

Rebecca Evans

Elin Jones

Mabon ap Gwynfor

Cefin Campbell

Jane Dodds

Eluned Morgan

Rebecca Evans

Jack Sargeant

Dear Colleagues

I am writing to express my concerns regarding the critical state of Welsh language publishing. On top of swingeing cuts to the budget of the  Books Council of Wales over the last ten years, we have seen a significant reduction in sales of Welsh books.

Lolfa employs 23 full-time members of staff in rural Wales. In addition, it pays over £400k annually to writers, artists and designers from Wales who generally work on a freelance basis. We produce our books here in Talybont, and most of our expenditure is in Wales.

Unfortunately, we have reached a situation where professional publishing in the Welsh language is almost unsustainable. The business decision made by Wales's foremost publisher, Gwasg Gomer, to sell its publishing division as it was a loss-making operation was an indication of the severity of the situation five years ago. Now, the situation is even more dire.

Freezing or cutting Welsh Government grants for the publication of Welsh books would force us to consider whether it is commercially possible for us, as a publisher, to continue publishing in Welsh.

Supporting the books industry in Wales benefits the Welsh economy and the Welsh-language economy. It is also a means of promoting literacy and well-being, as well as a core part of meeting the target of a million Welsh speakers. We feel that it is unfair, inconsistent and unwise to cut support for Welsh-language publishing while other sectors relating to the Welsh language are retaining their budgets.

Sincerely

 Garmon Gruffudd

Garmon Gruffudd
Managing Director
Y Lolfa Ltd., Talybont, Ceredigion, Wales SY24 5HE
garmon@ylolfa.com
tel: 01970 831902

www.ylolfa.com
Publishers and printers / Publishers and printers