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Tomos contributed much to Welsh-language children's literature. She won the crown at Eisteddfod yr Urdd in 1982, with Hen Fyd Hurt, which can be translated as "Silly Old World" and contains Tomos's reflections on her experience when unemployed. The protagonist Heulwen, who has no job, takes drawing lessons, as did Tomos herself.
The children's books she has written and illustrated include the Rwdlan (To prattle) series of 13 self-illustrated volumes set in Gwlad y Rwla. It received the Tir na n-Óg prize. Rala Rwdins, the first title in the series, appeared as Y Lolfa in 1983. Later on, there were television and theatre adaptations of scripts she had written.[citation needed] The series has been translated into Irish and Breton.
In 1985 Tomos won an Academi Gymreig prize for her novel Yma o Hyd about prison life, which she experienced at Risley Prison for actions whilst campaigning for the Welsh language.[1] She had attempted to climb the Crystal Palace TV transmitter to express concern about the lack of television broadcasting in Welsh. Yma O Hyd (Still Here) takes the form of an illegal diary written on toilet paper by a female prisoner. The title derived from a theme song of the 1980s cultural movement written by Dafydd Iwan as a rebellious response to lost elections for a Welsh assembly in 1979.
Si Hei Lwli (1991) was her third novel. It also has autobiographical elements. Its title comes from a Welsh lullaby. The plot covers a car journey by the main character, who is in her twenties, with her aunt, who is in her nineties.
Titrwm (1994) takes the form of a prose song, soliloquising the story of a deaf, mentally impaired woman called Awen (meaning Inspiration). Despite physical and mental disadvantages, she learns to read and gains an interest in books. The only person she can communicate with is her son Titrwm. Her communication problems symbolise the political situation in a marginalised Wales and like Awen, symbolically raped by an Englishman (subsequently killed by her brother). The beginning suggests a personal story of love and identity, but the end has a clear political character. The title Titrwm suggests the sound of a falling stone thrown by a lover at his girl's window.
In 2004 Tomos wrote Wele'n Gwawrio (Behold, It Dawns), again with a title from a song, this time a Christmas carol. It presents the dawn of the third millennium, through a main character filled with political chagrin and seeking comfort in religious contemplation.
She published a historical novel, Rhagom, in 2004, discussing the atrocities of the First and the Second World Wars.
Tomas writes a Welsh-language column for the Daily Post and a blog on its website.[2]
On 24 September 2009, a ceramic sculpture of Tomos was unveiled at Parc Glynllifon, near Caernarfon, the third in a series of six by Welsh artist Katie Scarlett Howard as part of the Budding Artists' "Woman of Substance" project.[3]
Tomos's works make frequent use of autobiographical elements, philosophical discussions, satire and humour. She refers to Welsh cultural heritage, such as myths, heroes and heroines, songs and poetry, all set in a broader global context. Her novels feature a personal writing style especially in descriptions of ordinary life shown from an often satirical or humorous perspective. Her writing applies elements of pidginisation and local dialect that give a sense of Welsh linguistic and cultural authenticity.
Her themes portray a world troubled by lack of equality, notably a lack of equal chances to develop potential. She advocates change in human rights, and so goes beyond the Welsh context into global perspectives.
Other genres in which she has written include travel literature, television scripts, drama (Cyffes, 1994), drama and prose criticism, autobiography (Cnonyn Aflonydd, 2001), newspaper columns and journal writing (especially political and literary).
Language activism
Tomos was chairwoman of Cymdeithas yr Iaith from 1982 to 1984, during the launch of the campaigns for a Welsh Language Act and a body to develop Welsh medium education.[4]
Dafydd Iwan Jones is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.
Kate Roberts was one of the foremost Welsh-language authors of the 20th century. Styled Brenhines ein llên, she is known mainly for her short stories, but also wrote novels. Roberts was a prominent Welsh nationalist. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Welsh scholar Idris Foster.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1997 to Wales and its people.
The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors. Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by Literature Wales, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Welsh Books Council.
Gwyn Thomas, FLSW was a Welsh poet and academic. He was the second National Poet of Wales, holding the role between 2006 and 2008.
The Tir na n-Og Awards are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards categories, one English-language and two Welsh-language. Their purpose is "[to raise] the standard of children's and young people's books and to encourage the buying and reading of good books." There is no restriction to fiction or prose. Each prize is £1,000.
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Tafod y Ddraig, or Tafod, is a monthly Welsh language magazine dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Welsh language. This magazine was the only voice of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg from its foundation in October 1963 by Owain Owain. It is still published by the Society under the title Tafod ("Tongue"), approximately quarterly to coincide with events such as the National Eisteddfod.
Y Lolfa is a Welsh printing and publishing company based in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, in Mid-Wales. It publishes a wide variety of books in Welsh and English. It also provides a commercial print service. Y Lolfa was established in 1967 by Robat Gruffudd. It is now an independent, limited company run by the founder's sons, Garmon Gruffudd and Lefi Gruffudd, with Paul Williams as production manager.
Steve Eaves is a Welsh poet, songwriter and singer, working in the Welsh language. He has lived for most of his life in the Bangor area of North Wales. He has been a performing musician for over 45 years. During the late 1960s and early 1970s he worked as a labourer and musician, with frequent forays to Chester, Crewe and other locations to perform at folk clubs and underground venues of the period. He also performed at the now legendary Les Cousins folk club in Soho, sharing the floor spot with legendary blues singer Jo Ann Kelly. He also performed with various 'underground' luminaries of the time such as Al Stewart, Tea and Symphony, and the Sutherland Brothers.
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Mary Vaughan Jones was a celebrated Welsh children's author and schoolteacher.
Emily Huws is a Welsh language children's author. She is a recipient of the Mary Vaughan Jones Award.
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Gareth Finlay Williams was a Welsh language author who wrote novels for children and adults, as well as creating many television drama series.
Manon Steffan Ros is a Welsh novelist, playwright, games author, scriptwriter and musician. She is the author of over twenty children's books and three novels for adults, all in Welsh. Her award-winning novel Blasu has been translated into English, under the title of The Seasoning. In May 2021 she was described as "arguably the most successful novelist writing in Welsh at the moment". In June 2023 she won the Yoto Carnegie Medal for The Blue Book of Nebo, her English translation of her novel Llyfr Glas Nebo.
Lleucu Roberts is a Welsh author.
Caryl Lewis is a Welsh novelist. She won the Wales Book of the Year in 2005 with her novel Martha Jac a Sianco, which was adapted into a film in 2008.
Rhiannon Ifans, FLSW is a Welsh academic specialising in English, Medieval and Welsh literature. She was an Anthony Dyson Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, in University of Wales Trinity St. David. She twice won a Tir na-n-Og prize for her work and won the literary medal competition at the Welsh Eisteddfod, for her 2019 debut novel, Ingrid, which was chosen for the Welsh Literature Exchange Bookshelf. In 2020, Ifans was elected as a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
Dewi Grey "Pws" Morris was a Welsh musician, poet, actor, television presenter and comedian. He was known for being the lead singer of the Welsh pop band Y Tebot Piws and later for his comedy series Torri Gwynt on S4C. He held the post of Bardd Plant Cymru between 2010 and 2011.
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