Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee

Policy review - English Medium Writing In Wales

Richard Houdmont

I am writing as Acting Director of the University of Wales Press. The views expressed below are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wales Press Management Board, nor the University of Wales.I have already written to you in my capacity as Chair of Literary Publishers (Wales) Ltd, to endorse the draft Joint Marketing Strategy which has been prepared in response to the Task & Finish Group. The report is out for wider consultation, and I believe that there are very many important recommendations in the report which you should consider. Welsh Books Council GrantThe book production grant, formerly administered by the Arts Council of Wales, needs further consideration. The purpose and remit of the grant should be clarified. Is the grant to support 'literature' or Welsh writingin English, and how does one define these areas? The grant provides a subsidy against loss, but no more. Therefore at best publishers in receipt of such grants at best do not make a loss on their direct costs. However development costs can be larger than production costs, and the grant provides no support for 'overhead' costs. The grant system has no way of rewarding success. Margins on such books are very small. Extra sales effort produces marginal returns. The effect of the grants is probably to depress selling prices. We need greater clarity regarding the ACW/WBC definition ofa 'publishing programme' as opposed to a collection of individual titles.HEFCW publications fund The Press also receives support for some of its publications from HEFCW. The publications must meet strict criteria determined by HEFCW and monitored byits publications panel. At best this subsidy only enables the Press to break even on the publication, and I do not believe that the support in itscurrent form fully meets the overhead costs associated with these titles. The number of titles under the English-medium Welsh writing classificationis woefully small given the many other pressures on the fund. If the Press is to expand its scholarly activity in this area, then it must receive additional support. Bookshop chains In some respects selling English-medium Welsh writing is more difficult than selling Welsh-language material. The Welsh-language market is characterised by small fiercely independent bookshops run by sole traders with an almost evangelical enthusiasm for their products. In contrast the English-language market in Wales is dominated by bookshop chains increasingly dominated by central control and primarily motivated by profit. The shop floor staff are poorly paid, and compared to ten or twenty years ago have poor product knowledge. Sales in bookshops are driven of course by the publicity, but also by location of the book within the shop. I have long argued that books published in Wales should be placed on the appropriate shelf and not simply placed in a 'local interest' or 'Welsh interest' ghetto. We need to analyse more carefully the impact of location for English-medium Welsh writing. Would the books sell better on the literature shelf, where they will be picked up by casual browsers, or would they be swamped by books published by the multinationals? I found Glyn Jones's Island of Apples on the 'literature' shelf of a chain bookshop in Aberystwyth, but then Emyr Humphrey's novels were classified as 'local interest' in the same shop. Some argue that the books receive more attention by being stocked under 'Welsh interest', but then you will find music, geology, maps, rugby and so on rubbing shoulders. Is this the way to present English-medium Welsh writing? Some argue that this classification is largely a result of the supply chain.Books obtained from the Welsh Books Council's Distribution Centre will be classified as 'Welsh interest' whereas had the same book been published by an English publisher, it would have found its way to the 'correct' market-led bookshelf. I found our Welsh Academy English-Welsh Dictionary in the 'local interest' section of a Cardiff bookshop. One wonders if the same chain stocks the Oxford English Dictionary under 'local interest' in their Oxford branch?Richard HoudmontCyfarwyddwr Gweithredol/Acting DirectorGwasg Prifysgol Cymru/University of Wales Press10 Rhodfa Columbus/10 Columbus WalkMaes Brigantîn/Brigantine PlaceCaerdydd/CardiffCF10 4UPFfôn/Tel (029) 2049 6899 Ffacs/fax (029) 2049 6108Gwefan: www.cymru.ac.uk/gwasgInternet: www.wales.ac.uk/press