Literature Wales is pleased to announce this year's judging panel.

The English language judges are Sandeep Parmar, poet and Professor of English Literature at Liverpool University, Louise Holmwood Marshall, Head of the English and Creative Writing Department of Aberystwyth University and novelist and Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London Russell Celyn Jones.

This year’s Welsh language judging panel are author, poet and 2017 Wales Book of the Year winner, Idris Reynolds for his memoir of Dic Jones, Darn o Haul Draw yn Rhywle: Cofio Dic (Gwasg Gomer), popular broadcaster and sports author, Dylan Ebenezer and the Aberystwyth University’s Head of Welsh and Celtic Studies Cathryn Charnell-White.

The two judging panels have been busy reading and analysing the range of submissions published in 2018, before deciding who will be awarded in the three categories - Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Non-Fiction - in both Welsh and English with one overall winner in each language. Louise Holmwood-Marshall said the "it has been an immense privilege to act as a judge for Welsh Book of the Year 2019. The range and quality of the entries demonstrates, yet again, the incredible talent of Welsh writers and the cultural contribution that authors from and of Wales make to the country's long-established literary heritage." You can read more about this year's judging panel here.

This year's shortlist will be announced on 10 May 2019. Readers will have the opportunity to have their say by voting for their favorite shortlisted title in the Wales Arts Review Peoples' Choice Award and the Welsh-language Barn y Bobl, sponsored by Golwg360. This year's Fiction categories are sponsored by Aberystwyth University, and the Roland Mathias Poetry Award is sponsored by the Brecknock Society.

This year, and for the first time in its history, the Wales Book of the Year Award will be hosted at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 20 June.

Click here to read more about the Wales Book of the Year Award.