Wales Book of the Year: Thomas Morris wins top prize
Thomas Morris has won the English language Wales Book of the Year award for his short story collection We Don't Know What We're Doing.
The book also won the Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Award, securing an overall prize of £4,000. Mr Morris was also presented with a specially commissioned trophy by artist Angharad Pearce Jones at the ceremony in Merthyr Tydfil. Caryl Lewis won the Welsh-language main award for her novel Y Bwthyn. The Roland Mathias Poetry Award went to Philip Gross for his collection, Love Songs of Carbon and Jasmine Donahaye's Losing Israel won in the creative non-fiction category. Lleucu Siencyn, Chief Executive of Literature Wales said: "Congratulations to all of this year's winners. "We had a wonderful evening here in Merthyr and we were delighted to welcome the shortlisted writers and their families to the Redhouse for this celebration of Welsh literature." We Don't Know What We're Doing is Thomas Morris' debut collection of 10 short stories set in his birthplace, Caerphilly. Both authors also won public votes for people's choice awards. It is the second time Caryl Lewis has won the Welsh language award, having received it in 2005 for her novel Martha Jac a Sianco.