An author originally from Radnorshire has won Literature Wales’s Wales Book of the Year award.

Tom Bullough, author of Sarn Helen and illustrated by Jackie Morris, won the award during an award ceremony in Gallery, Caernarfon. Comedian and presenter Tudur Owen hosted.

Sarn Helen is the winner of the Overall English-language Wales Book of the Year Award, whilst Sut i Ddofi Corryn by Mari George took home the Overall Award in the Welsh-language.

Tom Bullough grew up on a hill farm in Radnorshire, Wales, and lives in Bannau Brycheiniog with his children. He is the author of four novels – A (Sort Of Books), The Claude Glass (Sort Of Books), Konstantin (Penguin Books Ltd), and Addlands (Granta). Sarn Helen is his first work of nonfiction. Tom is a climate activist and a freelance tutor in creative writing, and runs regular courses on climate and writing for change.

Speaking to The Brecon and Radnor Express in May, Tom said of the old Roman road: “I started walking from Neath after the first lockdown in summer 2020. At the time, I didn’t mean to continue all the way to the north coast but somehow the Roman road got under my skin. In a sense, it’s the spine of Wales and it seemed natural that it should be the spine of a book as well.”

Tudur was joined on stage by the award's judges. On the English-language judging panel were writer, journalist and chair of Wales PEN Cymru Dylan Moore; writer, Royal Society of Literature Fellow and experienced mentor Patrice Lawrence;  novelist, playwright, and Dylan Thomas Prize winner Rachel Trezise; and poet, novelist, and former Chair of the T.S. Eliot Prize Pascale Petit. The Welsh-language judges were poet and WJEC Welsh Literature Senior Examiner Tudur Dylan Jones; actor, director, and writer Hanna Jarman; writer and Senior Lecturer at the School of Welsh, Cardiff University Rhiannon Marks; and producer, director, writer, and former S4C Content Commissioner Nici Beech.  Guest speakers included Jon Gowerfrom Nation Cymru, and Cadi Dafydd from Golwg360, who announced Nation Cymru's People's Choice Award and Golwg360's Barn y Bobl Award, which were chosen by a public vote, respectively.