Women's Prize for Fiction 2018

The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman. Founded in 1996, the Prize was set up to celebrate excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world.

16 books have made it onto the longlist with a chance of winning on June 6th.  For this week’s blog we’ll be looking at a small selection.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar - One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.  As gossip spreads through the docks and coffee shops. everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, steering his life onto a dangerous new course…

Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig - After attending school in Calcutta, Benny settles in Rangoon, then part of the British Empire, and falls in love with Khin, a woman who is part of a long-persecuted ethnic minority group, the Karen. World War II comes to Southeast Asia, and Benny and Khin must go into hiding in the eastern part of the country during the Japanese Occupation, beginning a journey that will lead them to change the country's history. Based on the story of the author's mother and grandparents, Miss Burma is a captivating portrait of how modern Burma came to be and of the ordinary people swept up in the struggle for self-determination and freedom.

A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert - Early on a grey November morning in 1941, only weeks after the German invasion, a small Ukrainian town is overrun by the SS. A Boy in Winter tells of the three days that follow and the lives that are overturned in the process. And in the midst of it all is the determined boy Yankel who will throw his and his young brother's chances of surviving to strangers.

A Boy in Winter is a story of hope when all is lost, and of mercy when the times have none.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt - Just after 11am on 4th August 1892, the bodies of Andrew and Abby Borden are discovered. He’s found on the sitting room sofa, she upstairs on the bedroom floor, both murdered with an axe.

It is younger daughter Lizzie who is first on the scene, so it is Lizzie who the police first question, but there are others in the household with stories to tell: older sister Emma, Irish maid Bridget, the girls’ Uncle John, and a boy who knows more than anyone realises.

We’ll be back in two weeks so, until then, have a cracking Easter and happy reading!

Y Wobr i Fenywod am Ffuglen yw’r wobr lyfrau flynyddol mwyaf ei bri yn y DU am ffuglen a ysgrifennwyd gan fenyw.  Sefydlwyd y wobr yn 1996 er mwyn dathlu rhagoriaeth, gwreiddioldeb a hygyrchedd mewn ysgrifennu gan fenywod trwy’r byd.

Cyrhaeddodd 16 llyfr y rhestr hir gyda chyfle o ennill ar Fehefin 6ed.  Ar gyfer blog yr wythnos yma byddwn yn edrych ar ddewis dethol ohonyn nhw.

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock gan Imogen Hermes Gowar - Un noson o Fedi yn 1785, mae’r masnachwr Jonah Hancock yn clywed cnocio ar ddrws y tŷ. Un o’i gapteiniaid sydd ar y stepen. Mae e wedi gwerthu llong Jonah am yr hyn sy’n ymddangos fel môr-forwyn.  Wrth i’r sïon ledaenu trwy’r dociau a’r siopau coffi, mae pawb am weld rhyfeddod Mr Hancock.  Mae ei dyfodiad yn ei symud allan o’i fyd cyffredin ac i mewn trwy ddrysau’r cylchoedd uchaf, gan arwain ei fywyd ar hyd llwybr newydd, peryglus …

Miss Burma gan Charmaine Craig- Ar ôl mynychu’r ysgol yn Calcutta, mae Benny’n setlo yn Rangoon, a oedd bryd hynny’n rhan o’r Ymerodraeth Brydeinig ac mae’n cwympo mewn cariad â Khin, menyw sy’n rhan o grŵp lleiafrifol sydd wedi cael eu herlid ers amser maith, y Karen. Daw’r Ail Ryfel Byd i Dde Ddwyrain Asia ac mae’n rhaid i Benny a Khin ffoi a chuddio yn rhan ddwyreiniol y wlad yn ystod meddiannaeth y Japaneaid, gan ddechrau ar siwrnai a fydd yn eu harwain at newid hanes y wlad. Mae Miss Burma’n seiliedig ar hanes mam a mam-gu a thad-cu’r awdur ac mae’n stori gyfareddol am sut ddaeth y Burma fodern i fod ac am y bobl gyffredin sy’n cael eu dal yn y frwydr dros hunanlywodraeth a rhyddid.

A Boy in Winter gan Rachel Seiffert – Yn gynnar ar fore Tachwedd llwyd yn 1941, wythnosau’n unig ar ôl goresgyniad yr Almaenwyr, mae tref fach yn yr Wcráin yn llawn SS. Mae A Boy in Winter y dweud am y tri diwrnod sy’n dilyn a’r bywydau sy’n cael eu chwyldroi yn y broses. Yng nghanol y cyfan mae bachgen ifanc, Yankel a fydd yn ildio ei gyfle, a chyfle ei frawd i oroesi, i bobl ddieithr.

Mae A Boy in Winter yn stori o obaith pan fod pob dim wedi’i golli, ac am drugaredd pan nad oes dim o gwmpas.

See What I Have Done gan Sarah Schmidt - Ychydig wedi 11am ar 4ydd Awst 1892, mae cyrff Andrew ac Abby Borden yn cael eu darganfod. Mae e ar soffa’r ystafell fyw, a hithau ar lawr yr ystafell wely, y ddau wedi’u llad â bwyell. Eu merch ieuengaf, Lizzie yw’r cyntaf i gyrraedd, felly hi sy’n cael ei holi gyntaf gan yr heddlu, ond mae yna eraill yn y cartref sydd â straeon i’w dweud: y chwaer hŷn Emma, y forwyn Wyddelig, Bridget, John, ewythr y merched, a bachgen sy’n gwybod mwy na mae pawb yn sylweddoli.

Byddwn ni ‘nôl mewn rhyw bythefnos felly, tan hynny, Pasg Hapus i chi a digon o ddarllen!

Tuesday 20 March is World Happiness Day!

Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. In 2015 the UN launched a series of goals that seek to end poverty, reduce inequality, and protect our planet – three key aspects that lead to well-being and happiness.

To help spread the cheer, the Reading Agency have created their ‘Whole lot of Happiness booklist’ filled with books to make children laugh and feel happy. We’ve mentioned some of these titles below.  Why not share one with your family on 20 March this year?

Everyone by Christopher Silas Neal - Happy one moment and sad the next - everyone has feelings. The first book of mindfulness and feelings, award-winning illustrator Christopher Silas Neal invites young readers to explore how we feel what we feel, and how everyone else feels it, too.

50 Ways to Feel Happy by Vanessa King - What can you do to help yourself (and others) feel happier? This book is packed full of activities and ideas to try with family, friends and on your own. A cheerful, fun, inspiring, and varied collection of projects for creative, happy and thinking individuals!

It’s Not Fine to Sit on a Porcupine by Neal Zetter - Enter the wacky world of funny poems! There are nearly fifty in this collection by leading performance poet, Neal Zetter. ​There's something for everyone here, with poems about a bored superhero, an angry shopping trolley, a mammoth on the underground and even the world's worst toilet.

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren - Nine year old Pippi is an unusual and unpredictable character, she lives alone with a monkey, a horse, and no rules whatsoever! Every day is a crazy adventure with Pippi, but what else would you expect from the daughter of a swashbuckling pirate captain?!

Matt Millz by Harry Hill - Matt Millz LOVES stand up comedy. He’s studied the best. He’s memorized all the advice. He spends hours writing new gags and thinking up crazy sketches . . . So when the school run a talent contest, of course he’s going to enter.

Ers 2013, mae'r Cenhedloedd Unedig wedi dathlu Diwrnod Hapusrwydd Rhyngwladol fel ffordd o gydnabod pwysigrwydd hapusrwydd ym mywydau pobl ledled y byd. Yn 2015, lansiodd y Cenhedloedd Unedig gyfres o nodau sy'n ceisio rhoi diwedd ar dlodi, lleihau anghydraddoldeb, a diogelu ein planed - tair agwedd allweddol sy'n arwain at les a hapusrwydd.

Er mwyn helpu i ledaenu'r hwyl, mae'r Asiantaeth Ddarllen wedi creu eu rhestr 'Llond trol o Hapusrwydd' sydd yn llawn llyfrau i wneud i blant chwerthin a theimlo'n hapus. Rydym wedi crybwyll rhai o'r teitlau hyn isod. Beth am rannu un gyda'ch teulu ar 20 Mawrth eleni?

Everyone gan Christopher Silas Neal - Hapus un eiliad ac yn drist y nesaf - mae gan bawb deimladau. Mae'r llyfr cyntaf o ymwybyddiaeth ofalgar a theimladau, gan y darlunydd poblogaidd Christopher Silas Neal, yn gwahodd darllenwyr ifanc i archwilio sut yr ydym yn teimlo'r hyn yr ydym yn teimlo, a sut mae pawb arall yn ei deimlo, hefyd.

50 Ways to Feel Happy gan Vanessa King - Beth allwch chi ei wneud i'ch helpu eich hun (ac eraill) deimlo'n hapusach? Mae'r llyfr hwn yn llawn gweithgareddau a syniadau i roi cynnig arnynt gyda theulu, ffrindiau ac ar eich pen eich hun. Casgliad o brosiectau difyr, siriol, ysbrydoledig ac amrywiol ar gyfer unigolion creadigol, hapus sy'n meddwl!

It’s Not Fine to Sit on a Porcupine gan Neal Zetter - Croeso i  fyd cerddi doniol! Mae bron i hanner cant yn y casgliad hwn gan y bardd perfformio blaenllaw, Neal Zetter. Mae yna rywbeth i bawb yma, gyda cherddi am arch-arwr diflas, troli siopa fach ddig, mamoth ar y system deithio danddaearol a hyd yn oed toiledau gwaethaf y byd.

Pippi Longstocking gan Astrid Lindgren - Mae Pippi, naw mlwydd oed yn gymeriad anarferol ac anrhagweladwy. Mae hi'n byw ar ei phen ei hun gyda mwnci, ceffyl, a dim rheolau o gwbl! Mae pob dydd yn antur gwallgo' ym myd Pippi, ond beth arall fyddech chi'n ei ddisgwyl gan ferch capten môr-leidr croch ?!

Matt Millz gan Harry Hill - Mae Matt Millz yn CARU digrifwyr. Mae e wedi astudio’r goreuon. Mae e’n cofio’r holl gyngor ar y cof. Mae e’n treulio oriau yn ysgrifennu deunydd smalio newydd a meddwl am sgetshis gwallgo’ . . . Felly pan fydd yr ysgol yn cynnal cystadleuaeth ddoniau, mae ef, wrth gwrs, am roi cynnig amdani.

Muriel Spark 100

2018 marks the centenary of the birth of the iconic writer Muriel Spark. Best-known as the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Dame Muriel was a poet, writer of fiction, criticism and literary biography, and was at the top of her profession, internationally, for more than half a century.  In 2008, The Times named Spark as No. 8 in its list of ‘the 50 greatest British writers since 1945’.

As part of the year-long celebration, for this week’s blog post we’re taking a look at some of her notable works.  You can also find out more about Muriel herself, the authors she inspired and programmes commissioned for the Muriel Spark season using the BBC links below:

10 things you didn’t know about Muriel Spark by Alan Taylor (BBC)

Muriel provides the spark to recommend great writers (BBC)

Muriel Spark 100 Programming (BBC)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Romantic, heroic, comic and tragic, unconventional schoolmistress Jean Brodie has become an iconic figure in post-war fiction. Her glamour, unconventional ideas and manipulative charm hold dangerous sway over her girls at the Marcia Blaine Academy - 'the crème de la crème' - who become the Brodie 'set', introduced to a privileged world of adult games that they will never forget..

Memento Mori - In late 1950s London, an insinuating voice on the telephone informs a group of elderly friends, "Remember you must die." Their geriatric feathers are soon thoroughly ruffled by these seemingly supernatural phone calls, and in the resulting flurry many old secrets are dusted off. Beneath the once decorous surface of their lives, blackmail and adultery are now to be glimpsed.

The Girls of Slender Means - In the ‘May of Teck’ Club the young lady residents do their best to act as if the war never happened. They practice elocution, and jostle one another over suitors and a single Schiaparelli gown. But behind the girls' giddy literary and amorous journeys they hide some tragically painful secrets and wounds.

2018 yw canmlwyddiant geni’r awdur eiconig Muriel Spark. Fe’i hadnabyddir orau fel awdur The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, ond roedd y Fonesig Muriel yn fardd, yn awdur ffuglen, beirniadaeth a bywgraffiad llenyddol ac roedd ar frig ei phroffesiwn, yn rhyngwladol, am dros hanner canrif.  Yn 2008, gosododd y Times Spark ar rif. 8 yn ei rhestr o’r ‘50 awdur Prydeinig gorau ers 1945’.

Fel rhan o’r dathliad trwy’r flwyddyn, cawn edrych yn y blog yr wythnos yma ar rai o’i gweithiau mwyaf nodedig.  Gallwch hefyd ddysgu mwy am Muriel ei hun, yr awduron a ysbrydolwyd ganddi a’r rhaglen a gomisiynwyd ar gyfer tymor Muriel Spark gan ddefnyddio dolenni’r BBC isod:

10 o bethau na wyddoch chiam Muriel Spark gan Alan Taylor (BBC)

Muriel yn tanio iysbrydoli i awduron arbennig (BBC)

Rhaglenni 100 Muriel Spark (BBC)

http://bbc.in/2DNbTVT

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Mae’r ysgolfeistres ramantus, arwrol, comig a thrasig, ac anghonfensiynol, Jean Brodie, wedi dod yn ffigwr eiconig mewn ffuglen ar ôl y rhyfel .  Mae ei harddwch, ei syniadau anghonfensiynol a’i swyn ystrywgar yn dylanwadu’n beryglus ar ei merched yn y Marcia Blaine Academy - y ‘crème de la crème' - sy’n dod yn rhan o ‘set’ Brodie, ac yn cael eu cyflwyno i fyd breintiedig gemau oedolion na fyddan nhw byth yn anghofio.

Memento Mori - Yn Llundain yr 1950au, mae llais ensyniol ar y ffôn yn dweud wrth grŵp o hen ffrindiau, "Cofiwch, rhaid i chi farw."   Maen nhw’n cael eu cynhyrfu’n fawr gan y galwadau ffôn yma sy’n ymddangos yn oruwchnaturiol, ac yn y dryswch sy’n dilyn daw nifer o hen gyfrinachau i’r wyneb. O dan arwyneb eu bywydau a fu unwaith mor barchus, mae blacmel a godineb yn awr i’w gweld.

The Girls of Slender Means - Yng Nghlwb ‘May of Teck’ mae’r menywod ifanc sy’n byw yno’n ceisio’u gorau i ymddwyn fel pe na bai’r rhyfel erioed wedi digwydd. Maen nhw’n ymarfer llefareg, ac am y gorau dros gariadon a ffrog Schiaparelli unigol. Ond, y tu ôl i siwrnai lenyddol a serchus gwirion y merched maen nhw’n cuddio cyfrinachau a briwiau trasig o boenus.

Quick Reads 2018

One in six adults of working age in the UK find reading difficult and may never pick up a book. Some people say they find books intimidating, that they struggle to find the time or that books are difficult or boring.

Quick Reads are short, accessible books for busy people and less confident adult readers, designed to break down the barriers that prevent people from picking up a book.

Available since the start of February, find out more about this year's titles below!

Cut Off by Mark Billingham. A punchy, taut urban thriller about that moment we all fear: losing our phone! For Louise, losing hers in a local café takes a sinister turn. Billingham has twice won the Theakston's Old Peculiar Award for Crime Novel of the Year.

The Great Cornish Getaway by Fern Britton. As the sun sits high in the  sky over Cornwall, and the sea breeze brings a welcome relief to the residents of the seaside village of Trevay, a stranger arrives in need of a safe haven. Britton is a Sunday Times bestselling author and this story is full of her usual warmth and wit.

Clean Break by Tammy Cohen.  A dark and twisty portrait of a marriage coming to its bitter end, from the mistress of domestic noir. Can Kate rid herself of her jealous husband before it's too late? Cohen's acclaimed novels include The Mistress's Revenge, The War of the Wives and Someone Else's Wedding.

Inspector Chopra and the Million-Dollar Motor Car by Vaseem Khan. An enchanting Baby Ganesh Agency novella from the bestselling Khan set in the bustling back-streets of Mumbai. Inspector Chopra and his elephant sidekick have two days to solve the mystery of a missing - and very costly - car for its gangster owner, or there'll be a heavy price to pay.

The Beach Wedding by Dorothy Koomson. A gripping short read featuring a wedding, family drama, and old secrets. Tessa is thrilled when her daughter arrives in Ghana to get married but memories of the last time she was there haunt her; can she lay the ghosts of the past to rest or will they come back to haunt her daughter's future? Koomson is the bestselling author of 12 novels including The Ice-Cream Girls and, most recently, The Friend.

Six Foot Six by Kit de Waal. A charming novella from Costa First Novel Award shortlisted author de Waal about finding friendship in the most unlikely of places. Everything changes for Timothy, a 21 year-old with learning difficulties, when local builder Charlie calls on him for help.

Mae un o bob chwe oedolyn oedran gwaith yn y DU yn cael darllen yn anodd ac efallai byth yn codi llyfr. Mae rhai’n dweud bod llyfrau’n codi ofn arnyn nhw, eu bod yn cael trafferth cael hyd i’r amser neu fod llyfrau yn anodd neu’n ddiflas.

Llyfrau byr, hawdd eu darllen i bobl brysur a darllenwyr llai hyderus yw Quick Reads, a’u bwriad yw dymchwel y rhwystrau sy’n atal pobl rhag codi llyfr.

Ar gael nawr ers dechrau Chwefror, dysgwch fwy am deitlau eleni isod!

Cut Off gan Mark Billingham.  Nofel gyffrous rymus, dynn am y foment yna yr ydym i gyd yn ei hofni: colli’n ffôn!  I Louise, mae colli ei ffôn hi mewn caffi lleol yn arwain at dro sinistr.  Mae Billingham wedi ennill Gwobr Theakston's Old Peculiar am Nofel Drosedd y Flwyddyn ddwywaith.

The Great Cornish Getaway gan Fern Britton. Wrth i’r haul godi’n uchel yn yr awyr uwchben Cernyw, ac mae awel y môr yn dod ag esmwythâd i drigolion Trevay, pentref glan môr, daw dieithryn i chwilio am loches.  Mae Britton yn awdur o restr uchaf y Sunday Times ac mae’r stori yma’n llawn o’i chynhesrwydd a ffraethineb arferol.

Clean Break gan Tammy Cohen.  Stori dywyll a throellog o briodas yn dod at ei diwedd gan feistres storïau twyll domestig. A all Kate gael gwared â’i gŵr eiddigeddus cyn bod pethau’n mynd yn rhy hwyr? Mae nofelau Cohen yn cynnwys The Mistress's Revenge, The War of the Wives a Someone Else's Wedding.

Inspector Chopra and the Million-Dollar Motor Car gan Vaseem Khan. Nofel fer swynol Asiantaeth Baby Ganesh gan Khan wedi ei leoli yn strydoedd cefn prysur Mumbai.  Mae gan yr Arolygydd Chopra a’i eliffant ddau ddiwrnod i ddatrys dirgelwch car coll - a chostus – i’w gangster o berchennog, neu bydd pris i’w dalu.

The Beach Wedding gan Dorothy Koomson. Stori fer afaelgar gyda phriodas, drama deuluol a hen gyfrinachau. Mae Tessa’n cyffroi pa fo’i merch yn cyrraedd Ghana i briodi ond mae atgofion y tro diwethaf iddi fod yno yn aflonyddu arni; a fydd hi’n gallu can claddu ysbrydion y gorffennol neu a fyddan nhw’n dod yn ôl i darfu ar ddyfodol ei merch? Mae Koomson yn awdur ar 12 o nofelau gan gynnwys The Ice-Cream Girls ac, yn fwyaf diweddar, The Friend.

Six Foot Six gan Kit de Waal. Nofel fer hudolus gan de Waal sydd wedi cyrraedd rhestr fer Gwobr Nofel Gyntaf Costa.  Mae’n stori am gael hyd i gyfeillgarwch yn y lleoedd mwyaf annhebygol. Mae pob dim yn newid i Timothy, dyn ifanc 21 oed gydag anawsterau dysgu, pan fo adeiladwr lleol, Charlie, yn gofyn iddo am help.