The task of the 14 who entered was to create a novel with a strong storyline of no less than 50,000 words. The prize is the Daniel Owen Memorial Medal and the published novel.
The adjudicators were Mari Emlyn, Alun Davies and Haf Llewelyn. In her adjudication, Mari Emlyn says, 鈥淚 knew I was in safe hands from the start in the company of this masterful writer, even though this isn鈥檛 usually the kind of novel I go for. The novel is very cleverly structured like a classical Shakespearean drama with its five acts, although this author, thankfully, resists the temptation to include a 诲茅苍辞耻别尘别苍迟, justifying this at the end by saying, 鈥楻eal life isn鈥檛 tidy.鈥 The novel is a journey through time spanning nearly two centuries and is a model of how to use an exceptional store of research to create a fantastical historical novel without letting the research swallow the story鈥 Ozymandias fully deserves the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize.鈥
Haf Llewelyn said in her adjudication, 鈥淭his has been a particularly special competition this year. Remarkably, Anfarwol leapt to the top and stayed there from the very first reading. We鈥檙e in the company of a remarkable author here, and I feel privileged to be among the first people to read this work.
鈥淔rom the beginning, I could relax, knowing that Ozymandias would not stumble, and that I was in the company of a confident author, a skilled storyteller, and a wordsmith who handles our language with elegance and agility. This is a very successful novel and will be an extremely valuable addition to the world of Welsh-language fiction. Huge congratulations to Ozymandias for coming out on top in a strong competition. I venture to say that this is among the finest winners of the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize over the years.鈥
Alun Davies also praised the winning work in his adjudication, 鈥淛udging 14 novels in a relatively short period can be a challenging task, but the reward for a judge is discovering a story like Anfarwol. Considering the standard of this year鈥檚 entrants, it is high praise indeed to say that the story of Ozymandias stands head and shoulders above the other competitors, and not only deserves to win this year, but would likely have come out on top in many other years as well.
鈥淭his is truly a stunning story that is hard to summarise: a historical, supernatural, and science fiction adventure that is funny, exciting, thought-provoking, and challenging. The novel touches on mortality, Welsh identity, and what it means to be part of the human race, and I was prompted to reflect on many strange and interesting questions while reading鈥 I could write much more about Anfarwol, but only reading it can do justice to this novel. A thoroughly deserving winner of this year鈥檚 prize.鈥
Peredur Glyn Cwyfan Webb-Davies comes from central Anglesey. He attended Ysgol Gymuned Bodffordd and Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni, where he first honed his skills as a writer, before earning a BA and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic Studies. He completed a doctorate in Linguistics at 全民彩票 in 2010.
He has been lecturing in the field of linguistics for over fifteen years. He is now a Reader in Linguistics and Bilingualism at the School of Language, Culture and the Arts at 全民彩票, teaching through both Welsh and English. He has published several books and scholarly papers on the linguistics of Welsh and its speakers, including on sociolinguistic variation, grammatical change, and code-switching.
He is also a novelist. He is the author of Pumed Gainc y Mabinogi (Y Lolfa, 2022; shortlisted for Welsh Book of the Year 2023) and Cysgod y Mabinogi (Y Lolfa, 2024). He writes within the genre of cosmic horror, where characters come to realise that supernatural powers exist beyond their imagination, and that humanity鈥檚 place in the universe is insignificant and fleeting in the face of such horrors. He wrote Galwad Cthulhu a Straeon Arswyd Eraill (Melin Bapur, 2025), the first Welsh-language translation of the influential American author H. P. Lovecraft鈥檚 work.
His grandfather, the poet and writer T Glynne Davies, won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst in 1951.
Peredur lives in Menai Bridge with his family. He is a member of the choirs Hogia Llanbobman and C么r Esceifiog, and enjoys playing and collecting board games, video games, and role-playing games in his spare time.
The Cyfansoddiadau a Beirniadaethau includes the full adjudication for this competition and the winners of all the other composition winners at this year鈥檚 Eisteddfod. The volume is published at the end of the Chairing Ceremony on Friday afternoon.
The Wrecsam National Eisteddfod runs until 9 August. For more information go online, www.eisteddfod.cymru.
