Significant funding increase confirmed – the next chapter for Wales’ publishing sector

Published last week and including an additional uplift for the wider arts and culture sectors, the new funding allocation for publishing is in addition the uplift already announced in the recent draft budget for 2025 – 2026, bringing the total increase for next year to £392,000.

This funding will be channelled through the Books Council of Wales (BCW) as an arms-length body who will distribute it to the publishing sector.

The Welsh Government also regularly provides the Books Council with additional funding to facilitate a Wales presence for publishers at major international events such as Frankfurt, where 18 Welsh publishers attended last year to promote their work to a global audience, and at London Books Fair also.

The Books Council has also received Welsh Government money for its New Audiences Fund, via Creative Wales. In the last 3 years £1.5m has supported over 100 projects, created 117 new jobs and commissioned over 540 pieces of work with the aim of increasing diversity across the sector.

This support has been directed to an array of publishing outlets, including: Broken Sleep Books for a literary festival; ‘Writing Back Home’, an anthology of letters addressed to the writers’ homeland of Syria; news website Nation Cymru to nurture creative talent; and history magazine Hanes Byw to develop authors in their research fields.

Minister for Culture, Jack Sargeant, said:

“This significant funding confirmation shows how serious we are about supporting Welsh publishing as a priority creative sector.

“Despite the creative sector’s continued brilliance, I am all too aware of the challenges also being faced, and I welcome the strong and constructive relationship the Welsh Government has with the Books Council as we look to write a positive next chapter for publishing in Wales. Our Final Budget will no doubt bring good news for the wider sector too and is a positive step forwards from which we can build together.”