The dates for the Wales Book of the Year 2010 - the premier award for Welsh writing - have been announced by the Academi.

They are:

Tuesday 20 April Longlists announced, Bangor
Sunday 6 June Shortlists announced at Guardian Hay Festival
Wednesday 30 June Winners announced, Cardiff

The awards, worth £10,000 to the winners, are presented to the best books of the year in the English and Welsh language.

The English language judges are poet and lecturer at the University of Wales, Ian Gregson (chair); fiction writer, James Hawes and broadcaster Sara Edwards. The Welsh-language judging panel is John Gwilym Jones, Aled Lewis Evans and Branwen Gwyn. The two winners will be revealed at an award ceremony at the St David's Hotel and Spa, Cardiff on 30 June.

Ian Gregson, Chair of the English-language judges commented:

"The Wales Book of the Year is a brilliant medium through which writers in Wales can raise their profile. My own hope is that we can give a really inspiring boost both to writers just starting to get published, and to more established writers who deserve to be more read and talked about."

Peter Finch, Academi Chief Executive said:

"Academi's Book of the Year Awards put the writers of Wales right onto the international stage. Winning is not just about the prize money - it can mark a significant turning point in an author's career."

The Wales Book of the Year is administered by Academi, and funded by the Arts Council of Wales through its income from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Last year's English language award winner was Deborah Kay Davies for her collection of short stories Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (Parthian).

Notes:

The Judges

Ian Gregson (Chair) is a poet and a lecturer in English at the University of Wales, Bangor. He lectures on 19th and 20th Century Poetry, American Literature, Contemporary Literature, the Short Story and Creative Writing. In 1981 he received a Gregory Award for his poetry, which has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry Review and the London Review of Books amongst others. He has also reviewed poetry for a wide range of journals.

James Hawes has been an English teacher, an archaeologist and a lecturer in Ireland before teaching German at the University of Swansea. He is the author of four thrillers, the second of which, Rancid Aluminium, was made into a film. The BBC has commissioned Andrew Davies to adapt Speak for England (Jonathan Cape, 2005) for television. He has written seven novels in total.

Sara Edwards was born in Wales but grew up and was educated in London where she graduated in Medieval and Modern History. Her broadcasting career started with Capital Radio, and she also contributed regular items to BBC Radio Four. Sara was a newsreader for HTV West before joining BBC Wales News where she was a co-presenter of the early evening news programme, BBC News Today.

Wales Book of the Year Award

• The Wales Book of the Year prizes are awarded annually to the best Welsh language and English language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism. They are administered by the Academi with funding from the Arts Council of Wales.

• Prizes are awarded for the best books published in the previous calendar year, with £10,000 each awarded to the two winning titles. The two runners up in each category also receive £1,000.

• The award began in 1992. Previous English-language award winners include Dannie Abse (The Presence, 2008), Lloyd Jones (Mr Cassini, 2007), Robert Minhinnick (To Babel and Back, 2006), Owen Sheers (The Dust Diaries, 2005) and Niall Griffiths (Stump, 2004).

• The 2009 winners were Deborah Kay Davies for Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful (Parthian) and Wiliam Owen Roberts for Petrograd (Barddas).

Academi

• Yr Academi Gymreig is the Welsh National Literature Development Agency and Society for Authors. It was established in 1959, following discussions between Bobi Jones and Waldo Williams.

• In 1998 the Society's role increased greatly when it won the Arts Council of Wales franchise to become Wales' National Literature Promotion Agency.

• The Academi works in partnership with Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre in Llanystumdwy. The Academi works with the support of the Arts Council of Wales.

• The Academi is responsible for organising the Wales Book of the Year award, literary events (conferences, dinners, poetry tours, lectures), writers' bursaries, Writing Squads and various support schemes.

• Chief Executive is the writer and literary entrepreneur Peter Finch.

• The Academi has joined the Urdd, Diversions, Welsh National Opera and other organisations at the Wales Millennium Centre where it runs the Glyn Jones Centre.