More shots fired at the Books Council of Wales

A damning indictment from Gwen Davies, editor of New Welsh Review.

I was concerned for a moment that this week on BRG I had been spending too much time writing about the bureaucracy of the cultural industries in Wales, the oversight and funding models, the politics and gatekeepers, and although I have always intended to use BRG to draw attention to important issues that impact on the art and culture of this country, I never want it to come across as too navel-gazing and dry. BRG should be about the art, first and foremost. And so the idea of sending out three newsletters on the bounce concerned with “the running of things” rather than “the creating of things” gave me pause for that moment’s thought. But then when I began to consider why I wanted to highlight the topic I am highlighting today, I realised that I was shining a light on an art form, and perhaps an art form long past a visit. I am talking, of course, about the art of the Takedown.

This morning (depends when you’re reading this, of course) the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee will meet to discuss, among other things, the continuing complaints about the way the Books Council of Wales is operating and being run. I have already written to the Committee myself, and my letter was discussed in December 2023 (you can read it here), but Gwen Davies’s letter which is on the agenda for today is a thing of rare excellence. Gwen was editor of New Welsh Review until it recently had its funding axed by the Books Council, and she seems to have had enough of BCW. And I’m here for that.

Gwen is perhaps the most experienced editor working in Wales today, and her letter to the committee is written with the steady hand of a someone who intrinsically understands the power of words. She is, calm, collected, methodical, deadly. Her penmanship, had it been swordsmanship, is of the sort Alexander Dumas might have wanted to commit to the page himself.

She begins, “I am writing to correct the impressions given in the letter to yourself by Helgard Krause, Books Council of Wales CEO, dated 20 December 2023.” (You can read Krause’s letter here). So, there we have it: combat. Gwen begins her incisive takedown with a focus on perhaps one of the most peculiar statements in the Books Council’s strategic plan. that it exists to “challenge incumbency” rather than, oh I dunno… support the sector? Gwen writers:

Is Ms Krause’s stated policy for BCW of ‘challeng[ing] incumbency’ an appropriate goal for a body set up to support what is widely acknowledged to be the fragile publishing industry of a small bilingual nation, one that is unique within the UK?

I don’t wish to preempt the committee’s debate, but I would suggest this is most definitely NOT an appropriate goal for such a body.

Further, would the Committee consider the implications of this stated, quite radical policy, taking into account its risks and benefits in relation to the stability of the wider publishing industry in both languages? Perhaps the Committee may also wish to consider whether the idea of ‘challeng[ing] incumbency’, as presented in BCW’s 5-year Strategy, is the most effective means of aiding diversity, considering our delicate publishing eco-system? How transparent is it for BCW to present ‘incumbency’ only in a negative light in the context of ‘diversity’, particularly since no comprehensive detailed audit has been conducted nor published recently by themselves regarding the present state of publishing clients in terms of diversity and inclusivity? I believe that there is a danger of tropes of ‘diversity’ and ‘incumbency’ being pronounced in order to hide funding decisions which would be more transparently regarded as being economic in motive.

Gwen goes on to point out some fundamental confusions on the part of the Books Council in its own operations and decision-making.

The definition set out in Ms Krause’s letter regarding ’sustainability’ is vague (and in fact conflates the notion of economic sustainability with ethical sustainability in terms of labour terms and conditions) and was not communicated to applicants during the application procedure. It also seems to be at odds with the specific requirements for non-public funded income as defined in the BCW’s own guidelines for the 2024+ franchise.

A crucial blow then comes, and the carefully-worded accusation at its centre is one that echoes so much of my own and many other publishers’ experiences in the last few years - the Books Council does not listen, does not consult, and does not engage with the people it is supposed to be supporting.

With reference to NWR [New Welsh Review], it is absolutely not the case that we would have been, in BCW’s vague term ’no longer sustainable... even if the grant could have been increased’, and in any case how could BCW know of our intentions as they did not, at any point following their communication of their decision, open negotiations regarding any revised grant offer, either higher nor lower?

And then, the rapier pierces the matter:

Finally, we are concerned about what appears to be an emergent policy of communications and practice at BCW which suggests an apparently increasingly Machiavellian approach to clients.

After some examples of chicanery…

It is difficult to see these obstacles and apparent errors in any other light than that we should be ‘chastised’ for our public campaign (small in scale) about likely levels for our funding (alongside Planet we were part of the Save Welsh Magazines Open Letter campaign on working conditions prior to our application’s submission).

This is not coffee shop gossip. This is a public letter from one of the most experienced literary figures in the country addressing a Senedd committee. Serious stuff. And the greatest respect to Gwen Davies for writing it.

You can read the whole letter here, and I strongly advise you do.

As we stand currently today, the actions of the Books Council have meant the end to New Welsh Review, Planet, and Wales Arts Review. We will wait to see if after all the pen is mightier than the sword.

Gary Raymond is a novelist, author, playwright, critic, and broadcaster. In 2012, he co-founded Wales Arts Review, was its editor for ten years. His latest book, Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature is available for pre-order and is out in May 2024 with Calon Books.