Y Lolfa ( Welsh for ''The Lounge'', ) is a Welsh

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

and

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

company based in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, in Mid-Wales. It publishes a wide variety of books in Welsh and English. It also provides a commercial print service. Y Lolfa was established in 1967 by Robat Gruffudd. It is now an independent, limited company run by the founder's sons, Garmon Gruffudd (managing director) and Lefi Gruffudd (head of publishing), with Paul Williams as production manager. Using the new small

offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...

method, the company began by producing material both for the activist ''

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg The Welsh Language Society (, also often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas in English) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their l ...

'' (The Welsh Language Society), with which it was loosely associated, and for its own publications which included '' Lol'', the satirical magazine from which the company's name, meaning 'the lounge', was derived. The company gradually expanded its range of publications to include popular series for children, contemporary

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, diaries, humorous courses for Welsh learners, a range for tourists to Wales and a line in Welsh sports titles. It has adopted a deliberate policy of not adapting books from other languages in order to support Welsh artists and authors. It was involved with the publication of ''Papur Pawb'', one of the first Welsh community papers, in 1974. It was also the first Welsh publishing company to launch its own website. In 1999 Y Lolfa published ''Llyfr y Ganrif'' (''The Book of the Century'') in association with the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

and in 2007 won the Welsh-language Book of the Year for the third consecutive year. In 2012 it bought out the Gomer Press list for adults in both languages, and now publishes around 80 titles annually, employing twenty-two full-time staff. ''The Bookseller'', 5 May 2017, p.11: Regional Focus, Wales

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Welsh-language literature Publishing companies of Wales Publishing companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in Wales Companies based in Ceredigion