A year ago, Dr Hannah Sams won the Gwerddon Prize with her article 'Coming of age: New Adult literature in Welsh'
The Gwerddon Prize is awarded jointly between the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Learned Society of Wales. It is given every other year to the author of the best article published in Gwerddon in the last two years.
We had a chat with Hannah to learn more about her experience of writing the article and winning the award.
Why did you choose to publish in Gwerddon?
I chose to publish in Gwerddon because I wanted to publish in an open access journal of quality in Welsh.
What was it like to publish an article in Gwerddon?
The experience was a smooth and positive one from the very beginning. The feedback from the reviewers and the editor was constructive and the article is much stronger from acting on that feedback.
What did you enjoy most about putting together the article and the publishing process?
Reading the reviewers' and editor's helpful comments in detail before publication and draw on their input and expertise.
Why did you choose to research this topic?
I noticed that something exciting was happening within Welsh literature and that a cohort of new voices, the voices of New Adults, were broadening the horizons of our literature. The novels in question appealed to me on a personal level and as a researcher, so I decided to write the article.
Was there a specific reason for choosing three novels by women as case studies? Are women more likely to write novels for New Adults, and discuss taboo topics such as sex and sexuality, in Welsh?
It is true that there is a tendency to place women's work in certain categories more than men's, which is not my aim in this article. I feel that it is women who have pioneered the field of New Adult literature in Welsh. In that regard, the three novels in question pave the way for other authors. There is undoubtedly room to expand this work and consider other forms of literature such as poems by poets such as Tegwen Bruce Deans, Llŷr Gwyn Lewis, and plays by playwrights such as Mared Llywelyn and Elgan Rhys are also part of the discussion.
Do you think there are specific challenges faced by women who want to publish academic articles? How could these challenges be addressed?
Research shows that women in academia often take on more administrative and pastoral duties which often make guarding the little time they have to do research very difficult. Those duties are on top of heavy learning loads and duties beyond work. Furthermore, I would assume that uncertainty due to the financial situation of many Welsh universities and extremely challenging working conditions all contribute to these challenges.
To address this, support is needed at many levels; at an organisational level by managing workload and protecting research time, mentoring within and beyond the organisation within research networks such as the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol research network and reviewers and editors, such as those I found when publishing with Gwerddon who remember that their feedback and comments are going to be read by people and not machines.
What does the award mean to you?
Getting recognition for academic work is rare enough, so knowing that the article had pleased the Gwerddon panel was a boost for me.
What would be your word of advice for researchers considering publishing an article?
I would encourage them to venture and thus have the opportunity to publish in a journal of quality and contribute to scholarship through the medium of Welsh.