Gareth Finlay Williams (9 February 1955 – 14 September 2016) was a Welsh language author who wrote novels for children and adults, as well as creating many television drama series.

Life

Williams was born in Porthmadog, as the son of Hugh Finley and Menna Williams. He worked for two years in the Cob Records shop in Porthmadog between 1973 and 1975. He worked as a teacher of Welsh at Ysgol Rhiwabon between 1979 and 1985. He lived in Silverston, Vale of Glamorgan, before settling in

Beddau Beddau ( en, Graves cy, Y Beddau) is a large former mining village (and electoral ward) situated within the South Wales Valleys Davies (2008), page 507. around from Llantrisant and from the larger town of Pontypridd in the county borough of R ...

near Pontypridd. Williams was one of the three panelists for the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize at the National Eisteddfod of Monmouth in August 2016. He had been battling cancer and the day after awarding the prize in the Abergavenny Eisteddfod he was informed that he was not improving. He died at the age of 61 at his home in Graves, leaving his wife Rachel. In 2018, two years after his death, he was awarded the

Mary Vaughan Jones Award The Mary Vaughan Jones Award is a Welsh children's literature award. The ''Mary Vaughan Jones Trophy'' is awarded every three years to an author who has made a substantial contribution to children's literature over a number of years. It was estab ...

for his outstanding contribution to the field of children's literature. The trophy was presented to his family at a special ceremony in Portmeirion on 18 October 2018.

Career

Williams won awards at the

Tir na n-Og Award The Tir na n-Og Awards (abbreviated TnaO) are a set of annual children's literary awards in Wales from 1976. They are presented by the Books Council of Wales to the best books published during the preceding calendar year in each of three awards cat ...

event six times in the Welsh language book categories. His book ''Awst yn Anogia'', (August in Anogia) set on Crete during the Second World War, won an award as the best Welsh language book of the year at the 2015 Wales Book of the Year Awards. Williams had read about Anogeia after a holiday in Crete. In 2016, he was a judge for the literary awards prize at the 2016

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

. Williams also wrote and produced Welsh language television programmes for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

, including ', ''Pen Tennyn'', ''

Rownd a Rownd ''Rownd a Rownd'' ( en, "Round and Round") is a Television in Wales, Welsh soap opera created by Rondo Media (formally Ffilmiau’r Nant) and shown on S4C since 11 September 1995. It was claimed to be the first Celtic-related language soap speci ...

'', ''Sion a Siân'', and ''Lan a Lawr''.

Books

*''Llyfrau Plant'' *''Cyfres Di-Ben-Draw:Uned III'' - Ysgrifennu a Darllen, 1993, ( BBC) *''Dirgelwch Loch Ness'', 1996, ( Y Lolfa) *''O Ddawns i Ddawns'', 1996, (Y Lolfa) *''Cyfres Cled: Pen Cyrliog a Sbectol Sgwâr'', 1999, (Y Lolfa) *''Jara'', 2004, (

Gomer Press Gomer Press (Welsh: ''Gwasg Gomer'') is a family printing (and formerly publishing) company based in Llandysul, west Wales. It was the largest publishing house in Wales. History The company was first established in 1892 and began as a general sto ...

) *''Cyfres Lleisiau: Dial'', 2006, (CAA) *''Cyfres Whap!: Adref heb Elin'', 2006, (Gomer Press) *''Cyfres Tonic 5: Y Sifft Nos'', 2007, (CAA) *''Cyfres Tonic 5: Bethan am Byth'', 2007, (CAA) *''Nadolig Gwyn'', 2007, (Gomer Press) *''Cyfres Stori Sydyn: Tacsi i'r Tywyllwch'', 2007, (Y Lolfa) *''Curig a'r Morlo'', 2009 (Gwasg Gwynedd) *''Plant y Pasg', 2017, ( Gwasg Carreg Gwalch) *''Llyfrau Oedolion'' *''Dyfi Jyncshiyn: Y Dyn Blin'', 2007 (Gwasg Gwynedd) *''Dyfi Jyncshiyn: Y Ddynes yn yr Haul'', 2009 (Gwasg Gwynedd) *''Mei Ling a Meirion'', 2010 (Gwasg Gwynedd) *''Creigiau Aberdaron'', 2010 (Gwasg Gwynedd) *''Awst yn Anogia'', 2014 (Gwasg Gwynedd)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gareth F. 1955 births 2016 deaths British writers People from Porthmadog People educated at Ysgol Eifionydd, Porthmadog