I am writing to you, by virtue of your work, to express my concern at the situation for publishing in Wales, and the fact that the industry faces a 40% reduction in 10 years, as reported on the news today.

Having been a writer for 40 years, earning my livelihood by authoring books, it is sad to think that the children of today will not have the opportunity enjoyed by children of the past. Keeping any language alive requires investment in the arts, the publication of new books, and access to libraries. I worry that the library in my own village has been closing for an extra day during the week since the beginning of September, but I consider us lucky to have a library at all.

Closing libraries and cutting grants will lead to job losses and a widescale effect on the economy. In education, we already see the effects of Covid on children's reading, so we ought to see greater investment in books.

If the Welsh Government seriously considers the publishing sector to be important, then invest in it, so that strategy formulation is possible.

Funding is available, but it is in the wrong hands, and wealth is being misdistributed with the poor getting poorer and the rich increasing their wealth.

Please, demonstrate that there is another way of doing things in Wales.

Yours sincerely,

Angharad Tomos