Y Lolfa Cyf

Y Lolfa was born in the mid-sixties in a large, draughty warehouse in the middle of Wales. It was an exciting period of fun and protest. The company acted as unofficial printers to the new, activist Welsh Language Society, while also producing its own irreverent brand of popular and political material. The word Y Lolfa comes from the word Lol, the title of the magazine it had launched in 1966. Lol means 'nonsense' or 'fun' while -fa means 'place'. The word also means 'The Lounge', reflecting the relaxed nature of its early publications. Gradually the company evolved, and in 1977 ironically took over the Courtroom and Police Station in Talybont. As well as publishing a wide range of books in Welsh, it started producing English-language books on subjects of Welsh interest, including best-selling titles like Welsh is Fun, and Gwynfor Evans' masterly Land of My Fathers. The company had always done its own print and design. In the sixties it took full advantage of new freedom offered by photo-litho technology, and in the nineties embraced the digital revolution. Y Lolfa now has four-colour and perfector presses with half its turnover coming from commercial print work. This Catalogue shows the astonishingly wide range of material now being published. The launch of the Dinas imprint was a huge recent success. The company has, however, remained loyal to its original ideals, and is the only Welsh publishing company that has a policy of not adapting from other languages � a lazy method of book cloning favoured by public bodies � preferring to support home-grown artists and designers. In a world dominated by large corporations, Y Lolfa is determined to prove, in the words of one of its most famous authors, Leopold Kohr, that �small is beautiful�, and that belonging to a small nation like Wales is much preferable to being part of a large power bloc. It was Andr� Gide who said, �I love small numbers; I love small nations; the world will be saved by the few�.

Specifically interested in books with these subjects or themes: welsh language popular fiction and non-fiction, music, children's books, welsh-language tutors, welsh politics in english and a range of welsh-interest books for the tourist market.

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