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Charlie Mackesy & Mererid Hopwood

November Book of the Month Live Q&A - Y Bachgen, y Wahadden, y Llwynog a'r Ceffyl

Year Round Events, 
A book of hope for uncertain times, Charlie Mackesy's The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse was a sensation when first published in 2019. Now, acclaimed poet and Hay Festival fellow Mererid Hopwood is the translator behind an extraordinary Welsh edition: Y Bachgen, y Wahadden, y Llwynog a’r Ceffyl. The pair join us live online for the first time to chart the book's linguistic journey and reflect on its inspiring message.

About the speakers:
Charlie Mackesy is an artist, illustrator and author who began his career as a cartoonist for The Spectator, before becoming a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. His award-winning work has featured in books, private collections, galleries and public spaces around the world. He worked with Richard Curtis on the set of Love Actually to create a set of drawings to be auctioned for Comic Relief, and with Nelson Mandela on a lithograph project, The Unity Series. His internationally bestselling book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, was published in October 2019. Charlie's words and illustrations have brought comfort to many and have been shared online around the world as well as on t-shirts for Comic Relief, magazine covers, street lamp posts, school classrooms, cafés, women's safe houses, prisons, hospital wards and as NHS hospital computer screensavers. Away from art Charlie co-runs Mama Buci, a honey social enterprise in Zambia. He lives in London with his dog Barney.

Mererid Hopwood is one of Wales’ most celebrated poets with published works including Singing in Chains (2004), O Ran (2009), Poets' Graves/Beddau'r Beirdd (2014) and Nes Draw (2016); her books for children Ar Bwys (2007), Straeon o’r Mabinogi (2012) and Cyfres Dosbarth Miss Prydderch (2016–19); and her translations Seren Lowri (2005) and Geiriau Diflanedig (2019). She is a three-time Eisteddfod prize winner, has been Children's Laureate Wales, and was awarded the Glyndwr Prize for her contribution to literature. Her collection Nes Draw won the poetry section of the Welsh language Book of the Year Awards 2016 and won the Tir na n-Og prize for children’s writing in 2018. Writing mainly in Welsh, Hopwood has degrees in Spanish and German language and literature and has taught throughout her career. She is the Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol Hay Festival/Hay Festival Creative Wales International Fellow for 2020–2021.

Mae Y Bachgen, y Wahadden, y Llwynog a’r Ceffyl, llyfr o obaith gan Charlie Mackesy yn ystod cyfnod o ansicrwydd, yn eich gwahodd i fynd i fyd ei bedwar ffrind annhebygol, a darganfod eu straeon a'u gwersi bywyd mwyaf pwysig. Y bardd arobryn a chymrawd Gŵyl y Gelli, Mererid Hopwood, yw'r cyfieithydd y tu ôl i rifyn Cymraeg eithriadol. Mae'r ddau yn ymuno â ni'n fyw ar-lein am y tro cyntaf, i gofnodi taith ieithyddol y llyfr, a myfyrio ar ei neges ysbrydoledig.

Ynghylch yr awduron:

Ganed Charlie Mackesy yn ystod gaeaf oer iawn o eira yn Northumberland. Dechreuodd Charlie fel cartwnydd i The Spectator a darlunydd llyfrau ar gyfer Gwasg Prifysgol Rhydychen cyn cael ei gymryd ymlaen gan orielau. Arddangosodd darluniau yn gyntaf yn Llundain, yn The Park Walk Gallery, ac ers hynny mae wedi arddangos mewn orielau yn Efrog Newydd, Llundain a Chaeredin. Mae gwaith Charlie yn ymddangos mewn llyfrau, casgliadau preifat a mannau cyhoeddus, gan gynnwys Mynwent Highgate yn Llundain, mewn ysbytai, carchardai, eglwysi a cholegau prifysgol ledled y DU, ac mewn tai diogel menywod ledled y byd. Un o’i amseroedd hapusaf oedd gwneud lluniadau i Richard Curtis ar set Love Actually fel y gallent ymddangos mewn ocsiwn ar gyfer Comic Relief. Cynhyrchodd ‘The Unity Series’, set gydweithredol o lithograffau gyda Nelson Mandela yn 2006. Mae ei daith gyda The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse wedi cymryd drosodd ei fywyd. Mae’n byw yn eu byd nhw lawer o’r amser ac mae wedi bod wrth ei fodd yn llunio’r llyfr. Bydd eu hanturiaethau yn parhau.

Mae Mererid Hopwood yn un o feirdd enwocaf Cymru, gyda gweithiau cyhoeddedig sy’n cynnwys Singing in Chains (2004), O Ran (2009), Poets' Graves/Beddau'r Beirdd (2014) a Nes Draw (2016); ei llyfrau i blant Ar Bwys (2007), Straeon o'r Mabinogi (2012) a Cyfres Dosbarth Miss Prydderch (2016–19); a'i chyfieithiadau Seren Lowri (2005) a Geiriau Diflanedig (2019). Mae hi wedi ennill gwobr yn yr Eisteddfod dair gwaith, wedi gweithio yn rôl Children’s Laureate Wales, a dyfarnwyd Gwobr Glyndŵr iddi am ei chyfraniad i lenyddiaeth. Enillodd ei chasgliad Nes Draw adran farddoniaeth Gwobrau Llyfr y Flwyddyn 2016, ac enillodd wobr Tir na n-Og am ysgrifennu llyfrau i blant yn 2018. Mae hi’n ysgrifennu yn y Gymraeg yn bennaf, ac mae ganddi raddau mewn iaith a llenyddiaeth Sbaeneg ac Almaeneg, ac wedi dysgu drwy gydol ei gyrfa. Hi yw Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol y Gelli Gymrawd/Gŵyl y Gelli Cymrawd Rhyngwladol Cymru Greadigol Hay Festival/Hay Festival Creative Wales International Fellow ar gyfer 2020–2021.
Charlie Mackesy & Mererid Hopwood