'Sometimes more accolades than book sales'

Publishers have disputed official sales of their books after data suggested some works sold as few as 20 copies.

Some authors and publishers say the figure recorded by Neilsen does not take into account the sales at smaller book shops and fairs.

This can lead to hundreds of book sales not being recorded in official data.

The dispute emerged as official figures showed almost half of the books shortlisted for the Wales Book of Year award had sold fewer than 100 copies.

Nielsen, which provided the sales data for the shortlisted books up until 20 June 2018, is the global authority on book sales and includes bookshops and online sales in its figures.

According to the figures, poet Robert Minhinnick, who won the overall prize for Diary of the Last Man, has sold 202 copies.

Mr Minhinnick implored more people to read, buy and write books, while Lleucu Siencyn, the chief executive of Literature Wales said the exposure from the awards would improve sales in the long term.