Established in 1992, the awards are currently administered by Literature Wales, and supported by the Arts Council of Wales, Welsh Government and the Welsh Books Council.
In 2009, Media Wales sponsored a voted "People's Choice" award for the English-language works.
[1] The format was again changed in 2012, expanding the entries to three categories, fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry; with English and Welsh language winners in each field.
Regarding eligibility, the competition specifically excludes self-published authors.
[5] Creative Non-fiction Roland Mathias Poetry Award (discontinued)[18] Fiction[19] Creative non-fiction Roland Mathias Poetry Award