A Ceredigion based publishing company is hoping e-book technology can help breathe new life into Welsh language literature. Y Lolfa is launching the first ever Welsh language eBook.

Managing director Garmon Gruffudd said the technology, which enables works to be published without printing costs, could enable Welsh works to be distributed widely across the world.

He said: "Production costs for e-books are far less than for printed books. You don’t have to take paper, ink and glue into account. Nor do you have to worry about delivery costs or warehouse storage. It means we can sell Welsh language books to readers all over the world without the great expense of distribution and postage."

The first work to be published as an e-book by the long established Talybont based company will be a murder mystery novel Y Llwybr (The Path) by Geraint Evans, a former lecturer at Aberystwyth University. The cost of downloading an electric EPUB file of the book is a pound cheaper than the paper version. Y Lolfa hopes that this book will be the first of many eBooks in both Welsh and English that will be available on its website www.ylolfa.com. Garmon Gruffudd added, "The problem at the moment is that the e-reading devices are quite expensive, however as with music, in the long run, technology will improve and prices will come down. As a forward looking company we want to be prepared."