An author from Caerphilly has won America’s Reader Views Literary Awards for a book he spent 35 years writing.

Bernard Jones won the Literary Award for the history category, as well as the global award for best history book of the year in Europe.

Mr Jones released his book, The Discovery of Troy and its Lost History, last year.

In the book, which focuses on the Trojan wars, Mr Jones claims to have discovered the location of the ancient city of Troy, which he suggests is not where it is believed to have been.

Mr Jones, who studied ancient philosophy/mythology and ancient history at postgraduate level, started working on his book in the 1980s.

The author, who now lives in Greece, said he was “quite stunned” to have won the award.

He said: “I am delighted and amazed by the news. All the hard work has proved worthwhile. I started my research more than thirty five years ago, before personal computers and the internet, but writing a book did not even enter my mind at that time. It all started because I had so many questions about my own history.”

After the book’s release in May 2019, Mr Jones gave the first copy to Caerphilly Library.

He said he first began his research for the book in the old Caerphilly Library near Morgan Jones Park in the early 1980s, without the help of the internet.

Sheri Hoyte, managing editor of Texas-based Reader Views, said: “The book is a piece of literary art, stunning in both visual and textual representation.
“It is a captivating and intellectual read that will be revered by historians, academics, and students of geography and history.”