Final six in Dylan prize running revealed

THE shortlist for one of the world’s largest literary prizes for young writers – the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize – has been announced.

It features a raft of bold new voices that challenge expectations in a compelling exploration of survival, identity, belonging and what it means to be ‘other’ in our world today.

Comprising of five novels and one short story collection, the shortlist is:

Alligator and Other Stories by Dima Alzayat (Picador) – short story collection (Syria/usa)

Kingdomtide by Rye Curtis (Harpercollins, 4th Estate) – novel (USA)

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi (Faber) – novel (Nigeria/usa)

Pew by Catherine Lacey (Granta) – novel (USA)

Luster by Raven Leilani (Picador/farrar, Straus and Giroux) – novel (USA)

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (Harpercollins, 4th Estate) – novel (USA)

Among the contenders for this prestigious £20,000 prize are two of the most talked about breakout novels of recent times: New York City native Raven Leilani has been recognised for the brutal and brilliant Luster, her razor-sharp debut about what it means to be a black millennial woman in America; and Kate Elizabeth Russell has been chosen by the judges for her darkly shocking exploration of an abusive relationship and sexual consent in My Dark Vanessa, a novel described as ‘a package of dynamite’ by Stephen King.

The two further debut voices in contention are Texan Rye Curtis and Kingdomtide, his story of suspense and resilience, and Syria-born and Manchester-based Dima Alzayat, whose first short story collection – Alligator and Other Stories – captures how it feels to be ‘other’ whilst at home: as a Syrian, as an Arab, as an immigrant, as a woman.

The final novelists completing the line-up are Catherine Lacey for her third novel Pew and Igbo and Tamil, non-binary author Akwaeke Emezi and their boundarybreaking New York Times bestseller The Death of Vivek Oji.

This year’s winner will be revealed at a virtual ceremony on May 13, the eve of International Dylan Thomas Day.