Writer in the running for top literary award
TWO Welsh writers have been nominated for the world’s largest and most prestigious literary prize for young writers – the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.
Thomas Morris from Caerphilly and Joshua Jones from Llanelli are named among authors hailing from the UK, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, US, Canada, and Hong Kong, in this year’s international longlist for the prize.
Both are in contention for their short story collections.
Morris has been celebrated for Open Up, a collection of five stories on the theme of (dis)connection.
His debut story collection, We Don’t Know What We’re Doing (Faber & Faber) won the Wales Book of the Year, the Rhys Davies Trust Fiction Prize, and a Somerset Maugham Award.
In 2023, he was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.
Open Up, his second book of stories, was published in August.
Jones – just one of two debut authors on the longlist – is recognised for Local Fires, inspired by real people and real events that took place in his hometown of Llanelli.
A queer, autistic writer and artist, he co-founded Dyddiau Du, a NeuroQueer art and literature space in Cardiff.
His fiction and poetry have been published by Poetry Wales, Broken Sleep Books, Gutter and others.
He is a Literature Wales Emerging Writer for 2023, and is currently working with the British Council to connect Welsh and Vietnamese queer writers.
The longlisted titles will now be whittled down to a six strong shortlist by judges chaired by acclaimed author and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Namita Gokhale, alongside prize-winning Welsh author and lecturer in creative writing at Swansea University, Jon Gower, winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2022 Seán Hewitt, former BBC Gulf Correspondent and author Julia Wheeler, and artist and author of Keeping the House, longlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize in 2022, Tice Cin.
Worth £20,000, this global accolade recognises exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under, celebrating the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama.
The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity.
The prize invokes his memory to support the writers of today, nurture the talents of tomorrow, and celebrate international literary excellence.
Previous winners also include Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi.
The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist will be announced on March 21 followed by the winner’s ceremony held in Swansea on May 16, following International Dylan Thomas Day on May 14.