Seán Hewitt and Ferdia Lennon are among the six shortlisted writers for the Dylan Thomas Prize
Congratulations to Seán Hewitt and Ferdia Lennon who have been shortlisted for the £20,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize which recognises exceptional literary talent for authors aged 39 and under.
‘In Rapture’s Road Seán Hewitt’s moving work spoke to me through the sure tread of the verses and their tremulous shadows,’ said judge Namita Gokhale. ‘This is poetry that believes in beauty and the power of words.’
Hewitt’s debut Tongues of Fire (Jonathan Cape) won the Laurel Prize in 2021, while All Down Darkness Wide (Vintage) won the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.
Judge Max Lui praised Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Penguin) as a signal of the arrival of an assured and ambitious voice in contemporary fiction. ‘By combining an ancient setting with a contemporary idiom, he puts a fresh spin on the historical novel, telling his characters’ story with ceaseless energy and inventiveness.’
The winner will be announced on May 15. Find out more about all the shortlisted writers here.
The Shortlist
- Rapture’s Road by Seán Hewitt (Jonathon Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House) – poetry collection (UK/Ireland)
- Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree, Penguin Random House) – novel (Ireland)
- The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking, Penguin Random House UK) – novel (The Netherlands)
- I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson (Faber & Faber) – novel (UK)
- Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams (4th Estate) – short story collection (UK)
- The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (Footnote Press) – novel (Palestine)
