The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published writers in the English language under the age of forty. The prize was originally awarded biennially but became an annual award in 2010. Entries for the prize are submitted by the publisher, editor, or agent; for theatre plays and screenplays, by the producer.
A Dylan Thomas literary prize was first awarded during the 1980s, known as the Dylan Thomas Award, following the campaign to have a plaque in the poet's memory placed in Westminster Abbey., The Dylan Prize website Surplus income from a fund-raising concert sponsored by the television company HTV were donated to allow a prize of £1,000 to be awarded annually. After several years, the prize was discontinued for lack of finance. It was revived, in a different form, in 2004, sponsored by Electronic Data Systems, at that time one of Swansea's largest employers.New Writing International, 22 Sept 2006
The prize honours its shortlisted finalists and annual winner for published work in the broad range of literary forms in which Dylan Thomas excelled, including poetry, prose, fictional drama, short story collections, novels, novellas, stage plays and screenplays. “We want the world to be aware of the Welsh interest in promoting new writing. Our Prize provides an inspiration for a whole new generation of writers throughout the English-speaking world,” said Peter Stead, Chair of The Dylan Thomas Prize.
Recipients +Dylan Thomas Prize recipientsYearAuthorTitlePublisherResultRef.2006Fresh ApplesWinnerOutside ValentineShortlistThe Amnesia ClinicUnfeelingUtterly Monkey and To a FaultWhere They Were Missed2008The BoatWinnerBlackmoorShortlistBlood KinChildren of the RevolutionGod's Own CountryTrouble Came to the Turnip2010ClamorWinnerAnd This Is TrueShortlistBlack Mamba BoyFamily PlanningThe RehearsalWatering Can2011The Meeting PointWinnerFolkShortlistMy Sister Lives on the MantelpieceThe Evolution of Bruno LittlemoreThe Tiger's Wife2012Seating ArrangementsWinnerOnce You Break A KnuckleShortlistThe Doll PrincessThe Spider King's DaughterThe White Shadow2013BattlebornWinnerBeneath the Darkening SkyShortlistCall It DogLand Where I FleeSins of the LeopardThe Last King of LydiaThe Shape of a Forest2014To Rise Again at a Decent HourWinnerA Girl Is a Half-formed ThingShortlist"2014 shortlist announced for International Dylan Thomas Prize" , Swansea University.MametzMrs. HemingwaySnow in MayThe Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to ZionThe Luminaries2016Grief Is the Thing with FeathersWinnerDisinformationShortlist"£30k Dylan Thomas prize shortlist for young writers revealed" , BBC News, Wales, 22 March 2016.PhysicalPondThe Tusk that did the DamageThe Year of the Runaways2017The High PlacesFarrar, Straus & GirouxWinnerThe Story of a Brief Marriage ShortlistPigeonParthian BooksCainPenned in the MarginsThe Essex SerpentSerpent's TailDog Run Moon: StoriesGrantaCannibalUniversity of Nebraska PressLonglist"Longlist announced for the 2017 International Dylan Thomas Prize" , Swansea University.Here I AmFarrar, Straus & GirouxHomegoingAlfred A. KnopfThe Fat Artist and Other StoriesPicador / Farrar, Straus and GirouxThe Outside LandsPicador / Farrar, Straus and GirouxWhat Is Not Yours Is Not YoursPicador / Farrar, Straus and Giroux2018KumukandaChatto & WindusWinnerConversations with FriendsFaber & FaberShortlistFirst LoveGrantaHer Body and Other PartiesGraywolf PressIdahoVintage BooksMy Absolute DarlingFourth Estate / HarperCollins2019In Our Mad and Furious CityTinder Press / Headline Publishing GroupWinnerFolkBloomsbury PublishingShortlistFriday BlackHoughton Mifflin Harcourt (US); Riverrun (UK)House of StoneAtlantic BooksMelmothSerpent's TailTrinityEcco PressEye LevelGraywolf PressLonglistHoldFourth Estate / HarperCollinsHow the Light Gets InInflux PressNormal PeopleFaber & FaberPeachBloomsbury PublishingSohoFaber & Faber2020LotAtlantic BooksWinnerFlècheFaber & FaberShortlistIf All the World and Love Were YoungPenguin Random HouseInlandWeidenfeld & NicolsonOn Earth We're Briefly GorgeousJonathan Cape / Vintage BooksSurgeChatto & WindusBlack Car BurningChatto & WindusLonglistExquisite CadaversAtlantic BooksStubborn ArchivistFleet Publishing / Little, Brown and CompanyThe Far FieldAtlantic BooksThings We Say in the DarkHarvill Secker / Vintage BooksVirtuosoSerpent's Tail2021LusterPicador / Farrar, Straus and GirouxWinnerAlligator and Other StoriesPicador / Farrar, Straus and GirouxShortlistKingdomtideFourth Estate / HarperCollinsMy Dark VanessaFourth Estate / HarperCollinsPewGrantaThe Death of Vivek OjiFaber & FaberAntiemetic for HomesicknessChatto & WindusLonglistExciting TimesWeidenfeld & NicolsonIf I Had Your FaceViking / Penguin Random HouseRendangGrantaThe Wild LaughterOneworld PublicationsWho They WasFourth Estate / HarperCollins2022No One Is Talking About ThisBloomsbury PublishingWinnerOpen WaterViking PressShortlistThe Sweetness of WaterTinder Press / Headline Publishing GroupFilthy AnimalsDaunt Books PublishingAuguries of a Minor GodFaber & FaberA Passage NorthGrantaLonglistActs of DesperationJonathan CapeHot StewJohn Murray PressKeeping the HouseAnd Other StoriesMilk Blood HeatAtlantic BooksPeacesFaber & FaberWhat Noise Against the CaneYale University Press2023God's Children Are Little Broken ThingsWinnerBless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her HeadShortlistI'm a FanSend NudesSeven SteeplesLimberlost2024Small WorldsWinnerA Spell of Good ThingsShortlistThe GluttonBright FearLocal FiresBiography of X 2025 Winner Rapture's Road — Shortlist Glorious Exploits — The Safekeep — I Will Crash — Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good — 2026 Joy is My Middle Name Fitzcarraldo Editions Winner To Rest Our Minds and Bodies Les FugitivesShortlist We Pretty Pieces of Flesh Chatto & Windus Under the Blue Bloomsbury Publishing Open, Heaven Jonathan Cape Borderline Fiction Canongate Books
References
External links The Dylan Thomas Prize, official website