The longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2022 has been revealed today, February 3, 2022. Here are the writers of African descent in the running.
Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer who became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his premature death at the age of 39. The International Dylan Thomas Prize aimed at encouraging raw creative talent worldwide was set up by the Swansea University in his honour. The £20,000 Prize is awarded annually to the best published or produced literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under. Past winners include Fiona McFarlane, Max Porter, Joshua Ferris, Claire Vaye Watkins, Maggie Shipstead, and Rachel Trezise. In 2018, Kayo Chingonyi went home with the honours while Raven Leilani won the 2021 edition.
The 2022 jury for the award is chaired by co-founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival and award-winning author Namita Gokhale. She is joined by a panel of novelist, playwright, and winner of the 2006 Dylan Thomas Prize Rachel Trezise, celebrated Poet and novelist Luke Kennard who recently won the 2021 Forward poetry prize, novelist and Swansea University lecturer Alan Bilton, and Nigerian British author Irenosen Okojie.
From Sri Lanka to Trinidad, Texas, and Ireland via the Middle East, this year’s longlist features a powerful, international collection of writers who are offering platforms for under-represented voices. The longlist of twelve features the following six writers of African descent;
- What Noise Against the Cane, Desiree Bailey (Yale University Press)
- The Sweetness of Water, Nathan Harris (Tinder Press/Headline)
- Milk Blood Heat, Dantiel W. Moniz (Atlantic Books)
- Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking, Penguin General)
- Peaces, Helen Oyeyemi (Faber)
- Filthy Animals, Brandon Taylor (Daunt Books Publishing)
The shortlist will be announced on the March 31 followed by the Winner’s Ceremony held in Swansea on May 12, two days before International Dylan Thomas Day.
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