Swansea University has revealed the longlist for its Dylan Thomas Prize, given annually to “the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under.”
Colwill Brown made the longlist for We Pretty Pieces of Flesh, which was recently longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award and also shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.
Brown’s book is one of seven novels to be longlisted, along with Harriet Armstrong’s To Rest Our Minds and Bodies; Seán Hewitt’s Open, Heaven; Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo’s The Tiny Things Are Heavier; Derek Owusu’s Borderline Fiction; Issa Quincy’s Absence; and Saba Sams’ Gunk.
Two short story collections made the longlist: Kanza Javed’s What Remains After a Fire and Vanessa Santos’ Make a Home of Me. Three poetry collections were also longlisted: Isabelle Baafi’s Chaotic Good, Sasha Debevec-McKenney’s Joy Is My Middle Name, and Suzannah V. Evans’ Under the Blue.
The Dylan Thomas Prize, named for the Welsh poet and playwright, was first awarded in 2006. Previous winners include Nam Le for The Boat, Claire Vaye Watkins for Battleborn, and Yasmin Zaher for The Coin.
The shortlist for the award, which comes with a cash prize of 20,000 British pounds (about $27,000), will be announced on March 19. The winner will be revealed on May 14 at a ceremony in Swansea, Wales.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
