Camilla Grudova author of The Coiled Serpent has been named on the longest for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.
The work is a short story collection by the Edinburgh-based author. Grudova is the third Granta Best Young British Novelist 2023 to be nominated. Through a series of surreal tales she exposes the absurdity behind contemporary ideas of work, Britishness and art-making.
This is a prestigious literary award for young writers and those who are being considered include writers from the UK, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, US, Canada and Hong Kong. This year’s list is dominated by independent publishers.
The longlist of 12 is:
– A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò (Canongate Books) – novel (Nigeria)
– Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking, Penguin Random House UK) – novel (UK/Ghana)
– The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore (Granta) – novel (England, UK)
– Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan (Faber & Faber) – poetry collection (Hong Kong)
– Penance by Eliza Clark (Faber & Faber) – novel (England, UK)
– The Coiled Serpent by Camilla Grudova (Atlantic Books) – short story collection (Canada)
– Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein (Bloomsbury Publishing UK/Ecco, HarperCollins US) – novel (Trinidad and Tobago)
– Local Fires by Joshua Jones (Parthian Books) – short story collection (Wales, UK)
– Biography of X by Catherine Lacey (Granta) – novel (US)
– Close to Home by Michael Magee (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK) – novel (Northern Ireland, UK)
– Open Up by Thomas Morris (Faber & Faber) – short story collection (Wales, UK)
– Divisible by Itself and One by Kae Tempest (Picador, Pan Macmillan) – poetrycollection (England, UK)
The list includes seven novels, three short story collections and two poetry collections, this year’s longlist spans continents and time periods to explore themes of adversity, identity, home and love.
The longlisted titles will now be whittled down to a six strong shortlist by an impressive panel of judges chaired by acclaimed author of 23 books – including the forthcoming Never Never Land – and co-founder and co-director of the famed 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 and Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, Seán Hewitt, former BBC Gulf Correspondent and author of Telling Tales: An Oral History of Dubai, Julia Wheeler, and interdisciplinary 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.
The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist will be announced on Thursday 21 March followed by the Winner’s Ceremony held in Swansea on Thursday 16 May, following International Dylan Thomas Day on Tuesday 14 May
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
