Oxford authors nominated for prestigious £20k literary prize

The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, worth £20,000, recognises exceptional literary talent aged 39 or younger.

It celebrates 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, who died at the age of 39 in 1953.

It invokes his memory to support the writers of today, nurture the talents of tomorrow, and celebrate international literary excellence.

Among the longlisted authors is Jo Hamya, who studied at Oxford University.

Jo Hamya (Image: Sophie Davidson) She is in the running for her second novel, The Hypocrite, which considers the fractured dynamic between a father and daughter unravelling over a decade and has also been shortlisted for the Nero Fiction Award 2024.

The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya (Image: Sophie Davidson) Also on the list is Eley Williams, who is based in Oxford.

The Granta Best Young British Novelist is recognised for her new collection Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good, exploring the nature of relationships both intimate and transient.

The longlist comprises eight novels, two short story collections, and two poetry collections.

Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams (Image: Swansea University) The other longlisted authors are Mosab Abu Toha for his poetry collection Forest of Noise, Emma Glass for her novel Mrs Jekyll, Seán Hewitt for his poetry collection Rapture's Road, Ferdia Lennon for his novel Glorious Exploits, Andrew McMillan for his novel Pity, Lottie Mills for her short story collection Monstrum, Ruthvika Rao for her novel The Fertile Earth, Yael van der Wouden for her novel The Safekeep, Yasmin Zaher for her novel The Coin, and Rebecca Watson for her novel I Will Crash.

This year sees one of the youngest nominated writers in contention for the prize, winner of the BBC Young Writers' Award, Lottie Mills, aged 23 - who is in the running for her debut short story collection Monstrum.

Monstrum is a gothic series of tales that captures the experience of characters excluded by a society that cannot accept their difference, and is inspired by her own experiences of living with cerebral palsy and lupus.

Award-winning Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha is celebrated for Forest of Noise, a collection of poems about life in Gaza, sharing first-hand experiences of family, loss, and courage from a live war zone.

Mosab Abu Toha (Image: Mohamed Mahdy) There is a second Palestinian writer amongst the eight novelists longlisted - Yasmin Zaher - who explores identity and heritage in her debut book The Coin, in which she draws on her own experiences to dissect nature and civilisation, beauty and justice, class, and belonging.

The poet Andrew McMillan has been recognised for his first novel Pity, which is set across three generations of a South Yorkshire mining family.

Andrew McMillan (Image: Sophie Davidson) The longlisted titles will now be whittled down to a six-strong shortlist by a panel of judges chaired by Namita Gokhale, the Indian writer of more than 25 works of fiction and non-fiction.

She will be joined by Professor Daniel Williams, director of the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales and co-director of the Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales at Swansea University, novelist and writer Jan Carson, Mary Jean Chan, who has won the Costa Book Award and was formerly shortlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, and Max Liu, literary critic and contributor to the Financial Times, the i and BBC Radio 4.

Namita Gokhale (Image: Swansea University) Last year's prize was awarded to Caleb Azumah Nelson for his second novel, Small Worlds.

Previous winners also include Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi.

The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist will be announced on Thursday, March 20, followed by a shortlist celebration at the British Library on Wednesday, May 14, which is International Dylan Thomas Day.

The winner’s ceremony will be held in Swansea on Thursday, May 15.