TWO Irish authors have been announced among the shortlist for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.
The six-strong list includes Seán Hewitt, who is nominated for his poetry collection Rapture's Road, and Ferdia Lennon, for his debut novel Glorious Exploits.
Born in Warrington, to parents from England and Ireland, Hewitt is a poet, memoirist, novelist and literary critic.
Seán Hewitt has been shortlisted for his poetry collection Rapture's RoadHis debut poetry collection Tongues of Fire won The Laurel Prize in 2021 and was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award.
Rapture’s Road has been shortlisted for the author’s ability to create “luminous nightscapes, haunted by love and loss, [which] carry the assurance of rigorous craft”.
“The road Hewitt takes us on is a sleepwalk into the nightwoods, a dream-state where nature is by turns regenerated and broken, and where the split self of the speaker is interrupted by a series of ghosts, memories and encounters,” a spokesperson for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize said today as the 2025 shortlist was announced.
Lennon’s Glorious Exploits take readers on a journey through time to Sicily in 412BC.
The story “combines an ancient setting with a contemporary idiom” the award judges state.
The Dubliner, who is now based in Norwich, has already seen his debut adapted for BBC Radio 4 and it was also the winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024
The pair are now in the running for the prestigious Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, which is worth £20k to the winner.
Ferdia Lennon is shortlisted for his debut novel Glorious Exploits (Pic: Conor Horgan)Named after the Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas, the prize recognises “exceptional literary talent” of authors aged 39 or under, while “celebrating the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama”.
“The range and depth of this year's vibrant longlist made for compelling reading,” Namita Gokhale, chair of the judges, said today.
“It was truly a challenge for the jury to hone in on the final shortlist,” she added.
“The 2025 shortlist is varied and diverse: from ancient Sicily to tremulous nightwoods, it encompasses the historical, the contemporary, and the timeless through novels, short stories and poetry, showcasing startlingly fresh writing, style and energy.”
Yael van der Wouden is also on the shortlist, for her novel The Safekeep, alongside Rebecca Watson for I Will Crash, Eley Williams for her short story collection Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good and Yasmin Zaher for her novel The Coin
The winner will be announced at an award ceremony due to be held in Swansea on May 15.
