Latest news with #GloriousExploits
South Wales Argus
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Palestinian author Yasmin Zaher wins Dylan Thomas Prize
The prize is the world's largest and most prestigious literary award for young writers. The Coin, which was released in paperback on May 1, 2025, was chosen unanimously by the judging panel. It draws on Zaher's personal experiences to explore themes of identity and heritage. Namita Gokhale, chair of judges, said: "The judging panel was unanimous in their decision to name debut novelist Yasmin Zaher as the winner of the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. "Zaher brings complexity and intensity to the page through her elegantly concise writing: The Coin is a borderless novel, tackling trauma and grief with bold and poetic moments of quirkiness and humour. "It fizzes with electric energy." Zaher was awarded the £20,000 prize at a ceremony in Swansea on May 15. The prize celebrates exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under. The other shortlisted titles for the 2025 prize were Rapture's Road by Seán Hewitt, Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson, and Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams. The 2025 prize was judged by Namita Gokhale, Professor Daniel Williams, Jan Carson, Mary Jean Chan, and Max Liu. Yasmin Zaher joins a list of previous winners including Caleb Azumah Nelson, Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Maggie Shipstead, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi.
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Dylan Thomas Prize: Swansea University award 2025 shortlist named
Six young writers from across the world have been shortlisted for the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas award of £20,000 is given to writers aged 39 or younger for "exceptional" literary year's list includes writers from Palestine, the Netherlands, Ireland and the said the prize, in memory of the Swansea-born writer who died in 1953 at the age of 39, was the world's largest for young writers in the English language. The award celebrates the international world of fiction including poetry, novels, short stories and year's chairwoman of judges, Namita Gokhale, said: "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."The winner will be announced during a ceremony in Swansea on 15 winners include Caleb Azumah Nelson, Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi. The full shortlist is: Rapture's Road by Seán Hewitt - poetry collection (UK/Ireland) Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon - novel (Ireland)The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden - novel (The Netherlands) I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson - novel (UK)Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams - short story collection (UK)The Coin by Yasmin Zaher – novel (Palestine)
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Eley Williams and Ferdia Lennon shortlisted for Dylan Thomas prize
Eley Williams, Yael van der Wouden and Ferdia Lennon are among the young writers shortlisted for this year's Swansea University Dylan Thomas prize. Seán Hewitt, Yasmin Zaher and Rebecca Watson also made the shortlist for the £20,000 award, which celebrates fiction in any form – including novels, short stories, poetry and drama – by writers aged 39 or under in honour of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who died at that age. Rapture's Road by Seán Hewitt (Cape) Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree) The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking) I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson (Faber) Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams (4th Estate) The Coin by Yasmin Zaher (Footnote) The 'varied and diverse' shortlist 'encompasses the historical, the contemporary, and the timeless' and showcases 'startlingly fresh writing, style and energy', said writer and judging chair Namita Gokhale. Williams was chosen for Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good – the only short story collection on the list. In the 'concise masterpiece' of the title story, the announcer of the shipping forecast considers its significance to listeners, wrote Sarah Crown in her Guardian review. Van der Wouden made the shortlist for The Safekeep, which was also shortlisted for the 2024 Booker and is on the longlist for this year's Women's prize for fiction. The novel explores the postwar treatment of Jews in the Netherlands through a family drama. 'This is an impressive debut,' wrote Rachel Seiffert in her Guardian review. 'She creates and sustains atmospheres deftly, and ultimately delivers a thrilling story.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion Lennon was picked for his novel Glorious Exploits, which won the Waterstones debut fiction prize last summer. Set in Syracuse in 412BC in the aftermath of Athens' failed invasion of Sicily, the story follows two potters who decide to stage an adaptation of Medea in a quarry where Athenian soldiers are held captive, using the prisoners as actors. Hewitt's Rapture's Road, which explores love and loss, is the only poetry collection on this year's shortlist. 'Hewitt's poetry is a hide and seek of the self. It reveals and conceals', wrote Kate Kellaway in the Observer. Watson was shortlisted for I Will Crash, a novel narrated by a woman dealing with the death of her abusive brother. Completing the shortlist is Zaher's The Coin, about a wealthy Palestinian woman who gets involved in a pyramid scheme reselling designer Birkin bags. The six-strong shortlist was chosen from a longlist of 12, which also featured Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha, Mrs Jekyll by Emma Glass, The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya, Pity by Andrew McMillan, Monstrum by Lottie Mills, and The Fertile Earth by Ruthvika Rao. The winner will be announced on 15 May at a ceremony in Swansea, Thomas's birthplace. Joining Gokhale on the judging panel are writer Jan Carson, poet Mary Jean Chan, critic Max Liu and academic Daniel Williams. Past winners of the prize include Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter and Arinze Ifeakandu. Last year, Caleb Azumah Nelson won the award for his second novel, Small Worlds.
