Writers based in Cork and Dublin longlisted for literary prize worth €22.7k
Sara Baume and Ciarán O'Rourke have been longlisted for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize
Two Irish writers have been longlisted for a literary prize worth £20,000 (€22.7k).
Sara Baume, who is based in West Cork, and Dublin-based Ciarán O'Rourke (based in Dublin) are in the running for this year’s Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, one of the world’s largest literary awards for young writers.
The prize celebrates fiction in all its forms and is awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under.
Ciarán O'Rourke’s longlisted poetry collection, Phantom Gang, considers global inequalities from the context of his homeland, and Sara Baume depicts a young couple’s attempts to disappear into the Irish countryside in Seven Steeples.
The longlist of 12 authors includes people from the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Lebanon and Australia, and is an even split of debut and established names.
This year’s longlist comprises eight novels, two poetry collections and two short story collections, and totalling eight of the 12 nominations, female voices dominate. The longlisted works are:
- Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (Atlantic Books) – novel (Australia)
- Seven Steeples by Sara Baume (Tramp Press) – novel (Ireland)
- God's Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu (Orion, Weidenfeld & Nicolson) – short story collection (Nigeria)
- Maps Of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer (Picador, Pan Macmillan) – novel (UK)
- Phantom Gang by Ciarán O'Rourke (The Irish Pages Press) – poetry collection (Ireland)
- Things They Lost by Okwiri Oduor (Oneworld) – novel (Kenya)
- Losing the Plot by Derek Owusu (Canongate Books) – novel (UK)
- I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel (Rough Trade Books) – novel (UK)
- Send Nudes by Saba Sams (Bloomsbury Publishing) – short story collection (UK)
- Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire (Chatto & Windus) – poetry collection (Somalia-UK)
- Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens (Picador, Pan Macmillan) – novel (UK)
- No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib (Atlantic Books, Allen & Unwin) – novel (Lebanon)
The panel of judges is chaired by Books Editor for BBC Radio Di Speirs, alongside Welsh author Jon Gower, American author Maggie Shipstead, British poet Rachel Long, and Nepali-Indian author Prajwal Parajuly.
American poet, novelist and essayist Patricia Lockwood received the 2022 award for her debut novel, No One Is Talking About This, described by the judges as “a vital reflection on online culture today. A deeply timely winner, Patricia Lockwood is the voice of a generation of new writers who grew up under the constant pressures of real-time news and social media.”
The shortlist of six titles will be announced on Thursday, March 23 and the winner will be revealed on May 14.
