The longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2026 has been announced, highlighting an international group of young writers from the UK, US, Ireland, Pakistan and Nigeria.
Worth £20,000, the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize is the world’s largest and most prestigious literary award for writers aged 39 and under.
Named after Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas, the prize celebrates excellence across fiction in all its forms, including novels, poetry, short stories and drama, while supporting the next generation of literary talent.
This year’s longlist has an average age of 32 and includes seven novels, three poetry collections and two short story collections. Seven of the twelve nominated titles are debut works, making it one of the freshest longlists in recent years and reflecting the prize’s focus on emerging voices in contemporary literature.
The longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2026 is:
- Harriet Armstrong, To Rest Our Minds and Bodies (Les Fugitives) – novel
- Isabelle Baafi, Chaotic Good (Faber) – poetry
- Colwill Brown, We Pretty Pieces of Flesh (Chatto & Windus, Vintage) – novel
- Sasha Debevec-McKenney, Joy Is My Middle Name (Fitzcarraldo Editions) – poetry
- Suzannah V. Evans, Under the Blue (Bloomsbury Poetry) – poetry
- Seán Hewitt, Open, Heaven (Jonathan Cape, Vintage) – novel
- Kanza Javed, What Remains After a Fire (W.W. Norton & Company) – short stories
- Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, The Tiny Things Are Heavier (Manilla Press, Bonnier Books) – novel
- Derek Owusu, Borderline Fiction (Canongate) – novel
- Issa Quincy, Absence (Granta) – novel
- Saba Sams, Gunk (Bloomsbury Circus) – novel
- Vanessa Santos, Make a Home of Me (Dead Ink Books) – short stories
Three of the longlisted writers have previously been recognised by the prize, including Seán Hewitt, Saba Sams and Derek Owusu, reflecting their continued contribution to contemporary literature.
The novels on the list explore themes ranging from migration, grief and identity to adolescence, love and memory, while the poetry and short story collections offer bold examinations of power, desire, care, horror and social marginalisation.
The longlist will now be narrowed to a six-title shortlist by a judging panel chaired by Irenosen Okojie MBE, alongside Joe Dunthorne, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Prajwal Parajuly and Eley Williams.
Last year’s prize was awarded to Palestinian writer Yasmin Zaher for her novel The Coin, and previous winners include Caleb Azumah Nelson, Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Fiona McFarlane, and Kayo Chingonyi.
Read more: Oxford writer in shortlist for world’s largest and most prestigious literary prize
The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 19 March 2026, followed by a celebration event in London on 13 May, with the overall winner revealed on International Dylan Thomas Day, 14 May, at a ceremony in Swansea.
