{"id":16169,"date":"2024-03-21T22:16:35","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T21:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/?p=16169"},"modified":"2024-03-21T22:24:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T21:24:41","slug":"lagos-novelist-ayobami-adebayo-shortlisted-for-worlds-most-prestigious-literary-prize-for-young-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedailyleaks.com\/lagos-novelist-ayobami-adebayo-shortlisted-for-worlds-most-prestigious-literary-prize-for-young-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lagos novelist Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2 shortlisted for world\u2019s most prestigious literary prize for young writers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u2022 As independent publishers dominate shortlist for Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2024<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Thursday 21 March 2024 — <\/strong>The shortlist for the world\u2019s largest and most prestigious literary prize for young writers \u2013 the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize \u2013 has been revealed today.<\/p>\n Among the top writers shortlisted includes Lagos novelist Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2 for her compelling and at-times heartbreaking novel A Spell of Good Things.<\/i><\/p>\n The prize features six extraordinary, emerging voices whose writing plays with formal inventiveness to explore the timeless themes of grief, identity and family.<\/p>\n Comprising of four novels, one short story collection and one poetry collection \u2013 with five titles belonging\u00a0to independent publishers\u00a0\u2013 this year\u2019s international shortlist is:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A Spell of Good Things<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2\u00a0<\/strong>(Canongate Books)\u00a0\u2013 novel (Nigeria)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Small Worlds\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>by\u00a0Caleb Azumah Nelson<\/strong>\u00a0(Viking, Penguin Random House UK)\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 novel (UK\/Ghana)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Glutton<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0A. K. Blakemore<\/strong>\u00a0(Granta)\u00a0\u2013 novel (England, UK)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bright Fear<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Mary Jean Chan<\/strong>\u00a0(Faber & Faber)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0poetry collection (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Local Fires<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Joshua Jones<\/strong>\u00a0(Parthian Books)\u00a0\u2013\u00a0short story collection (Wales, UK)<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Biography of X<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Catherine Lacey<\/strong> (Granta)\u00a0\u2013 novel (US)<\/p>\n Worth \u00a320,000, this global accolade recognises exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under, celebrating 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 and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity. The prize invokes his memory to support the writers of today, nurture the talents of tomorrow, and celebrate international literary excellence.<\/p>\n Namita Gokhale, Chair of Judges<\/strong>, said:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize has an important role to play in recognising, supporting and nurturing young writers across a rich diversity of locations and genres. The 2024 shortlist has authors from the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Nigeria and Ghana, and it has been a truly rewarding adventure to immersively read through this creative spectrum of voices.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The only debut on this year\u2019s shortlist is the astonishing new Welsh talent\u00a0Joshua Jones<\/strong>, who is in the running for his highly acclaimed short story collection\u00a0Local Fires<\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a stunning series of multifaceted stories\u00a0inspired by real people and real events that took place in his hometown of Llanelli, South Wales.<\/p>\n ALSO READ:\u00a0Omolara Ogunmakinju claims gold for Nigeria in 4x400m mixed relay at African games<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The sole poet in contention this year is\u00a0Mary Jean Chan<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 who was previously shortlisted for the Prize with their debut\u00a0Fleche\u00a0<\/em>in 2020 \u2013 and is now recognised for the collection\u00a0Bright Fear,\u00a0<\/em>which fearlessly explores themes of identity, multilingualism and postcolonial legacy.<\/p>\n Three of the four novelists have also gained their second nomination for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize: British-Ghanaian\u00a0author\u00a0Caleb Azumah Nelson<\/strong>\u00a0is in contention for his second novel,\u00a0Small Worlds,\u00a0<\/em>in which he travels from South London to Ghana and back again over the course of three summers to tell an intimate father-son story exploring the worlds we build for ourselves; Nigerian novelist\u00a0Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2\u00a0<\/strong>is shortlisted for her dazzling story of modern Nigeria,\u00a0A Spell of Good Things<\/em>, and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption; and\u00a0US author\u00a0Catherine Lacey<\/strong>\u00a0is celebrated for the genre-bending\u00a0Biography of X,\u00a0<\/em>a roaring epic and ambitious novel chronicling the life, times and secrets of a notorious artist.<\/p>\n Completing the shortlist is\u00a0British novelist\u00a0A.K. Blakemore<\/strong>, recognised for her darkly exuberant novel\u00a0The Glutton<\/em>, which \u2013 set to the backdrop of Revolutionary France \u2013 is based on the true story of a peasant turned freakshow attraction.<\/p>\n The 2024 shortlist was selected by a judging panel chaired by writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival,\u00a0Namita Gokhale<\/strong>, alongside author and lecturer in Creative Writing at Swansea University,\u00a0Jon Gower<\/strong>, winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2022 and Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin,\u00a0Se\u00e1n Hewitt<\/strong>, former BBC Gulf Correspondent and author of\u00a0Telling Tales: An Oral History of Dubai<\/em>,\u00a0Julia Wheeler<\/strong>, and interdisciplinary artist and author of\u00a0Keeping the House<\/em>,\u00a0Tice Cin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Julia Wheeler<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0A Spell of Good Things<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cA Spell of Good Things\u2019 by Ay\u00f2b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u00f2 takes us deep into the layers of Nigeria\u2019s divided society to create a compelling and at times heartbreaking novel.\u00a0 Weaving social mores and destructive politics, the personal and the national are entwined to leave skilfully drawn characters wondering, what next?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Tice Cin<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0Small Worlds\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>by\u00a0Caleb Azumah Nelson<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cIn this deeply loving and rhythmically moving novel, we meet Stephen and his own small worlds, those lives that are ever-present in our orbiting. Paying close attention to a loneliness that comes with the no man’s land of being hurtled from one’s safe place, Azumah Nelson conveys elsewhereness as a solace, resting into the hand outreached that brings us home, the afterblooms of our grief, and the music of community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Jon Gower<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0The Glutton<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>by\u00a0A. K. Blakemore<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cThis wildly inventive but deeply well-researched novel is distinguished by vivid, poetic prose, telling the story of Tarare, a young man cursed with an unsatiable hunger. Its superbly rendered cast of characters move through a violently changing France and a world fully out of kilter. Glutton, utterly satisfying, leaves the reader hungry for more.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Tice Cin<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0Bright Fear<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Mary Jean Chan<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cWritten with a quiet intimacy, Mary Jean Chan’s second collection hums by your ear with gentle, inviting and formally inventive poetry. In a world freighted with exclusion, from the relentless snarls of colonisation to queerphobia, Bright Fear opens the door into a process of building a life for yourself, still. With lucid verse enhanced through their multilingual play, Chan tends to a garden of self-embrace and chosen community, lingering with the fullness of queer actualisation, the breath in a parent’s pause, and the roots of tender soothing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Namita Gokhale<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0Local Fires<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Joshua Jones<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cLocal Fires by Joshua Jones is set in his hometown of Llanelli in West Wakes. This debut collection of short fiction evokes the inertia, stagnation, and vanished innocence of a post-industrial landscape. It ruminates upon toxic masculinity and generational despair, presents comic to tragic cameos of gender and sexual identity, and also a deep window to neurodivergence. A portrait of place and community that is vital, authentic and rooted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Se\u00e1n Hewitt<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on\u00a0Biography of X<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0by\u00a0Catherine Lacey<\/strong>:<\/p>\n \u201cBiography of X, in its exploration of art, relationships, and power, unpicks the stories we tell about our own lives and the lives of others, and asks what happens when we have to re-write those stories in order to go on living. A deeply-imagined, ambitious and beautiful novel that manages to pull off a formal high-wire act with dazzling skill.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The winner of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2024 will be revealed at a ceremony held in Swansea on Thursday 16 May, following International Dylan Thomas Day on Tuesday 14 May.<\/p>\n Previous winners include Arinze Ifeakandu,\u00a0<\/strong>Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2022 As independent publishers dominate shortlist for Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2024 Thursday 21 March 2024 — The shortlist for the world\u2019s largest and most prestigious literary prize for young writers \u2013 the Swansea […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,19,2],"tags":[],"coauthors":[25],"class_list":{"0":"post-16169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-culture","8":"category-education","9":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n