The International Dylan Thomas Prize has announced five guest judges to be added to the existing panel for the 2020 award. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the largest purse for young writers in the world. Joining Prize Chairman Professor Dai Smith and Directror of Creative Writing at the University of Austin, Texas, Professor Kurt Heinzelman, will be award-winning writer and founder of Jaipur Literature Festival Namita Gokhale, author and 2011 winner of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize Lucy Caldwell; British-Ghanaian writer, poet and critic Bridget Minamore; Ian McMillan, celebrated writer and presenter of BBC Radio 3’s “The Verb”; and national arts and culture journalist Max Liu.
Previous winners have included Guy Gunaratne and Max Porter. The longlist will be announced on the 24th January at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, followed by the shortlist on the 7th April and the winners’ ceremony will be held in Swansea on International Dylan Thomas Day (14th May).
Launched in 2006, the annual Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize is one of the most prestigious awards for young writers, aimed at encouraging raw creative talent worldwide. It celebrates and nurtures international literary excellence.
The £30,000 Prize is awarded to the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under.
