Two Irish writers nominated for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize 2025

The longlist for the literary award for young writers, the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, has been released.

Among the twelve names are two Irish writers, Seán Hewitt, for his poetry collection Rapture's Road; and Ferdia Lennon, for his novel Glorious Exploits.

Hewitt has previously received the Laurel Prize and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. His poetry collection Rapture's Road explores the reciprocal relationship between queer sexuality and the natural world.

Glorious Exploits is Lennon's first novel  and was a Sunday Times bestseller. It was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and won the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024. The story is a historical fiction comedy set in ancient Sicily, exploring brotherhood, war and art.

“Sicily was an island colonised by mainland Greece a few hundred years before the novel is set," he explained in an interview with Hot Press. "So I thought, well if I want to convey this varied culture and society, a metaphor of Ireland could work."

The Dylan Thomas prize is worth £20,000, and recognises literary talent aged 39 or under. It considers all types of literature, including, poetry, novels, short stories, and drama. The award is in memory of Welsh writer Dylan Thomas, who died when he was just 39-years-old.

The longlisted titles will soon be whittled down to a six strong shortlist, to be revealed on March 20. The winner’s announcement and award ceremony will be held in Swansea on Thursday 15 May.

This year the nominations comprise eight novels, two short story collections, and two poetry collections.

Check out the longlist below:

• Mosab Abu Toha, Forest of Noise (Fourth Estate) - poetry collection (Palestinian)
• Emma Glass, Mrs Jekyll (Cheerio Publishing) - novel (British)
• Jo Hamya, The Hypocrite (Orion Books, W&N) - novel (British)
• Seán Hewitt, Rapture's Road (Jonathan Cape) - poetry collection (British-Irish)
• Ferdia Lennon, Glorious Exploits (Fig Tree, PRH) - novel (Irish)
• Andrew McMillan, Pity (Canongate) - novel (British)
• Lottie Mills, Monstrum (Oneworld Publications) - short story collection (British)
• Ruthvika Rao, The Fertile Earth (Oneworld Publications) - novel (Indian)
• Yael van der Wouden, The Safekeep (Viking, PRH) - novel (Dutch)
• Rebecca Watson, I Will Crash (Faber & Faber) - novel (British)
• Eley Williams, Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good (Fourth Estate) - short story collection (British)
• Yasmin Zaher, The Coin (Footnote Press) - novel (Palestinian)