Skip to main content

BUZZ: RACHEL TREZISE TO JUDGE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2011


RACHEL TREZISE TO JUDGE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2011

BY SUSIE WILD ⋅ JUNE 2, 2011 ⋅ POST A COMMENT
FILED UNDER  , , , , , 
At an event to unveil the judges for this year’s prestigious literary competition at Hay Festival last night it was announced that Rachel Trezise, the first winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize,  is to join this year’s judging panel.
Literary luminaries gathered for a champagne reception in Richard Booth’s famous Bookshop in the Town of Books to hear readings by two of the three former winners ofthe University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize — US poet Elyse Fenton, who won the £30,000 prize last year for Clamor, her debut collection of 21st century war poetry; and Rachel Trezise from Rhondda, the 2006 winner of the competition for her gritty collection of short stories Fresh Apples.
Peter Florence, creator and director of the Hay Festival and of the international programme of Hay Festivals, is to continue to chair the international panel of judges. He will also be joined by literary scholar Kurt Heinzelman, who is Professor of English at the University of Texas; Dr Mererid Hopwood, a National Eisteddfod Bardic Chair winner and who is also an acclaimed poet, linguist, academic and TV presenter; and Dr Kim Howells, former Pontypridd MP and Foreign Office Minister.
Also on the panel will be the Daily Telegraphcolumnist and novelist Allison Pearson; and broadcaster, columnist and former history lecturer Professor Peter Stead.
Commenting on the event, Peter Stead, who is also the Prize chairman, said:
“Elyse’s was an astonishing, fully accomplished book of huge ambition and spectacular delivery and we were delighted to discover this new poetic talent, while Rachel’s collection was exceptional and focused the eyes of the world on the brilliance of Welsh writers.
“The excellence of their work is beyond question and stands out as examples of what the University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize is about – wonderfully evocative writing that the great man himself would have been proud to produce.
“I’m sure that this year’s entries will match up to the standards set by their predecessors, and the panel is really looking forward to seeing what the latest batch of young writers have created.”
The £30,000 University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize is awarded to the best eligible published or produced literary work in the English language, written by an author under 30 years of age. The competition is open to authors from around the world and the winner will be announced at the final awards ceremony in Swansea on November 9.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buzz Blog: The Passion | Stage Review

> REVIEWS THE PASSION | STAGE REVIEW BY  SUSIE WILD   ⋅  APRIL 27, 2011  ⋅   POST A COMMENT FILED UNDER    MICHAEL SHEEN ,  PORT TALBOT ,  THE PASSION **** Various locations, Port Talbot Fri 22 – Sun 24 April Cast includes: Michael Sheen, Matthew Aubrey, Nigel Barrett, Francine Morgan and Matthew Woodyatt. Michael Sheen became a Messiah of his home town over the Easter weekend with his leading role in a 72-hour epic retelling of The Passion, yet is was Port Talbot that was the real star of the show. For the sheer numbers in the audience (6000+), and national and international press attention  The Passion  is an ambitious event sure to go down in folklore. Two years in the planning and several months in community build up,  National Theatre Wales  joined forces with Cornwall’s  WildWorks  to create a multi-platform delivery of an age-old tale co-directed by local-boy-done-good  Michael Sheen  and the innovative  Bill Mitchell . In this version of The Passion, poet and author  Owen S
Post a Comment
Read more

Gig Alert: Bad Ideas\Chemicals Cosmic Relaunch

I'll be reading a few poems at Lloyd Markham's event at the Full Moon with other performers and musicians... Come along! Here's the poster: Following that I will be giving a lunchtime reading at Can Openers in Bristol on 1 December, and then hosting and reading at Brown's Poems & Pints in Laugharne on 7 December... Then I'm taking a little festive season break before returning with gigs in Carmarthen, Bristol, Cardiff, Newport and more in 2018. Susie x
Post a Comment
Read more

The Lonely Crowd: Susie Wild On Writing ‘Looks Like Rain’

' It began with the opening image. I usually start stories or poems with an image, a line or a character. I’m a visual learner, an introvert observer of others. Knowing I’d agreed to write this piece I’ve been racking my brain and notebooks for the seed that planted the first page.' Read the article in full on The Lonely Crowd  website. My story 'Looks Like Rain' is in the new Spring 2016 Issue, out now. I'll be reading it at the Little Man launch in Cardiff on 20th May.
Post a Comment
Read more