IRISH author Seán Hewitt has made the longlist for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize for the second year running.
Born in Warrington, to parents from England and Ireland, Hewitt is a poet, memoirist, novelist and literary critic.
He is among a 12-strong longlist for the 2026 prize, which is worth £20k to the winner.
Author Seán Hewitt was born in Warrington, to parents from England and IrelandHewitt is nominated for his debut novel Open, Heaven.
The book tells the tale of two sixteen-year-old boys who transform each other’s lives in a remote village in the North of England
Last year he was nominated for his poetry collection Rapture's Road.
He went on to make the shortlist for the prize, but it was ultimately won by Palestinian author Yasmin Zaher for her debut novel The Coin.
The annual award celebrates international works of fiction, in all its forms - including poetry, novels, short stories and drama, by writers aged 39 and under.
This year’s longlist features authors hailing from the UK, US, Ireland, Pakistan and Nigeria.
The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas who died at the age of 39.
With an average age of 32, this year’s nominees consists of seven novels, three poetry collections and two short story collections.
The shortlist will be revealed on March 19 and the winner will be announced on May 14 at a ceremony in Swansea.
