Renowned actress and daughter of Richard Burton, Kate Burton, is one of a seven-strong panel of judges for this year's University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize, which today announced its 2010 longlist.
The panel, which is once again chaired by Hay Literature Festival founder Peter Florence, has selected a longlist of 16 literary works, which includes poetry, novels and a play. Spanning four continents, the selected writers hail from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa and Somalia, along with five from the UK.
The Prize, one of the largest of its kind for young writers, which is sponsored by the University of Wales and awarded annually, honours the internationally esteemed works of Dylan Thomas, and is open to any published writer in the English language under the age of thirty.
The sixteen literary works cover a range of topics, from divorce, love, relationships, war and racism. In her debut novel, The Rehearsal, New Zealander, Eleanor Catton, explores the controversial topic of an affair between a high school girl and her teacher.
In addition to Peter Florence and Kate Burton, the 2010 judging panel includes Kurt Heinzelman, Professor of English at the University of Texas, a founding Board member of the Dylan Thomas Prize and a judge in both 2006 and 2008; Cardiff-born Gwyneth Lewis, the award winning poet and journalist who was named as the first National Poet of Wales; Bruno Maddox, novelist and former reviewer for The New York Times and Editor-in-chief of Spy magazine; Natalie Moody, Chair of charitable organisation the Howard Gilman Foundation and Professor Peter Stead, Prize founder, historian, renowned broadcaster and cultural commentator.
The Longlist
Adebe D.A., 23 - Ex Nihilo (Frontenac House)
Caroline Bird, 23 - Watering Can (Carcanet)
Elyse Fenton, 29 - Clamor (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)
Katharine Kilalea, 28 - One Eye'd Leigh (Carcanet)
Dora Malech, 28 - Shore Ordered Ocean (The Waywiser Press)
Leanne O'Sullivan, 27 – Cailleach (Bloodaxe Books)
Johnny Mayer, 28 - American Volunteers (City on a Hill Productions)
Eleanor Catton, 24 - The Rehearsal (Portobello Books)
Brian DeLeeuw, 29 - In This Way I Was Saved (John Murray Publishers)
Ciara Hegarty, 29 - The Road to the Sea (Macmillan New Writing)
Emilie Mackie, 27 - And This is True (Sceptre)
Karan Mahajan, 26 - Family Planning (Harper Perennial)
Nadifa Mohamed, 28 - Black Mamba Boy (Harper Collins)
Amy Sackville, 29 - The Still Point (Portobello Books)
Ali Shaw, 28 - The Girl with Glass Feet (Atlantic Books)
Craig Silvey, 27 - Jasper Jones (Windmill Books (Random House)
More information here.
In this book, Rakesh Ahuja, a Government Minister in New Delhi, is beset by problems: thirteen children and another on the way; a wife who mourns the loss of her favorite TV star; and a teenaged son with some really strong opinions about family planning.
To make matters worse, looming over this comical farrago are secrets—both personal and political—that threaten to push the Ahuja household into disastrous turmoil. Following father and son as they blunder their way across the troubled landscape of New Delhi, Karan Mahajan brilliantly captures the frenetic pace of India's capital city to create a searing portrait of modern family life.
About the Author
Karan Mahajan was born in 1984 and grew up in New Delhi. A graduate of Stanford University, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Buy the book here.
The panel, which is once again chaired by Hay Literature Festival founder Peter Florence, has selected a longlist of 16 literary works, which includes poetry, novels and a play. Spanning four continents, the selected writers hail from as far afield as Canada, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa and Somalia, along with five from the UK.
The Prize, one of the largest of its kind for young writers, which is sponsored by the University of Wales and awarded annually, honours the internationally esteemed works of Dylan Thomas, and is open to any published writer in the English language under the age of thirty.
The sixteen literary works cover a range of topics, from divorce, love, relationships, war and racism. In her debut novel, The Rehearsal, New Zealander, Eleanor Catton, explores the controversial topic of an affair between a high school girl and her teacher.
In addition to Peter Florence and Kate Burton, the 2010 judging panel includes Kurt Heinzelman, Professor of English at the University of Texas, a founding Board member of the Dylan Thomas Prize and a judge in both 2006 and 2008; Cardiff-born Gwyneth Lewis, the award winning poet and journalist who was named as the first National Poet of Wales; Bruno Maddox, novelist and former reviewer for The New York Times and Editor-in-chief of Spy magazine; Natalie Moody, Chair of charitable organisation the Howard Gilman Foundation and Professor Peter Stead, Prize founder, historian, renowned broadcaster and cultural commentator.
The Longlist
Adebe D.A., 23 - Ex Nihilo (Frontenac House)
Caroline Bird, 23 - Watering Can (Carcanet)
Elyse Fenton, 29 - Clamor (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)
Katharine Kilalea, 28 - One Eye'd Leigh (Carcanet)
Dora Malech, 28 - Shore Ordered Ocean (The Waywiser Press)
Leanne O'Sullivan, 27 – Cailleach (Bloodaxe Books)
Johnny Mayer, 28 - American Volunteers (City on a Hill Productions)
Eleanor Catton, 24 - The Rehearsal (Portobello Books)
Brian DeLeeuw, 29 - In This Way I Was Saved (John Murray Publishers)
Ciara Hegarty, 29 - The Road to the Sea (Macmillan New Writing)
Emilie Mackie, 27 - And This is True (Sceptre)
Karan Mahajan, 26 - Family Planning (Harper Perennial)
Nadifa Mohamed, 28 - Black Mamba Boy (Harper Collins)
Amy Sackville, 29 - The Still Point (Portobello Books)
Ali Shaw, 28 - The Girl with Glass Feet (Atlantic Books)
Craig Silvey, 27 - Jasper Jones (Windmill Books (Random House)
More information here.
In this book, Rakesh Ahuja, a Government Minister in New Delhi, is beset by problems: thirteen children and another on the way; a wife who mourns the loss of her favorite TV star; and a teenaged son with some really strong opinions about family planning.
To make matters worse, looming over this comical farrago are secrets—both personal and political—that threaten to push the Ahuja household into disastrous turmoil. Following father and son as they blunder their way across the troubled landscape of New Delhi, Karan Mahajan brilliantly captures the frenetic pace of India's capital city to create a searing portrait of modern family life.
About the Author
Karan Mahajan was born in 1984 and grew up in New Delhi. A graduate of Stanford University, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Buy the book here.
