Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize at the Jaipur Literary Festival 2020

To celebrate 15 years of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize during Swansea University’s centenary year, the Prize announced the 2020 longlist live from the Jaipur Literature Festival.

The event, supported by British Council Wales, took place on Friday 24 January and featured an incredible panel discussion including the first ever winner, Rachel Trezise and latest winner, Guy Gunaratne, along with Festival Director and jury member Namita Gokhale and the Prize’s Executive Officer Elaine Canning.

On returning to the judging panel, Jaipur Literature Festival Director Namita Gokhale said: “I am delighted to return to the jury of the inspirational Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, which so generously rewards young writers at a crucial phase of their creative development.”

And on the longlist being announced at the Festival, Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts and Festival Producer, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the longlist announcement of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. The Jaipur Literature Festival creates a platform for the written word across all genres.”

'Rewriting London'

In addition to the longlist announcement, the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize took part in a fascinating series of panel discussions throughout the Jaipur Literature Festival.

2019 Prize winner, Guy Gunaratne and author Ben Judah were in conversation with Elaine Canning on the subject of ‘Rewriting London’ which focused on Guy’s multi-award-winning debut ‘In Our Mad and Furious City’ and acclaimed foreign correspondent Ben Judah’s book ‘This is London’.

‘The Anatomy of a Literary Prize’

The Prize’s Executive Officer, Elaine Canning, also participated in a panel discussion on ‘The Anatomy of a Literary Prize’ at Jaipur BookMark along with a number of literary prize directors and authors including Aanchal Malhotra, Mita Kapur and Sunny Singh, moderated by Arunava Sinha.
Elaine Canning said: 'It was an honour for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize to feature as part of such an acclaimed, global festival that celebrates literature, dialogue and ideas. Our thanks to the wonderful Festival Directors and Producer, Teamwork Arts and volunteers who welcomed and supported us.'