Five guest judges revealed for Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize

Five guest judges have been selected to help decide the winner of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize as the award celebrates its 15th anniversary. 

For the first time, guest judges will join chairman professor Dai Smith and professor Kurt Heinzelman to select the 2020 winner. 

Namita Gokhale, award-winning writer and founder of Jaipur Literature Festival; author and 2011 winner of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize Lucy Caldwell; British-Ghanaian writer, poet and critic Bridget Minamore; Ian McMillan, celebrated writer and presenter of BBC Radio 3's "The Verb"; and national arts and culture journalist Max Liu make up the guest judging panel.

Swansea University professor John Spurr said: “This is a very special year for the prize, as Swansea University celebrates its centenary and the prize is in its 15th year,  and we are delighted to have such distinguished literary figures joining the judging panel. We look forward once again to a stimulating longlist and shortlist representing the best in young writing around the world.”

The judging panel will be tasked with choosing the best published literary work in the English language across genres, including poetry, novels, short stories and drama, written by an author aged 39 or under.

Previous winners have included Guy Gunaratne and Max Porter. The longlist will be announced on the 24th January at the Jaipur Literature Festival in India, followed by the shortlist on the 7th April and the winners' ceremony will be held in Swansea on International Dylan Thomas Day (14th May).