Ifeakandu wins £20k Dylan Thomas Prize for ‘exhilarating’ début

Nigerian writer Arinze Ifeakandu has been awarded the £20,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize for his “exhilarating” début God’s Children Are Little Broken Things (W&N). 

The book was hailed by judges as “a stunning short fiction collection, whose nine stories simmer with loneliness and love, and depict what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria”. Sarah Waters said it was “gorgeous…full of subtlety, wisdom and heart”, while Damon Galgut said it was “quietly transgressive”. 

Ifeakandu was awarded the prize at a ceremony held in Swansea on Thursday 11th May, prior to International Dylan Thomas Day on Sunday 14th May.  

Chair of judges, Di Speirs, said: “We were unanimous in our praise and admiration for this exhilarating collection of nine stories.  Arinze Ifeakandu’s début shines with maturity, the writing bold, refreshing and exacting but never afraid to linger and to allow characters and situations to develop and change, so that the longer stories are almost novels in themselves. A kaleidoscopic reflection of queer life and love in Nigeria, the constraints, the dangers and the humanity, this is a collection that we wanted to press into many readers’ hands around the world and which left us excited to know what Arinze Ifeakandu will write next.” 

The prize is given to the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under, and celebrates fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama. 

The other titles shortlisted for the 2023 prize were: Limberlost by Robbie Arnott (Atlantic Books), Seven Steeples by Sara Baume (Tramp Press), I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel (Rough Trade Books/Granta), Send Nudes by Saba Sams (Bloomsbury Publishing), and Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire (Chatto & Windus, Vintage).  

Last year’s winner was American poet, novelist and essayist Patricia Lockwood for No One Is Talking About This (Bloomsbury Publishing).