Nick Bradley and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo are among the 10 writers selected for the ILX 10 list

Novelists Nick Bradley and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo are among the 10 early-career writers selected for the ILX 10 list by the National Centre for Writing (NCW). The list spotlights "exciting, dynamic, and thought-provoking" writers of prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction, as well as those experimenting with form.

Bradley is the author of The Cat and The City (Atlantic Books) and Four Seasons in Japan (Doubleday), while Lloyd Banwo has penned When We Were Birds (Penguin). They are joined on the list by debut novelist Fiona Williams, author of The House of Broken Bricks (Faber & Faber), and Ferdia Lennon, who has written Glorious Exploits (Fig Tree). Scriptwriter and poet afshan d’souza-lodhi, author of re:desire (Burning Eye Books), is also on the ILX 10 list, alongside Tice Cin, an interdisciplinary artist, music journalist and author of Keeping the House (And Other Stories). 

Also on the list is poet Marjorie Lotfi, author of the collection The Wrong Person to Ask (Bloodaxe Books), and Lynsey May, the Scottish prose writer and debut author of Weak Teeth (Polygon). Lucy Holland, author of historical fantasy novels Sistersong (Macmillan) and Song of the Huntress (Macmillan), is spotlighted as well, alongside Derek Owusu, a writer and poet from North London, who is the author of That Reminds Me (Merky Books) and Losing the Plot (Canongate Books).

The list is described by the organisers as "a call to festivals, publishers, educators, and activists around the world to consider broadening the scope of authors they connect with and commission". Writers were selected by UNESCO Cities of Literature in England and Scotland – Edinburgh, Exeter, Manchester, Norwich and Nottingham – to promote writing from the UK to international audiences, as part of the three-year International Literature Exchange (ILX) programme by NCW, supported by the British Council and Arts Council England.

"This selection is intended to represent to our international community just how pluralistic, diverse and globally engaged the UK literature scene is," said Holly Ainley, head of programmes and creative engagement at NCW. "We hope the list will act as a springboard for new conversations, partnerships, and projects for ILX participants and beyond."