The Dylan Thomas Prize 2008

[Stewart]

Although it doesn't seem to have been mentioned on their website, The Dylan Thomas Prize longlist for 2008 has been announced. Those shortlisted are:

God's Own Country, Ross Raisin
Submarine, Joe Dunthorne
Blood Kin, Ceridwen Dovey
The Orientalist and the Ghost, Susan Barker
Ishq and Mushq, Priya Basil
Blackmoor, Edward Hogan
Zoology, Ben Dolnick
Oystercatchers, Susan Fletcher
Satsuma Sun Mover, Adam Green
There is an Anger that Moves, Kei Miller
Trouble Came to the Turnip, Caroline Bird
The Secret, Zoe Brigley
Sons and Other Flammable Objects, Porochista Khakpour
The Boat, Nam Le
St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell
Children of the Revolution, Dinaw Mengestu

Rather arrogantly, the site does state that;

A £60,000 prize designed not only to richly reward the best young writer in the world but also to serve as a focus for and incentive to all young writers throughout the English-speaking world.

No doubt to ease the strain on the judges, literature in translation is not eligible. That doesn't really bother me, given that the prize is in someone's name. It's just the way that it seems to make it explicit that, regardles of all the other material out there, the best young writer apparently writes in English.

[Sybarite]

It's ageist.

[Stewart]

Must have missed the shortlist...

God's Own Country, Ross Raisin
Blood Kin, Ceridwen Dovey
Blackmoor, Edward Hogan
Trouble Came to the Turnip, Caroline Bird
The Boat, Nam Le
Children of the Revolution, Dinaw Mengestu

...but Nam Le's The Boat won the overall prize for 2008 last week.