Our guest selector for the PBS 2018 Spring Issue, Kayo Chingonyi, who chose Meryl Pugh's Natural Phenomena, has been selected as the winner of this year's Dylan Thomas Prize. Kayo's winning work, Kumukanda, was hailed as 'mature and moving' by Chair Dai Smith and 'a stunning and hugely culturally relevant collection of poems' by Michael Sheen, honorary fellow of Swansea University, which runs the prize.
The International Dylan Thomas Prize, named for the writer who passed away 65 years ago at age 39, celebrates the work of authors and poets under 39 years of age writing in the English language. It is considered one of the most significant awards for writers in this age bracket. The competition has run for ten installments, and awarded Kayo £30,000 for his excellent debut collection.
Our congratulations to Kayo. We keenly anticipate his future work!