LGBTQ+ novel leads the shortlist for prestigious literary award
Poet Seán Hewitt has been shortlisted for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize for his LGBTQ+ novel Open, Heaven
By Aaron Sugg
The Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize has announced the 2026 shortlist for its prestigious literary award, highlighting works with LGBTQ+ themes.
Known as the world’s largest and most prestigious literary award for writers aged 39 and under, the winner will be announced in Swansea on 14 May 2026.
Awarding the winner a £20,000 cash prize, the event recognises exceptional talent in fiction, poetry, short stories and drama on a global level.
The 2026 shortlist includes:
* To Rest Our Minds and Bodies – Harriet Armstrong (UK, novel)
* We Pretty Pieces of Flesh – Colwill Brown (UK, novel)
* Joy is My Middle Name – Sasha Debevec-McKenney (US, poetry)
* Under the Blue – Suzannah V. Evans (UK, poetry)
* Open, Heaven – Seán Hewitt (UK, novel)
* Borderline Fiction – Derek Owusu (UK, novel)
Across the chosen writers, their works highlight social issues of race, mental health, sexuality and LGBTQ+ experiences, with coming-of-age stories central across the shortlist.
One in particular, Open, Heaven, is the debut LGBTQ+ coming-of-age novel by poet Seán Hewitt, published in 2025, following 16-year-old James as he navigates his first love after meeting an older boy named Luke.
2026 marks the second time Hewitt has been nominated for the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, alongside Derek Owusu.
This year’s judges include award-winning writers and poets such as Irenosen Okojie MBE (chair), Joe Dunthorne, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Prajwal Parajuly, and Eley Williams.
Okojie expressed their excitement ahead of the May event in a news release: “This is a marvellous, galvanising shortlist. We’re thrilled by the scope, breadth and depth of these works across forms.”
They added: “These books have profound things to say about the ways we live, what it means to be human and, overall, are propulsive reads that imbue the writing space with new energies.”
A shortlist celebratory event will be held at the British Library on 13 May 2026, where the nominees will read from their acclaimed books, for more information you can visit their official website.
Get more Attitude
