Dylan Thomas Prize winner announced

Congratulations to poet Elyse Fenton who takes the 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize, a cheque for £30,000 and the all-important profile that the win brings. It's great to see a poet take the prize this time around. (I thought that might happen, but, admittedly, I had my money on Carcanet poet Caroline Bird, with her second consecutive shortlisting.) Fenton's poetry tackles the Big Theme of our times, curiously (or perhaps not that curiously) avoided by many younger poets – the war. You can find out more about Elyse and her winning collection, Clamor, by visiting her website and here is a news snippet from the Beeb covering the win.

Small is beautiful

I thought I'd highlight a recently published book from Cinnamon that looks hugely promising: Exposure. It's an anthology of more than 1000 writers from Wales and beyond, presenting their take on what it means to be human by way of that smallest wonder of small wonders: the micro-fiction. It's co-edited by Holly Howitt, a hugely talented young writer and herself a gifted micro-fictioneer.

I was really fortunate to meet and discuss the genre with Holly and Deborah Kay Davies at an Academi Conference earlier this year, and it was fascinating to pick over the history and purpose of a form that, while reflecting the age of tweets, bleats and Facebookery, is, in many respects, an urform. I've personally adored the genre since my first immersion into it with Borges, that grandmaster of mythic fictions in miniature. At its very best, micro-fiction opens doors that lead into immense, immediate worlds. The landscape of Wonderland. One lingering regret I have about my tenure at the Review is that I was somehow never able to accommodate micro-fiction, though I had planned to. Unsolicited submissions somehow never hit that special, immediate spot the genre simply has to and a plan lined-up to otherwise provide, provide never quite came off. Of mice and micro-fiction.

In the meantime, though, for those that long for the micro or want to find out more, here's Exposure. And, incidentally, do also check out Dan Rhodes's superb, hilarious and whip-smart micro-fiction collection on love, Anthropology.

Picador Poetry Prize Shortlist

A little belatedly, for the editor has been in transit, but congratulations to all those shortlisted for this wonderful initiative – the Picador Poetry Prize for an unpublished (at least, unpublished as a first collection) poet. The winning poet will have a first collection published by Picador and be edited by maestro Don Paterson. Particular congratulations to Helen Mort and Ben Wilkinson, both of whom have recently featured in New Welsh Review. The judges for the prize are Don Paterson, John Stammers, Sarah Crown and Jackie Kay and the winner will be announced in 2011. More information on the prize can be found here.

2011 Cardiff International Poetry Competition

The 2011 Cardiff International Poetry Competition is now open and receiving entries. This year's judges are the esteemed poets Don Paterson and Philip Gross (fresh from his Wales Book of the Year win for I Spy Pinhole Eye and T S Eliot win for The Water Table). Further details can be found here.

T. S. Eliot Prize shortlist 2010

The shortlist for this year's T. S. Eliot Prize has been announced. The titles selected are:

Seeing Stars Simon Armitage (Faber)
The Mirabelles Annie Freud (Picador)
You John Haynes (Seren)
Human Chain Seamus Heaney (Faber)
What the Water Gave Me Pascale Petit (Seren)
The Wrecking Light Robin Robertson (Picador)
Rough Music Fiona Sampson (Carcanet)
Phantom Noise Brian Turner (Bloodaxe)
White Egrets Derek Walcott (Faber)
New Light for the Old Dark Sam Willetts (Jonathan Cape)

This year's judges are noted poets Anne Stevenson (Chair), Michael Symmons Roberts and Bernadine Evaristo. The winner will be announced on 24 January 2011.

Congratulations to all those on the list, and particular congratulations go to Pascale Petit and John Haynes, representing Wales's own Seren with two quite extraordinary books. Intriguing to see who will win – and interesting that this is Pascale's third showing on the T S Eliot shortlist.

I heartily recommend that those who can attend the shortlist reading on 23 January 2011 at the Southbank. It's always a fantastic event, but tickets always fly, so book early. Details of the prize and of the readings can be found by clicking here.

Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist announced

The full 2010 University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist has been announced:

Caroline Bird, 23 - Watering Can (Carcanet)

Elyse Fenton, 29 – Clamor (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)

Eleanor Catton, 24 - The Rehearsal (Portobello Books)

Emilie Mackie, 27 - And This is True (Sceptre)

Karan Mahajan, 26 - Family Planning (Harper Perennial)

Nadifa Mohamed, 28 - Black Mamba Boy (Harper Collins)

My tip? Caroline Bird. Her second shortlisting for the prize – and a poetry collection has yet to make it all the way. From a personal perspective, I'm rooting for her. I remember Caroline when we were both young poets shortlisted for a Poetry Review prize back in the mists of time. Well, I was young (but poet-young), while she was actually young: just 15. And yet she acquitted herself like a true pro, delivering her work before the audience with confidence and panache. Neither of us won. But we both smiled.

Good luck to all the listed. The prizewinner will be announced in December.

Edwin Morgan 1920-2010

Scotland's finest poet, and one of the finest poets in the UK, Edwin Morgan, has died aged 90. During a publishing career that spanned over half a century, Morgan produced an incredibly various output of originality and brilliance. He will be missed.

Dylan Thomas Prize 2010 - Longlist announced

The longlist for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2010 is as follows:

Adebe D.A., 23 - Ex Nihilo (Frontenac House)
Caroline Bird, 23 - Watering Can (Carcanet)
Elyse Fenton, 29 - Clamor (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)
Katharine Kilalea, 28 - One Eye'd Leigh (Carcanet)
Dora Malech, 28 - Shore Ordered Ocean (The Waywiser Press)
Leanne O'Sullivan, 27 – Cailleach (Bloodaxe Books)
Johnny Mayer, 28 - American Volunteers (City on a Hill Productions)
Eleanor Catton, 24 - The Rehearsal (Portobello Books)
Brian DeLeeuw, 29 - In This Way I Was Saved (John Murray Publishers)
Ciara Hegarty, 29 - The Road to the Sea (Macmillan New Writing)
Emilie Mackie, 27 - And This is True (Sceptre)
Karan Mahajan, 26 - Family Planning (Harper Perennial)
Nadifa Mohamed, 28 - Black Mamba Boy (Harper Collins)
Amy Sackville, 29 - The Still Point (Portobello Books)
Ali Shaw, 28 - The Girl with Glass Feet (Atlantic Books)
Craig Silvey, 27 - Jasper Jones (Windmill Books (Random House)

Good luck to all, as the judges – Peter Florence, Kate Burton, Kurt Heinzelman, Gwyneth Lewis, Bruno Maddox, Natalie Moody and Peter Stead – now deliberate the shortlist, which will be announced this September. Interesting to note that Caroline Bird, talented young Carcanet poet, appears again, after reaching the shortlist back in 2008.

The winner of the prize will be announced in December 2010 and will take away prestige and a cheque for £30,000. For more information on this year's prize and past winners, click here.

Philip Gross scoops Wales Book of the Year

Philip Gross has scooped the £10,000 Wales Book of the Year award for I Spy Pinhole Eye, an ekphrastic collaboration with photographer Simon Denison. This is yet another major achievement for the poet in a year that has seen Gross win the coveted T. S. Eliot Prize for poetry for a full collection from Bloodaxe, The Water Table. Philip will be appearing in the forthcoming New Welsh Review, talking about his inspiration for The Water Table.

Philip was a member of the New Welsh Review board until recently. Talented, tremendous fun, and modest, all at New Welsh Review congratulate him on his huge success.

The full story can be found here.

New Welsh Review at Hay 2010

New Welsh Review will have a strong presence at Hay this year.

On Saturday 29th May at 1pm: Small Wars and Laughter with Rachel Trezise and Dmitry Bykov in conversation with Kathryn Gray

Living Souls is a comic masterpiece set in a futuristic Russian dystopia. Sixteen Shades of Crazy imagines a contemporary South Walian Stepford-Llaregub. Book tickets here.

On Sunday 6th June at 5.30pm: Intimacy with Trezza Azzopardi and Jon McGregor chaired by Kathryn Gray

The Song House is about language and music, memory and place; Even The Dogs is an intimate exploration of life at the edges of society; littered with love, loss, despair and a glimpse of redemption. Book tickets here.

Come join us! And for more details on the festival programme click here.