Latest in line of prestigious recognition for Creative Writing

Creative Writing’s Abigail Parry is one of three poets shortlisted in the Wales Book Of The Year 2024 Award, announced this month.

Parry’s second poetry collection I Think We’re Alone Now makes the Poetry Award shortlist alongside Cowboy by Kandace Siobhan Walker and In Orbit by Glyn Edwards.

Presented by Literature Wales, the Wales Book Of The Year Awards are presented annually to the best works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism in four categories: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and Children and Young People.

I Think We’re Alone Now was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2023. Her first collection Jinx was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Seamus Heaney Prize for Best First Collection, and named a Book of the Year in the New Statesman, The Telegraph and the Morning Star.

The Poetry Award is one of eight Wales Book Of The Year awards including People’s Award (English language) and Gwobr Barn y Bobl (the Welsh-language people’s prize).

Abigail Parry joins a growing number of creative writers from the School to be recognised in the prestigious national awards.

Sophie Buchaillard (MA 2020, PhD 2023) was shortlisted for her debut novel This Is Not Who We Are, while Megan Angharad Hunter (BA 2022) won with her debut tu ôl i’r awyr in 2022. Ailbhe Darcy took the 2019 Wales Book of the Year with poetry collection Insistence, with fellow Centre for Creative and Critical Writing lecturer Tristan Hughes scooping the People’s Choice Award with Hummingbird in 2018.

On behalf of the judging panel, Chair of Wales PEN Cymru Dylan Moore (BA 2001) said:

“From Valleys villages to the mean streets of Canada and fantastical worlds, these books demonstrate the breadth of writing in, of, from and about Wales today. Their authors spin worlds out of words, challenging orthodoxies and inspiring imagination, hope and courage.”

This year the School of English, Communication and Philosophy is principal sponsor of English language Overall Wales Book of the Year Award 2024. The link-up will see the overall English language Wales Book of the Year winner feature in its Cardiff BookTalk season.

The 2024 Wales Book of The Year Awards are announced at a special awards ceremony this summer (4 July, Caernarfon).

Voting for the People's Award is now live. Follow #WBOTY for all latest award news.