Writer Arinze Ifeakandu was announced as the winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize 2023 for his debut book 'God’s Children Are Little Broken Things' at a ceremony in London on May 11, 2023.
Started in 2006, the Dylan Thomas Prize is "awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under," reads a statement on their website. It further reads, "the Prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama."
'God’s Children Are Little Broken Things' is Arinze Ifeakandu's debut book. It is a collection of nine short stories on the themes of queer life, love, and humanity.
Praising Ifeakandu and his work, Di Speirs- Chair of Judges, said, "We were unanimous in our praise and admiration for this exhilarating collection of nine stories. Arinze Ifeakandu’s debut shines with maturity, the writing bold, refreshing and exacting but never afraid to linger and to allow characters and situations to develop and change, so that the longer stories are almost novels in themselves. A kaleidoscopic reflection of queer life and love in Nigeria, the constraints, the dangers and the humanity, this is a collection that we wanted to press into many readers’ hands around the world and which left us excited to know what Arinze Ifeakandu will write next."
Reacting to winning the 2023 Dylan Thomas Prize, Ifeakandu told Swansea University in a video, "It feels amazing, it feels surreal... I came with no expectations, which was intentional to sort of like ward-off disappointment. And so the joy that came when my name was announced was top-notch."
A few months back, Ifeakandu also won the Republic of Consciousness Prize.
Previous winners of the Dylan Thomas Prize include Patricia Lockwood, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, among others.
