May 11, 2023, 3:00pm
A couple months off winning the Republic of Consciousness Prize, Arinze Ifeakandu was announced as the winner of the 2023 Dylan Thomas Prize at an event tonight in London for his debut short story collection, God’s Children Are Little Broken Things.
Chair of Judges Di Speirs praised the collection:
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.
The prize is awarded to writers under age 39, and comes with a £20,000 purse. It dates back to 2006, and is funded 2006 and is known in full as the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. This Sunday is Dylan Thomas day, with 2023 marking 70 years since the poet’s death.
Congratulations to Arinze!