Jenn Writes

American poet Sasha Debevec-McKenney has been named the winner of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize – the world’s largest and most prestigious literary award for writers aged 39 and under – for her debut poetry collection Joy Is My Middle Name.

Selected unanimously by this year’s judging panel, the collection traces the turbulent, often hilarious passage from the chaos of one’s twenties into the clearer, if no less complex, terrain of the thirties. Through sharp, vivid poems, Debevec-McKenney explores sex, race, womanhood, addiction, sobriety, consumer culture and the ever-shifting glow of pop culture.

The judges praised the 35-year-old’s work as exuberant, energising and remarkably assured, noting her ability to compress vast, sometimes unwieldy themes into poetry that feels immediate, intimate and deeply alive.

Chair of Judges Irenosen Okojie described the collection as “incredible… exuberant, blistering, full of life, humour and ideas,” adding: “Debevec-McKenney is a ferociously gifted talent. The book galvanises the reader with a sense of intimacy that feels completely authentic, and a voice that comes across as an antidote to our tricky times.”

The £20 000 prize was awarded at a ceremony held in Swansea University’s Great Hall on 14 May 2025, marking International Dylan Thomas Day.

Accepting the award, Debevec-McKenney reflected simply on her relationship with writing: “I really love writing poems, it makes life worth living. Every emotion I’ve ever had, there’s a poem for it. To get this prize feels completely unbelievable. I’m really honoured.”

Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, Joy Is My Middle Name was released in paperback on 3 July 2025.

Now in its latest edition, the Dylan Thomas Prize honours the legacy of the Swansea-born writer, celebrating both his extraordinary output before the age of 39 and the next generation of global literary voices across poetry, fiction, short stories and drama.

This year’s shortlist featured To Rest Our Minds and Bodies by Harriet Armstrong (Les Fugitives), We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown (Chatto & Windus, Vintage), Under the Blue by Suzannah V. Evans (Bloomsbury Poetry), Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt (Jonathan Cape, Vintage), and Borderline Fiction by Derek Owusu (Canongate).

The 2026 judging panel brought together a diverse group of acclaimed writers and poets, including Chair Irenosen Okojie, Joe Dunthorne, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Prajwal Parajuly, and Eley Williams, each bringing wide-ranging experience across contemporary literature.

Debevec-McKenney now joins a distinguished roll of former winners, including Yasmin Zaher, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Maggie Shipstead, Guy Gunaratne and Kayo Chingonyi.