Dr. Seán Hewitt's debut collection of poetry, Tongues of Fire (Cape, 2020), has been shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award.

Dr. Seán Hewitt's debut collection of poetry, Tongues of Fire (Cape, 2020), has been shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. The judges, who include Sebastian Faulks, Kit de Waal, Tessa Hadley, and Houman Barekat, have selected five books this year, and the winner will be announced at a ceremony in December. The award is supported by the British Council, and the University of Warwick, and recognises writers from across the UK and Ireland.

The country’s most influential prize for young writers, the Young Writer of the Year Award has consistently spotted and supported the leading writers of a new generation since its return in 2015, and has been won in the past by a Who’s Who of modern British and Irish literature, from Zadie Smith and Sarah Waters to poet laureate Simon Armitage and Robert Macfarlane. The 2020 winner will join Raymond Antrobus (2019), Adam Weymouth (2018), Sally Rooney (2017), Max Porter (2016) and Sarah Howe (2015) on the impressive list of recent alumni.