THIS year's University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize has been launched in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tessa Dahl, daughter of the late Roald Dahl, former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Harvard Review editor Christina Thompson were just some of the high-profile names who attended the St David's Day launch.

The event was marked by excitement and even controversy as the guests debated the issues surrounding an unprecedented competition between the various forms of literature that qualify for the prize, which pits poetry, short stories, novels, novellas, stage plays and screenplays head to head.

But the prize's chairman, Professor Peter Stead, said the prize reflected Thomas's own creative diversity. "The prize was given this unique format as a reflection of Dylan Thomas's own writing — for he was a poet, prose writer and playwright.

"The judges, each of whom have their own individual area of expertise, are charged with the task of establishing true excellence. It is our view and our experience that any literary critic worth his or her salt can identify excellence whatever the genre."

The prize, which is named in honour of the Swansea writer and poet, has established itself as one of world's top prizes for young writers, with a cash award of £30,000. The launch in Boston cements its growing international presence as one of the world's most respected literary prizes. The award event, however, will still take place in Swansea at the end of the year.

Dylan Thomas was a regular visitor to the United States, drawing sold-out crowds and thrilling audiences with his dramatic readings before he died in New York aged 39.

The prize reflects Thomas's own creative diversity, for while best known as a poet, in his brief life he excelled in a range of literary forms.

For everything Dylan Thomas - visit our website dedicated to the Swansea poet

Professor Marc Clement, vice-chancellor of the University of Wales, said: "The Dylan Thomas Prize is establishing itself as one of Wales's great cultural assets.

"The prize's global reach and aspirations, its focus on youth and its emphasis on nurturing excellence are fully consistent with the goals of the University of Wales and we are proud to be its official sponsor."

Entries must be submitted by publisher, editor, literary agent, or in the case of film scripts and stage plays, the producer by April 30.

Writers must be 18 to 30 years old, and the literary works must have been published within the past year to be eligible for competition.

For more information visit www.dylanthomasprize.com

emma.judd@swwmedai.co.uk