On October 27, twenty-eight-year-old Welsh writer Rachel Trezise was named the winner of the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize for her short story collection Fresh Apples (Parthian Books, 2005). She received £60,000 (approximately $114,300). Created in honor of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and sponsored by the technology company EDS, the biennial prize is given for a book of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction written in English by a writer under thirty.
Peter Stead, the chair of the judging panel, reported that the judges reached a decision only hours before the award ceremony, which was held on what would have been Thomas’s ninety-second birthday.