Yasmin Zaher with her debut novel The Coin.
Palestinian author Yasmin Zaher has been revealed as the winner of the world’s largest and most prestigious literary prize for young writers – the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize – for her debut novel, The Coin, marking 20 years of this global accolade.
Chosen in a unanimous decision by this year’s judging panel, The Coin draws on Zaher’s personal experiences to dissect nature and civilisation, beauty and justice, class and belonging in a vivid exploration of identity and heritage.
Namita Gokhale, Chair of Judges, said on behalf of the panel: “Whittling our exceptional longlist of 12 down to six brilliant books, and then again to just one, was not an easy exercise – yet the judging panel was unanimous in their decision to name debut novelist Yasmin Zaher as the winner of the 2025 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize. Zaher brings complexity and intensity to the page through her elegantly concise writing: The Coin is a borderless novel, tackling trauma and grief with bold and poetic moments of quirkiness and humour. It fizzes with electric energy. Yasmin Zaher is an extraordinary winner to mark twenty years of this vital prize.”
Yasmin Zaher was awarded the £20,000 prize – which celebrates exceptional literary talent aged 39 or under – at a ceremony held in Swansea on Thursday 15 May. The Coin, which was released in paperback on 1 May 2025, is published by Footnote Press, a mission-oriented publisher committed to providing a platform for marginalised stories and perspectives.
The prize is named after the Swansea-born writer Dylan Thomas and celebrates his 39 years of creativity and productivity. The prize invokes Thomas’ memory to support the writers of today, nurture the talents of tomorrow, and celebrate international literary excellence in all its forms including poetry, novels, short stories and drama.
Upon winning, Yasmin Zaher said: “Thank you to everyone behind this very special prize – I am honoured. Today – 15 May – Palestinians commemorate 77 years of the ongoing Nakba, so whilst this is a very happy day for me, it is a painful day for my people. I dedicate this prize to the people of Gaza. To their undefeatable spirit, especially to the writers and poets there who have humbled and inspired beyond measure, and who in the face of genocide and helplessness continue to write, and exercise their will and humanity. I am humbled and honoured.”
The other titles shortlisted for the 2025 Prize were Rapture's Road by Seán Hewitt (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, Penguin Random House), Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon (Fig Tree, Penguin Random House), The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Viking, Penguin Random House UK), I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson (Faber & Faber), and Moderate to Poor, Occasionally Good by Eley Williams (4th Estate).
The 2025 Prize was judged by Namita Gokhale, the multi-award-winning Indian writer of more than twenty-five works of fiction and non-fiction (Paro: Dreams of Passion, Things to Leave Behind) as well as the co-director of the famed Jaipur Literature Festival, along with: Professor Daniel Williams, Director of the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales and Co-Director of the Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales at Swansea University; Jan Carson, award-winning novelist and writer (The Fire Starters, The Raptures); Mary Jean Chan, winner of the Costa Book Award and former Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize shortlistee (Flèche, Bright Fear); and Max Liu, literary critic and contributor to the Financial Times, the i and BBC Radio 4.
Yasmin Zaher joins an astonishing list of writers to have been awarded this prestigious prize, including Caleb Azumah Nelson, Arinze Ifeakandu, Patricia Lockwood, Max Porter, Raven Leilani, Bryan Washington, Maggie Shipstead, Guy Gunaratne, and Kayo Chingonyi.