Welsh Prize Shortlist

New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, 24, has made the short list for the University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize. The award, which is open to writers under the age of 3 who have been published in English, is worth £3, and is believed to be the world’s most lucrative prize for young writers. Catton’s critically acclaimed debut novel, The Rehearsal, chronicles a sexual scandal that engulfs an all-girls high school. “She’s really on the international radar,” Victoria University Press publisher Fergus Barrowman said. Professor Peter Stead, who is on the award’s judging panel, said he loved The Rehearsal, one of six on the short list. “This is very much for the current generation and the role of performance culture in today’s society has never been better explained.” The Rehearsal was published in Britain last year by Granta and this year in the United States by Little, Brown. Canadian-born Catton currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa, where she is attending the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop.