CERYS MATTHEWS ANNOUNCED AS JUDGE FOR NEW CATEGORY AT THE 2010 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE

Welsh radio star and musician to judge new Sony Reader Award category celebrating unpublished British writers

Ex-Catatonia front woman and BBC 6Music DJ Cerys Matthews will join the judging panel of the Sony Reader Award for Unpublished Writers, a newly created category for the 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize.

The new Sony Reader Award category has been created specifically to support unpublished British novel writers under the age of 30 using electronic book formats for the entire process, from submission of the entries through to judging and then publication. The winner will receive a cash prize of £5,000 and their book will be published in eBook format and made available for download from the Sony UK website.

Cerys, who is currently working on her own novel, joins a panel of literary experts including journalist and chair of the panel Allison Pearson, the BBC's king of period drama writer Andrew Davies and the founder of the Dylan Thomas Prize, Peter Stead. The panel will shortlist three finalists and the winner will be announced at the Dylan Thomas Prize Awards Ceremony on 1st December.

Upon accepting the judge's role, Cerys Matthews said: "As a writer myself, I appreciate the work that goes into trying to get a book published. The Sony Reader Award for Unpublished Writers provides a great stepping stone in helping up and coming writers to achieve that end goal. I am really looking forward to judging the category."

eBook entries will need to be submitted in PDF, Word or EPUB format via the Reader website at www.sony.co.uk/reader before midnight on August 31st, and the shortlisted writers will be notified in September.

Omar Gurnah, Reader category marketing manager for Sony, said: "We are really proud to have Cerys Matthews on the judging panel. She is a fantastic ambassador for the Sony Reader Award for Unpublished Writers not only because of her love for Dylan Thomas but also her passion for writing."

Peter Stead, the Dylan Thomas Prize founder and award judge, said: “We are delighted to have Cerys involved with this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize as she has always talked of her love for the wonder and lyricism of Dylan Thomas’ work. She is the ideal ambassador for the new Sony Reader Award category, which forms a landmark for aspiring authors and marks an exciting new venture for us."

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Notes to entrants:

The Sony Reader Award for Unpublished Writers has the following entry requirements:
• Entrants must be under 30 years old
• Entrants must be resident in the UK
• Entrants can submit only novels (no poetry, plays, etc.)
• Entrants must be previously unpublished
• The minimum word count for entries is 80,000

For further information on the award and entry requirements, please visit www.sony.co.uk/reader