This year’s festival begins on 23 October, four days earlier than normal, with a performance by one of Britain’s finest poets, Carol Ann Duffy. Other highlights include a reading from Tony Conran on 30 October, and a conference on one of Britain’s most distinguished cultural historians, Raymond Williams, on 7 November. There will also be adaptations by Gwynne Edwards of two Dylan Thomas stories, ‘The Peaches’ and ‘Who Do You Wish Was With Us?’ which will be staged by Fluellen Theatre Company.

The festival includes the award of the second Dylan Thomas Prize for writers under 30 at a glittering ceremony in Swansea. Please see www.dylanthomasprize.com for details of this. The shortlisted writers will be taking part in events throughout the Dylan Thomas Festival.

There will also be a series of performing arts events organised under the banner of the  Dylan Thomas Fringe Festival – please see www.dylanthomasfringe.com for more information.

Tickets are available from the Dylan Thomas Centre on 01792 463980. Tickets for some events are also available via ticketweb; please follow the link on the Dylan Thomas Festival web pages: http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=5006