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An all-women shortlist of Welsh writers has been chosen to compete for one of Wales's top literary prizes next month.

The four writers will be vying for the £2,000 Roland Mathias Prize for Welsh writing in English, which will be awarded on Friday 27 March in Brecon at a ceremony supported by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales and hosted by Nicola Heywood Thomas, presenter of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Wales's Arts Show.

All the shortlisted writers will be invited to talk about their work.

The biennial prize is awarded for a work published during the last two years in the field of poetry, short stories, literary criticism or Welsh history. For the first time, the judges have chosen two works of literary criticism, charting the history of Welsh writing.

A university lecturer at Aberystwyth, Sarah Prescott is shortlisted for her latest work, Eighteenth Century Writing From Wales: Bards And Britons (published by University of Wales Press). The book is described as bringing together "poems and sermons, travel writing and antiquarianism, translation and prose fiction" which show "the sense of Welsh distinctiveness and strength of national feeling during a period usually characterised as one of Anglicisation".

Also selected is Jane Aaron, Professor of English at the University of Glamorgan, for Nineteenth Century Women's Writing In Wales: Nation, Gender And Identity (also published by the University of Wales Press). The book introduces readers to 100 Welsh women authors writing in both languages.

Also on the shortlist are a poet and a writer of short stories. Sheenagh Pugh, who lives in Cardiff, is nominated for her latest poetry collection, Long Haul Travellers (published by Seren). Already the winner of numerous awards, Sheenagh's collection is not just about journeys which can be found on a map - but journeys made in time, in dreams, or from one self to another.

The short-story writer is Carys Davies, shortlisted for her collection Some New Ambush (published by Salt). Born in Llangollen and now living in Lancaster, her stories are about characters living in many different worlds, from South Wales to Chicago, encountering love, loss, birth, death, betrayal and madness.

Menna Richards, Controller ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales, said: "The Roland Mathias Prize makes a major contribution to raising awareness of the high quality of Welsh writing in English. I am delighted that ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales continues to support and celebrate the strength of writing in Wales today."

The Prize was established in honour of the poet and author, Roland Mathias, who died in 2007 and who played a major part in establishing Welsh writing in English as a distinctive literary genre. The two previous winners were poets, Dannie Abse and Christine Evans.

The judges include poet and critic Sam Adams, novelist and poet Chris Meredith, literary historian Moira Dearnley, writer Catherine Merriman and former TV journalist Glyn Mathias.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales Publicity Office