The Developing Dylan Project

To mark Dylan Thomas’s centenary in 2014, Literature Wales has announced a new project, funded by the Welsh Government, called Developing Dylan. Through creative workshops, a prestigious international competition and a cutting-edge roadshow, Literature Wales will bring the wizardry of Dylan Thomas’s words to the children and young people of Wales and beyond.

The project was announced at Eisteddfod yr Urdd on Monday 27 May in the company of the Minister of Education and Skills Leighton Andrews, Chief Executive of Literature Wales Lleucu Siencyn, Children's Poet Laureate Eurig Salisbury, Dylan Thomas’ granddaughter Hannah Ellis and members of Pembrokeshire’s Young People’s Writing Squad.

Creative writing workshops based on the work of Dylan Thomas will be delivered by some of Wales’ top writers as part of the project. Applications for these workshops will be invited from schools across Wales. More information about this will be announced soon.

Developing Dylan is supported by a range of high profile writers and cultural figures such as Philip Pullman, Owen Sheers, National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke, Joe Dunthorne, Bethan Gwanas, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Young People’s Laureate Martin Daws, DJ Huw Stephens and Dylan Thomas’s granddaughter Hannah Ellis. The project will take place between October 2013 and October 2014.

His Dark Materials author, Philip Pullman wrote, “Poetic madness, intoxication, call it what you will, is something that I wish every young person could have a chance to experience. It is a real form of magic, of bewitchment. Being mastered by it was one of the great experiences of my life – it changed my life. It’s a rite of passage. Once you’ve gone through it, you’re never the same again.”

You can follow the project’s developments on Twitter: @Dylanwad100