Seán Hewitt

Seán Hewitt FRSL (born 1990) is a poet, lecturer and literary critic.^[1] In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.^[2]

Seán Hewitt FRSL
Born	1990 (age 34–35) Warrington, Cheshire, England
Occupation	Poet, lecturer, critic
Nationality	British, Irish
Citizenship	British, Irish
Education	University of Cambridge University of Liverpool
Genre	Poetry Literary criticism
Notable works	Tongues of Fire All Down Darkness Wide
Notable awards	Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Laurel Prize Eric Gregory Award Resurgence Prize
Website
www.seanehewitt.com

Biography

Seán Hewitt was born in Warrington, UK, to an Irish mother and English father.^[3] He studied English at Girton College, Cambridge.^[4][5]

Hewitt received his PhD, on the works of J. M. Synge, from the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.^[6] He lives in Dublin, where he lectures at Trinity College Dublin.^[7]

Hewitt was awarded an Eric Gregory Award in 2019, and won the world's biggest ecopoetry award, the Resurgence Prize, in 2017.^[8][9] He also received a Northern Writers' Award in 2016.^[10] Hewitt was listed as one of The Sunday Times "30 under 30" artists in Ireland in 2020.^[11] His debut collection of poems, Tongues of Fire, won The Laurel Prize in 2021. He was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2022.^[12]

Works

Hewitt's debut collection, Tongues of Fire, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2020.^[13][14]

Tongues of Fire was released to critical acclaim.^[15] It won The Laurel Prize in 2021,^[16] and was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, 2020, the John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize, 2021, and the Dalkey Literary Award (Emerging Writer), 2021.^[17][18][19] It was Poetry Book of the Month in The Observer,^[20] and a Book of the Year in The Guardian,^[21] The Irish Times,^[22] The Spectator,^[23] Attitude,^[24] and the Irish Independent,^[25] and was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.^[26] The Sunday Times wrote of Hewitt that "his poetry will stand the test of time".^[27] Booker Prize shortlisted novelist Max Porter describes Hewitt as "an exquisitely calm and insightful lyric poet, reverential in nature and gorgeously wise in the field of human drama."^[28] Tongues of Fire is a book of lyric poetry, and explores queer sexuality, grief, and the natural world.^[29][30][31]

Hewitt's book-length study of the Irish playwright, poet and travel writer J. M. Synge, J.M. Synge: Nature, Politics, Modernism, was published by Oxford University Press.^[32] In 2021, He also selected poems for and introduced the Candlestick Press anthology Ten Poems from the Countryside.^[33]

Hewitt's memoir, All Down Darkness Wide, was published in 2022.^[34]

Hewitt's first novel, Open, Heaven, was published in 2025 by Alfred A. Knopf in New York and by Jonathan Cape in London.^[35]

Hewitt was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Take Four Books on 25 May 2025, discussing Open, Heaven, and three of the texts which influenced it. These three works were The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley, Maurice by E. M. Forster, and The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien. ^[36]

In 2025 Hewitt was one of the judges of the PEN Heaney Prize.^[37]

Awards

• Northern Writers' Award, New Writing North, 2016.
• The Resurgence Prize, Poetry School, 2017.^[38][39]
• Maurice J. Bric Medal of Excellence, Irish Research Council, 2019.^[40]
• Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice, for Lantern, 2019.^[41]
• Eric Gregory Award, Society of Authors, 2019.
• Poetry Book Society Recommendation, for Tongues of Fire, 2020.^[26]
• Shortlisted for The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, for Tongues of Fire, 2020.^[42]
• Shortlisted for the Dalkey Literary Award (Emerging Writer), 2021.
• Shortlisted for John Pollard Foundation International Poetry Prize, for Tongues of Fire, 2021.
• Winner of The Laurel Prize, 2021.
• Winner of The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, 2022.
• Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, for Rapture's Road, 2025.^[43]

Bibliography

Poetry

• Lantern (Offord Road Books, 2019)
• Tongues of Fire (Jonathan Cape, 2020)
• Buile Suibhne / Seán Hewitt, wood engravings by Amy Jeffs (Rochdale, England: Fine Press Poetry, 2021)
• 300,000 Kisses: Tales of Queer Love from the Ancient World, with Luke Edward Hall (Penguin, 2023)
• Rapture's Road (Jonathan Cape, 2024)

Critical studies

• J.M. Synge: Nature, Politics, Modernism (Oxford University Press, 2021)

Memoirs

• All Down Darkness Wide (Jonathan Cape (UK) and Penguin Press (USA), 2022)

Novels

• Open, Heaven (Penguin Books, 2025)

As editor

• Ten Poems from the Countryside (Candlestick Press, 2021) ISBN 9781907598937