The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom. Established in 1942, it was one of the oldest literary awards in the UK. The last award was in 2010.

History

The prize was initiated in 1942 by Jane Oliver in memory of her husband, John Llewellyn Rhys, a young author who was killed on 5 August 1940 while serving as a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force.

From 1987 to 2003, the prize was funded by The Mail on Sunday. The newspaper withdrew in 2003, after the initial winner of 2002 prize, Hari Kunzru, rejected the prize and criticised the Mail of Sunday for "hostility towards black and Asian people" Subsequently, the prize was sponsored by BookTrust, an independent educational charity, but in June 2011 the award was suspended due to funding problems.

! Year

!Author

! Title

! ISBN (or OCLC)

!Ref.

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!1942

| || Sunk by a Mine ||

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|-

!1943

| || Beauty for Ashes ||

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!1944

| || ||

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!1945

| || ' ||

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!1946

| || My Bird Sings ||

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!1947

| || Moondrop to Gascony ||

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|-

!1948

| || ' ||

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|-

!1949

| || Maidens' Trip ||

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|-

!1950

| || Adventure Lit Their Star ||

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|-

!1951

| || ||

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!1952

| colspan="3" |No award

|

|-

!1953

| || ||

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!1954

| || ||

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!1955

| || ||

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!1956

| || Voices Under the Window ||

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|-

!1957

| || ||

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!1958

| || ||

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|-

!1959

| || ||

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!1960

| || At Fever Pitch ||

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!1961

| || Flight into Camden ||

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|-

! rowspan="2" |1962

| || ||

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|-

|

|

|

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!1963

| || Two Lives ||

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|-

!1964

| || Up the Junction ||

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!1965

| || ||

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|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Hungry for Home Leaving the Blaskets: A Journey from the Edge of Ireland

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Pobby and Dingan

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|White Teeth

|Finalist

|

|- style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="2" |2001

|

|'

|Winner

|

|-

|

|Beyond Calling Distance

|Finalist

|

|- style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="5" |2002

|

|Virgins of Venice

|Winner

|

|-

|

|Thursday's Child

|Finalist

|

|- style=background:#cddeff

! rowspan="6" |2004

|

|Boy A

|Winner

|

|-

|

|Purple Hibiscus

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Tokyo Cancelled

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Blood Kin

|Finalist

|

|-

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|Inglorious

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|'

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Between the Assassinations

|Finalist

|

|-

|

|Delusions of Gender

|Finalist

|

|-

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|Corrag

|Finalist

|