Novelist and poet David Dabydeen (1974) has been nominated for the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. The nomination was submitted by a group of European and Chinese scholars. 

Born in Guyana, David’s work has focused on history, memory, and the legacies of slavery and colonialism. His publications include poetry, fiction, and critical writing, and his first poetry collection, Slave Song, received the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

He told us: "I owe a massive debt to Selwyn College , which, fifty years ago, gave me space to write.  I am very glad to have dedicated my last novel to Sir David Harrison, who was Admissions Tutor in 1974."

David has held senior academic posts at the University of Warwick and has also served as Guyana’s Ambassador to UNESCO and to China. His nomination recognises a body of work that has made a sustained contribution to world literature.