Celebrations held for International Dylan Thomas Day

Dylan Day was created following the success of the Dylan Thomas 100 Festival

An international day to celebrate the life and work of poet Dylan Thomas is being held on Saturday.

Dylan Day was set up to raise the profile of his work, both in Wales and overseas, through a series of events.

They kick off in New Quay, Ceredigion, where sand artist Marc Treanor will re-create the event's 2016 logo.

On Saturday afternoon, Max Porter was announced as the winner of the £30,000 Dylan Thomas Prize for his book Grief is the Thing with Feathers.

Chairman of judges Prof Dai Smith said: "Max Porter, the judges felt, takes the common place of grief, the pall of death, the loss of loved ones, the things that we will all experience and transforms the ordinary through an extraordinary feat of imaginative prose, but prose that slips in to poetry and out again."

Other events are being held in Swansea, Laugharne, London and New York - all have strong links to the poet.

The launch of a new walking app will take place in Swansea, with a promenade performance beginning at Castle Square and ending at the restored Dylan Thomas birth place.

Laugharne in Carmarthenshire will celebrate its literary links with storytelling in the castle, music in the boathouse and an evening event at the Tin Shed.

In Fishguard a weekend festival is planned, with highlights including an Under Milk Wood walk and a screening of the new Welsh language film shot in Solva.

Other literary events are planned in Italy, Australia and Argentina.

Dylan Thomas penned some of his most famous works in this Laugharne boathouse

Welsh singer and songwriter Cerys Matthews has encouraged people to get involved.

She said: "I've enjoyed celebrating Burns Night over the years and often wanted to celebrate Dylan Thomas in the same way.

"Enjoy the chance to savour the brilliance of his work."

The winner of the 10th annual International Dylan Thomas Prize is also set to be announced during a ceremony at Swansea University, with a £30,000 prize for the best published literary work.

Dylan Day is organised by Literature Wales and is held on 14 May, the date Under Milk Wood was first read on stage in New York in 1953.