Dannie Abse and Sarah Waters are on the long-list of 10

Poets, biographers, novelists and academics make up the list for the annual bilingual awards.

Pembrokeshire-born Waters joins rock climber Jim Perrin on the 10-strong English list, with veteran Dannie Abse among four poets.

The English and Welsh language prize winners in July each receive �10,000.

The long-lists of 10 writers were announced by Welsh literary body Academi at simultaneous launches in the Senedd building in Cardiff and at Denbigh library on 2 March.

On the English language list, four poets including Abse and Christine Evans were long listed for their responses to personal experiences.

Abse's wife died in a car crash, in which he was also injured, in June 2005.

Sarah Waters, whose previous novels Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith have been made into major dramas for the BBC, has been longlisted for her book The Night Watch - which was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2006.

ENGLISH LONG-LIST Dannie Abse, Running Late Christine Evans, Growth Rings Jeremy Hooker, The Cut of the Light Tristan Hughes, Send My Cold Bones Home Lloyd Jones, Mr Cassini Jim Perrin, The Climbing Essays Byron Rogers, The Man Who Went Into The West Sarah Waters, The Night Watch Daniel G Williams, Ethnicity and Cultural Authority: From Arnold to Du Bois Merryn Williams, The First Wife's Tale

Rock climber and travel writer Jim Perrin is also nominated for the definitive collection of his work spanning 40 years of climbing, and a biography of prolific post-war poet R.S Thomas has seen its author Byron Rogers nominated.

The judges will announce two shortlists of three at the Hay festival on 28 May.

Carolyn Hitt, chair of the English-language panel said: "Without really being conscious of it, we have managed to choose a balanced blend of genres - poetry, novels, essays, biography and literary criticism are all represented.

"The most important thing is we are confident we have chosen 10 winners. Any one of them would be worthy of the overall prize."

The nominated writers in Welsh are: Tony Bianchi, T. Robin Chapman, Catrin Dafydd, John Fitzgerald, Hughes, Alwyn Humphreys, Gwen Pritchard Jones, Llwyd Owen, Arwel and Aled Jones Williams.

Two runners up will receive �1,000 each.

The Wales Book of the Year Prize is administered by Academi, with funding from The Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The two winners in 2006 were Robert Minhinnick for To Babel and Back and Rhys Evans for his biography Gwynfor: Rhag Pob Brad.