The Believer Poetry Award is an American literary award presented yearly by '' The Believer'' magazine to poetry collections the magazine's editors thought were "the finest, and the most deserving of greater recognition" of the year. The inaugural award was in 2011 for books published in 2010.

Winners and shortlist

The year below denotes when the books were published; the award is announced the following year. Thus below, the inaugural 2010 books were announced in early to mid-2011. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ()

2010

The shortlist was announced in March 2011. The winner was announced in May 2011. * Atsuro Riley, ''Romey's Order'' *

John Beer John Bernard Beer, FBA (31 March 1926 – 10 December 2017) was a British literary critic. He was emeritus professor of English literature at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Best known as a scholar and criti ...

, ''The Waste Land and Other Poems'' *

Michael Earl Craig Michael Earl Craig is an American poet and farrier living in Livingston, Montana. He was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1970. Craig is the author of six books of poetry. His work has been included in the anthologies ''Isn’t It Romantic'' (2004), Ever ...

, ''Thin Kimono'' * Lisa Robertson, ''R’s Boat'' * Matthew Zapruder, ''Come On All You Ghosts''

2011

The shortlist was announced in March 2012. The winner was announced in May 2012. * Heather Christle, ''The Trees The Trees'' * Alan Gilbert, ''Late in the Antenna Fields'' *

Laura Kasischke Laura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and poet. She is best known for writing the novels '' Suspicious River'', ''The Life Before Her Eyes'' and '' White Bird in a Blizzard'', all of which have been adapted to film. Life and work She was ...

, ''Space, in Chains'' * Jim Moore, ''Invisible Strings'' * Kathleen Ossip, ''The Cold War''

2012

The shortlist was announced in March 2013. The winner was announced in May 2013. * Samuel Amadon, ''The Hartford Book'' *

James Arthur James Arthur (born 2 March 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's " Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the fi ...

, ''Charms Against Lightning'' * Emily Pettit, ''Goat in the Snow'' * Gregory Sherl, ''The Oregon Trail is the Oregon Trail'' *

Sun Yung Shin Sun Yung Shin (born 1974) is a Korean American poet, writer, consultant, and educator living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is the editor of "A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota" (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2016), author of " ...

, ''Rough, and Savage''

2013

The shortlist was announced in March 2014. The winner was announced in May 2014. * Karen L. Green, '' Bough Down'' * Graham Foust, ''To Anacreon in Heaven and Other Poems'' * Dobby Gibson, ''It Becomes You'' *

Mira Gonzalez Mira Gonzalez (born May 28, 1992) is an American poet.Anisse Gross, September 15, 2015, ''Publishers Weekly''Four Questions for...Poet Mira Gonzalez Retrieved September 23, 2019 Her first collection, ''i will never be beautiful enough to make us b ...

, ''I Will Never Be Beautiful Enough to Make Us Beautiful Together'' *

Tess Taylor Tess Taylor (born October 24, 1977) is an American poet, academic, and a contributor to CNN and NPR. Early life and education Taylor was born and raised in El Cerrito, California, and attended Berkeley High School. She earned a Bachelor of A ...

, ''The Forage House''

2014

The shortlist was announced in April 2015. *

Jericho Brown Jericho Brown (born April 14, 1976) is an American poet and writer. Born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Brown has worked as an educator at institutions such as University of Houston, San Diego State University, and Emory University. His poe ...

, ''The New Testament'' * CAConrad, ''ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness'' *

Annelyse Gelman Annelyse Gelman is an American poet. Her second poetry collection, ''Vexations'', won the 2022 James Laughlin Award and has been longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Poetry. Education Gelman studied psychology during her undergradua ...

, ''Everyone I Love Is a Stranger to Someone'' * Judy Halebsky, ''Tree Line'' * Benjamin Landry, ''Particle and Wave''

2017

The winner was announced in June 2018. *Aditi Machado, ''Some Beheadings''

2018

The longlist was announced in January 2019. The shortlist and winner was announced in April 2019. * Catherine Barnett, ''Human Hours'' *

Monica Ferrell Shana Monica Ferrell (born November 8, 1975) is an American poet and fiction writer. In 2007, she was awarded the Kathryn A. Morton Prize for her debut book of poems, ''Beasts for the Chase''. Her novel, ''The Answer Is Always Yes,'' was published ...

, ''You Darling Thing'' * Chelsey Minnis, '' Baby, I Don't Care'' *Jamie Mortara, ''Good Morning America I Am Hungry and on Fire'' *Ashley Toliver, ''Spectra''

References

{{McSweeney's , state=collapsed American poetry awards Awards established in 2011