Forward Poetry Prize
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The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by
William Sieghart William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart (born 1960) is a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is former chairman of the Somerset House Trust. Education and career Born in 1 ...
with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The prizes do this by identifying and honouring talent: collections published in the UK and Ireland over the course of the previous year are eligible, as are single poems nominated by journal editors or prize organisers. Each year, works shortlisted for the prizes – plus those highly commended by the judges – are collected in the ''Forward Book of Poetry''. The awards have been sponsored since their inception by the content marketing agency Bookmark, formerly Forward Worldwide. The best first collection prize is sponsored by the estate of
Felix Dennis Felix Dennis (27 May 1947 – 22 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times ...
. The Forward Prizes for Poetry will celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2021.


Awards

The Forward Prizes for Poetry consist of three awards: *The Forward Prize for Best Collection, £10,000 *The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection, £5,000 *The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in memory of
Michael Donaghy Michael Donaghy (May 24, 1954 – September 16, 2004) was a New York City poet and musician, who lived in London from 1985. Life and career Donaghy was born into an Irish family and grew up with his sister Patricia in the Bronx, New York, lo ...
, £1,000 The Prizes are run by the Forward Arts Foundation, which is also responsible for
National Poetry Day National Poetry Day is a British campaign to promote poetry, including public performances. National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by William Sieghart. It takes place annually in the UK on the first Thursday in October. Since its inception, it ha ...
. The executive director of the Forward Arts Foundation is Susannah Herbert.Forward Arts Foundation. Retrieved 4 July 2013.


Previous winners


Best Collection

* 2022: Kim Moore, ''All the Men I Never Married'' (
Seren Books Seren Books is the trading name of Poetry Wales Press, a small independent publisher based in Bridgend, Wales, specialising in English-language writing from WalesFelicity Wood (23 August 2013). Rhyme and reason: The poetry market is a notoriously ...
) * 2021: Luke Kennard, ''Notes on the Sonnets'' (Penned in the Margins) * 2020:
Caroline Bird Caroline Bird (born 1986) is a British poet, playwright and author. Life Caroline Bird was born in 1986. Daughter of Jude Kelly, she grew up in Leeds, England, and attended the Steiner School in York and the Lady Eleanor Holles School before ...
, ''The Air Year'' (
Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...
) *2019: Fiona Benson, ''Vertigo and Ghost'' ( Cape Poetry) * 2018:
Danez Smith Danez Smith is an African-American, poet, writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are queer, non-binary and HIV-positive. They are the author of the poetry collections '' nsertBoy'' and ''Don't Call Us Dead: Poems'', both of which have ...
, ''Don't Call Us Dead'' (
Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...
) * 2017:
Sinéad Morrissey Sinéad Morrissey (born 24 April 1972 in Portadown, County Armagh) is a Northern Irish poet. In January 2014 she won the T. S. Eliot Prize for her fifth collection ''Parallax'' and in 2017 she won the Forward Prize for Poetry for her sixth coll ...
, ''On Balance'' (
Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...
) * 2016:
Vahni Capildeo Vahni Anthony Ezekiel Capildeo (born Surya Vahni Priya Capildeo; born 1973) is a Trinidad and Tobago-born British writer, and a member of the extended Capildeo family that has produced notable Trinidadian politicians and writers (including V. S. ...
, ''Measures of Expatriation'' (Carcanet Press) * 2015:
Claudia Rankine Claudia Rankine (; born September 4, 1963) is an American poet, essayist, playwright and the editor of several anthologies. She is the author of five volumes of poetry, two plays and various essays. Her book of poetry, '' Citizen: An American L ...
, ''Citizen: An American Lyric'' (
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Kei Miller Kei Miller (born 24 October 1978) is a Jamaican poet, fiction writer, essayist and blogger. He is also a professor of creative writing.Carcanet Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...
) * 2013:
Michael Symmons Roberts Michael Symmons Roberts FRSL (born 1963 in Preston, Lancashire) is a British poet. He has published eight collections of poetry, all with Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetr ...
, ''Drysalter ''( Cape Poetry) * 2012:
Jorie Graham Jorie Graham (; born May 9, 1950) is an American poet. The Poetry Foundation called Graham "one of the most celebrated poets of the American post-war generation." She replaced poet Seamus Heaney as Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at ...
, ''PLACE'' (
Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...
) * 2011:
John Burnside John Burnside FRSL FRSE (born 19 March 1955) is a Scottish writer. He is one of only three poets (the others being Ted Hughes and Sean O'Brien) to have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book (''Black Cat ...
, ''Black Cat Bone'' (
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
) * 2010:
Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
, ''Human Chain'' (
Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
) * 2009:
Don Paterson Donald Paterson (born 1963) is a Scottish poet, writer and musician. Background Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem "A Private Bottling" won the Arvon Foundation International ...
, ''Rain'' (Faber and Faber) * 2008:
Mick Imlah Michael Ogilvie Imlah (26 September 1956 – 12 January 2009), better known as Mick Imlah, was a Scottish poet and editor. Background Imlah was brought up in Milngavie near Glasgow, before moving to Beckenham, Kent, in 1966. He was educated at Ma ...
, ''The Lost Leader'' (Faber and Faber) * 2007: Sean O'Brien, ''The Drowned Book'' (Picador) * 2006:
Robin Robertson Robin Robertson (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Biography Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warb ...
, ''Swithering'' (
Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bullf ...
) * 2005:
David Harsent David Harsent (born in Devon) is an English poet who for some time earned his living as a TV scriptwriter and crime novelist. Background During his early career he was part of a circle of poets centred on Ian Hamilton and forming something of a ...
, ''Legion'' (Faber and Faber) * 2004:
Kathleen Jamie Kathleen Jamie FRSL (born 13 May 1962) is a Scottish poet and essayist. In 2021 she became Scotland's fourth Makar. Life and work Kathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Raised in Currie, near Edinburgh, she studied philosophy at the University ...
, ''The Tree House'' (Picador) * 2003:
Ciarán Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson (9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Biography Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family. His father, William, was a postman and his mother, Mary, wo ...
, ''Breaking News'' (
Gallery Press Gallery Press is an independent Irish publishing company, publishing Irish poetry, drama, and prose by contemporary Irish writers. Founded by poet Peter Fallon as the Gallery Books imprint of Tara Telephone Publications, itself an offshoot of a ...
) * 2002: Peter Porter, ''Max is Missing'' (Picador) * 2001: Sean O'Brien, ''Downriver'' (Picador) * 2000:
Michael Donaghy Michael Donaghy (May 24, 1954 – September 16, 2004) was a New York City poet and musician, who lived in London from 1985. Life and career Donaghy was born into an Irish family and grew up with his sister Patricia in the Bronx, New York, lo ...
, ''Conjure'' (Picador) * 1999:
Jo Shapcott Jo Shapcott FRSL (born 24 March 1953, London) is an English poet, editor and lecturer who has won the National Poetry Competition, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Costa Book of the Year Award, a Forward Poetry Prize and the Cholmondeley Awa ...
, ''My Life Asleep'' (
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
) * 1998:
Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...
, ''
Birthday Letters ''Birthday Letters'' is a 1998 poetry collection by English poet and children's writer Ted Hughes. Released only months before Hughes's death, the collection won multiple prestigious literary awards. This collection of eighty-eight poems is widel ...
'' (Faber and Faber) * 1997:
Jamie McKendrick Jamie McKendrick (born 27 October 1955) is a British poet and translator. Early life and education McKendrick was born in Liverpool, 27 October 1955, and educated at the Quaker school, Bootham, York, and Liverpool College. He studied English Li ...
, ''The Marble Fly'' (Oxford University Press) * 1996: John Fuller, ''Stones and Fires'' (
Chatto & Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...
) * 1995: Sean O'Brien, ''Ghost Train'' (Oxford University Press) * 1994: Alan Jenkins, ''Harm'' (Chatto & Windus) * 1993:
Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first ...
, ''Mean Time'' (
Anvil Press A multi-anvil press, or anvil press is a type of device related to a machine press that is used to create extraordinarily high pressures within a small volume. Anvil presses are used in materials science and geology for the synthesis and study th ...
) * 1992:
Thom Gunn Thomson William "Thom" Gunn (29 August 1929 – 25 April 2004) was an English poet who was praised for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement, and his later poetry in America, even after moving towards a looser, ...
, ''The Man with Night Sweats'' (Faber and Faber)


Best First Collection

* 2022: Stephanie Sy-Quia: ''Amnion'' (
Granta Books ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and m ...
) * 2021:
Caleb Femi Caleb Femi (born 1990) is a British-Nigerian author, film-maker, photographer, and former young people's laureate for London. His debut poetry collection, ''Poor'', was awarded a Forward Prize for Poetry. Early life Femi was born in 1990 in K ...
, ''Poor'' (Penguin Poetry) * 2020: Will Harris, ''RENDANG'' (
Granta Books ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and m ...
) * 2019:
Stephen Sexton Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, ''If All the World and Love Were Young'' (
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Phoebe Power Phoebe Power (1993) is a British poet, whose work, ''Shrines of Upper Austria'', won the Forward Poetry Prize for Best First Collection. Biography Phoebe Power was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1993. She was named a Foyle Young Poet of the ...
, ''Shrines of Upper Austria'' (
Carcanet Press Carcanet Press is a publisher, primarily of poetry, based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1969 by Michael Schmidt. In 2000 it was named the '' Sunday Times'' millennium Small Publisher of the Year. History ''Carcanet'' was originally a li ...
) * 2017:
Ocean Vuong Ocean Vuong (born , ; October 14, 1988) is a Vietnamese American poet, essayist, and novelist. Vuong is a recipient of the 2014 Ruth Lilly/Sargent Rosenberg fellowship from the Poetry Foundation, a 2016 Whiting Award, and the 2017 T.S. Eliot P ...
, ''
Night Sky with Exit Wounds ''Night Sky with Exit Wounds'' is a 2016 collection of poetry by Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese American poet and essayist Ocean Vuong. The book won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2017. Content Vuong and his family immigrated to the United States fr ...
'' (
Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a London publishing firm founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death in 1960. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard set up the publishing house in 1921. They established a reputation ...
) * 2016:
Tiphanie Yanique Tiphanie Yanique (born September 20, 1978) from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, is a Caribbean American fiction writer, poet and essayist who lives in New York. In 2010 the National Book Foundation named her a "5 Under 35" honoree. She also te ...
, ''Wife'' (
Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. It was founded after a paper shortage in Guyana halted production of new bo ...
) * 2015:
Mona Arshi Mona Arshi is a British poet. She won the Forward Prize, Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in 2015 for her work ''Small Hands''. Biography Arshi was educated at Lampton Comprehensive School and grew up in Hounslow with Sikh Punjabi ...
, ''Small Hands'' (
Liverpool University Press Liverpool University Press (LUP), founded in 1899, is the third oldest university press in England after Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. As the press of the University of Liverpool, it specialises in modern languages, li ...
) * 2014:
Liz Berry Liz Berry (born 1980) is a British poet. She has published two pamphlets and one full-length poetry collection. Her poetry collection, ''Black Country'', was named poetry book of the year by several publications, including ''The Guardian''. E ...
, ''Black Country'' (Chatto & Windus) * 2013:
Emily Berry Emily Berry (born 1981) is an English poet and writer. Emily Berry was born and raised in London and studied English literature at Leeds University, and Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College. She is currently completing a PhD in C ...
, ''Dear Boy ''(Faber and Faber) * 2012: Sam Riviere, ''81 Austerities'' * 2011:
Rachael Boast Rachael Boast (born 1975) is a British poet. She has published four poetry collections: ''Sidereal'' (2011), ''Pilgrim Flowers'' (2013), ''Void Studies'' (2016) and ''Hotel Raphael'' (2021). Biography Rachael Boast was born in Suffolk in 1975. ...
, ''Sidereal'' (Picador Poetry) * 2010:
Hilary Menos Hillary Menos (born 1964 in Luton) is an English poet. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Wadham College, Oxford, then worked as a food journalist and restaurant critic in London before moving to Devon to renovate a Domesday manor. ...
, ''Berg'' (
Seren Books Seren Books is the trading name of Poetry Wales Press, a small independent publisher based in Bridgend, Wales, specialising in English-language writing from WalesFelicity Wood (23 August 2013). Rhyme and reason: The poetry market is a notoriously ...
) * 2009: Emma Jones, ''The Striped World'' (Faber and Faber) * 2008:
Kathryn Simmonds Kathryn Simmonds (born 1972 Hertfordshire) is a British poet, and short story writer. Life She graduated from the University of East Anglia with an MA in Creative Writing. She has also experimented with playwriting, and her first radio play Po ...
, ''Sunday at the Skin Launderette'' (Seren Books) * 2007:
Daljit Nagra Daljit Nagra (born 1966) is a British poet whose debut collection, ''Look We Have Coming to Dover!'' – a title alluding to W. H. Auden's ''Look, Stranger!'', D. H. Lawrence's ''Look! We Have Come Through!'' and by epigraph also to Matthew Arn ...
, ''Look We Have Coming to Dover!'' (Faber and Faber) * 2006:
Tishani Doshi Tishani Doshi (born 9 December 1975) is an Indian poet, journalist and dancer based in Chennai. In 2006 she won the Forward Prize for her debut poetry book ''Countries of the Body''. Her poetry book ''A God at the Door'' has been shortlisted fo ...
, ''Countries of the Body'' (Aark Arts) * 2005:
Helen Farish Helen Farish (born 1962 Cumbria) is a British poet. Life She received her B.A. from University of Durham, M.A. and Ph.D. from Oxford Brookes University. She lectured in creative writing at Sheffield Hallam University. She has been a Fellow at ...
, ''Intimates'' (Jonathan Cape) * 2004:
Leontia Flynn Leontia Flynn (born December 1974) is a poet and writer from Northern Ireland. She grew up between the towns of Dundrum and Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. She is the second-youngest of five siblings. She has worked at The Seamus Hean ...
, ''These Days'' (Jonathan Cape) * 2003: A. B. Jackson, ''Fire Stations'' (Anvil Press) * 2002:
Tom French Tom or Thomas French may refer to: * Thomas French, journalist for the ''St. Petersburg Times'' * Thomas French (cricketer) (1821–1909), English cricketer and cleric * Thomas French (footballer) (1859–1908), played on the winning side in the 188 ...
, ''Touching the Bones'' (The Gallery Press) * 2001:
John Stammers John Stammers (born 1954 Islington, London) is a British poet and writer. Life Stammers read philosophy at King's College London and is an Associate of King's College. He took up writing poetry in his 30s, joining Michael Donaghy’s City Unive ...
, ''The Panoramic Lounge Bar'' (Picador) * 2000:
Andrew Waterhouse Andrew Waterhouse (27 November 1958 - 20 October 2001) was an English poet and musician, born in Lincolnshire. Life Andrew Waterhouse grew up in Scarborough and moved to Gainsborough, where his parents ran the local Conservative Club, the river ...
, ''In'' (''
The Rialto The Rialto is a central area of Venice, Italy, in the ''sestiere'' of San Polo. It is, and has been for many centuries, the financial and commercial heart of the city. Rialto is known for its prominent markets as well as for the monumental Rialto ...
'') * 1999:
Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...
, ''The Man in the White Suit'' (
Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...
) * 1998:
Paul Farley Paul Farley, FRSL (born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. Life and work Farley was born in Liverpool. He studied painting at the Chelsea School of Art, and has lived in London, Brighton and Cumbria. His first collection of poetr ...
, ''The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You'' (Picador) * 1997:
Robin Robertson Robin Robertson (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Biography Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warb ...
, ''A Painted Field'' (Picador) * 1996:
Kate Clanchy Kate Clanchy MBE (born 1965 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a British poet, freelance writer and teacher. Early life She was born in 1965 in Glasgow to medieval historian Michael Clanchy and teacher Joan Clanchy (née Milne). She was educated at Geo ...
, ''Slattern'' (Picador) * 1995:
Jane Duran Jane Duran, born , is a Spanish-American poet, born in Cuba whilst her father was working as a diplomat in the country. Background Duran was born in Cuba to an American mother and a Spanish father, Gustavo Durán, who had fought with the Republ ...
, ''Breathe Now, Breathe'' (
Enitharmon Press Enitharmon Press is an independent British publishing house specialising in artists’ books, poetry, limited editions and original prints. The name of the press comes from the poetry of William Blake: Enitharmon was a character who represented ...
) * 1994:
Kwame Dawes Kwame Senu Neville Dawes (born 28 July 1962) is a Ghanaian poet, actor, editor, critic, musician, and former Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Carolina. He is now Professor of English at the University of N ...
, ''Progeny of Air'' (Peepal Tree Press) * 1993:
Don Paterson Donald Paterson (born 1963) is a Scottish poet, writer and musician. Background Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem "A Private Bottling" won the Arvon Foundation International ...
, ''Nil Nil'' (Faber and Faber) * 1992:
Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...
, ''Kid'' (Faber and Faber)


Best Single Poem

* 2022:
Nick Laird Nicholas Laird (born 1975) is a Northern Irish novelist and poet. Education Laird was born in Cookstown, County Tyrone, where he attended the local comprehensive school. He then gained entry to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he initia ...
, "Up Late" (''Granta'') * 2021: Nicole Sealey, "Pages 22–29, an excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure" (''
Poetry London ''Poetry London'' is a literary periodical based in London. Published three times a year, it features poems, reviews, and other articles. Profile Adopting the title of an earlier bimonthly publication which ran from 1939 to 1951, ''Poetry London' ...
'') * 2020:
Malika Booker Malika Booker (born 1970)"Malika Booker"
at Forward Arts Foundatione.
is a British writer, ...
, ''The Little Miracles'' (''Magma'') * 2019:
Parwana Fayyaz Parwana may refer to: *Parwana (title), Seljuk court title *Mu'in al-Din Parwana Mu'in al-Din Suleiman Parwana ( fa, معین الدین سلیمان پروانه), better known as Parwana ( fa, پروانه) was a Persian statesman, who was for ...
, ''Forty Names'' (''
PN Review Launched as ''Poetry Nation'', a twice-yearly hardback, in 1973, ''PN Review'' - now an A4 paperback - began quarterly publication in 1976 and has appeared six times a year since 1981 (PN Review 21). Two hundred and twenty-five issues of the magaz ...
'') * 2018:
Liz Berry Liz Berry (born 1980) is a British poet. She has published two pamphlets and one full-length poetry collection. Her poetry collection, ''Black Country'', was named poetry book of the year by several publications, including ''The Guardian''. E ...
, ''The Republic of Motherhood'' (''
Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
'') * 2017: Ian Patterson, "The Plenty of Nothing" (''
PN Review Launched as ''Poetry Nation'', a twice-yearly hardback, in 1973, ''PN Review'' - now an A4 paperback - began quarterly publication in 1976 and has appeared six times a year since 1981 (PN Review 21). Two hundred and twenty-five issues of the magaz ...
'') * 2016:
Sasha Dugdale Sasha Dugdale FRSL is a British poet, playwright and translator. She has written five poetry collections and is a translator of Russian literature. Biography Sasha Dugdale was born in 1974 in Sussex. Between 1995 and 2000, Dugdale work ...
, "Joy" (''
PN Review Launched as ''Poetry Nation'', a twice-yearly hardback, in 1973, ''PN Review'' - now an A4 paperback - began quarterly publication in 1976 and has appeared six times a year since 1981 (PN Review 21). Two hundred and twenty-five issues of the magaz ...
'') * 2015: Claire Harman, "The Mighty Hudson" ('' TLS'') * 2014: Stephen Santus, "In a Restaurant" (The
Bridport Prize Bridport Arts Centre is an arts centre in Bridport, Dorset, England. Founded in 1973, it is housed in and around a 19th-century, Grade II listed building, formerly known as the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. The complex includes the Marlow Theatre, th ...
) * 2013: Nick MacKinnon, "The Metric System" (''The Warwick Review'') * 2012:
Denise Riley Denise Riley (born 1948, Carlisle) is an English poet and philosopher. Life Riley lives in London. She was educated for a year at Somerville College, Oxford, and graduated from New Hall, Cambridge. She was, until recently, Professor of Literat ...
, "A Part Song" * 2011:
R. F. Langley Roger Francis Langley (commonly known as R. F. Langley; 23 October 1938 – 25 January 2011) was an English poet and diarist. During his life, he was loosely affiliated with the Cambridge poetry scene. Life and work Langley was born in Rugb ...
, "To a Nightingale" (''
London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...
'') * 2010:
Julia Copus Julia Copus FRSL (born 1969) is a British poet, biographer and children's writer. Biography Copus was born in London and grew up with three brothers, two of whom went on to become musicians. She attended The Mountbatten School, a comprehensi ...
, "An Easy Passage" * 2009:
Robin Robertson Robin Robertson (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Biography Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warb ...
, "At Roane Head" * 2008:
Don Paterson Donald Paterson (born 1963) is a Scottish poet, writer and musician. Background Don Paterson was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1963. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem "A Private Bottling" won the Arvon Foundation International ...
, "Love Poem for Natalie 'Tusja' Beridze" (''
Poetry Review ''Poetry Review'' is the magazine of The Poetry Society, edited by the poet Emily Berry. Founded in 1912, shortly after the establishment of the Society, previous editors have included poets Muriel Spark, Adrian Henri, Andrew Motion and Maurice R ...
'') * 2007:
Alice Oswald Alice Priscilla Lyle Oswald (née Keen; born 31 August 1966) is a British poet from Reading, Berkshire. Her work won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2017. In September 2017, she was named as BBC Radio 4's second Poet ...
, "Dunt" (''
Poetry London ''Poetry London'' is a literary periodical based in London. Published three times a year, it features poems, reviews, and other articles. Profile Adopting the title of an earlier bimonthly publication which ran from 1939 to 1951, ''Poetry London' ...
'') * 2006: Sean O'Brien, "Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright" (''Poetry Review'') * 2005:
Paul Farley Paul Farley, FRSL (born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. Life and work Farley was born in Liverpool. He studied painting at the Chelsea School of Art, and has lived in London, Brighton and Cumbria. His first collection of poetr ...
, "Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second" (''The North'') * 2004:
Daljit Nagra Daljit Nagra (born 1966) is a British poet whose debut collection, ''Look We Have Coming to Dover!'' – a title alluding to W. H. Auden's ''Look, Stranger!'', D. H. Lawrence's ''Look! We Have Come Through!'' and by epigraph also to Matthew Arn ...
, "Look We Have Coming to Dover!" (''Poetry Review'') * 2003:
Robert Minhinnick Robert Minhinnick (born 12 August 1952) is a Welsh poet, essayist, novelist and translator. He has won two Forward Prizes for Best Individual Poem and has received the Wales Book of the Year award a record three times (in 1993, 2006 and 2018). ...
, "The Fox in the National Museum of Wales" (''Poetry London'') * 2002:
Medbh McGuckian Medbh McGuckian (born as Maeve McCaughan on 12 August 1950) is a poet from Northern Ireland. Biography She was born the third of six children as Maeve McCaughan to Hugh and Margaret McCaughan in North Belfast. Her father was a school headmaster ...
, "She is in the Past, She has this Grac" (''The Shop'') * 2001:
Ian Duhig Robert Ian Duhig (born 9 February 1954 London) is a British poet. In 2014, he was a chair of the final judging panel for the T. S. Eliot Prize awards. Life He was the eighth of eleven children born to Irish parents. He graduated from Leeds Un ...
, "The Lammas Hireling" * 2000:
Tessa Biddington Tessa Biddington, (born 1954 in Pinner, north-west London) is a British poet. Life Biddington works as a freelance trainer, raising awareness about domestic violence. She began writing in 1996. Her poetry has appeared in '' The New Welsh Revi ...
, "The Death of Descartes" * 1999:
Robert Minhinnick Robert Minhinnick (born 12 August 1952) is a Welsh poet, essayist, novelist and translator. He has won two Forward Prizes for Best Individual Poem and has received the Wales Book of the Year award a record three times (in 1993, 2006 and 2018). ...
, "Twenty-five Laments for Iraq" * 1998:
Sheenagh Pugh Sheenagh Pugh (born 20 December 1950) is a British poet, novelist and translator who writes in English. Her book, ''Stonelight'' (1999) won the Wales Book of the Year award. Pugh was born in Birmingham. She was a creative writer educator at ...
, "Envying Owen Beattie" * 1997:
Lavinia Greenlaw Lavinia Elaine Greenlaw (born 30 July 1962) is an English poet, novelist and non-fiction writer. She won the Prix du Premier Roman with her first novel and her poetry has been shortlisted for awards that include the T. S. Eliot Prize, Forward Pri ...
, "A World Where News Travelled Slowly" * 1996:
Kathleen Jamie Kathleen Jamie FRSL (born 13 May 1962) is a Scottish poet and essayist. In 2021 she became Scotland's fourth Makar. Life and work Kathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Raised in Currie, near Edinburgh, she studied philosophy at the University ...
, "The Graduates" * 1995: Jenny Joseph, "In Honour of Love" * 1994:
Iain Crichton Smith Iain Crichton Smith, (Gaelic: ''Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn''; 1 January 1928 – 15 October 1998) was a Scottish poet and novelist, who wrote in both English and Gaelic. He was born in Glasgow, but moved to the Isle of Lewis at the age of two, ...
, "Autumn" * 1993:
Vicki Feaver Vicki Feaver (born 1943) is an English poet. She has published three poetry collections. Feaver's poem "Judith", from her book, ''Handless Maiden'', was awarded the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. The book was also the recipient of a Heinem ...
, "Judith" * 1992:
Jackie Kay Jacqueline Margaret Kay, (born 9 November 1961), is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Guardian Fictio ...
, "Black Bottom"


See also

*
List of literary awards This list of literary awards from around the world is an index to articles about notable literary awards. International awards All nationalities & multiple languages eligible (in chronological order) * Nobel Prize in Literature – since 1901 ...
*
List of British literary awards This is a list of British literary awards. Literature in general *Barbellion Prize, for ill and disabled writers *Bristol Festival of Ideas#Winners of the Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize, Bristol Festival of Ideas Book Prize, for a book whi ...
*
English poetry This article focuses on poetry from the United Kingdom written in the English language. The article does not cover poetry from other countries where the English language is spoken, including Republican Ireland after December 1922. The earliest ...
*
List of poetry awards Major international awards * Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings * Bridges of Struga (for a debuting author at Struga Poetry Evenings) * Griffin Poetry Prize (The international prize) * International Hippocrates Prize for Poetry and Medi ...
*
List of years in poetry This article gives a chronological list of years in poetry (descending order). These pages supplement the List of years in literature pages with a focus on events in the history of poetry. 21st century in poetry 2020s * 2023 in poetry * 2022 ...
*
List of years in literature This article gives a chronological list of years in literature (descending order), with notable publications listed with their respective years and a small selection of notable events. The time covered in individual years covers Renaissance, Baroq ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em


External links


http://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/
Awards established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom British poetry awards