Forward Prizes for Poetry
The Forward Prizes for Poetry are the most influential awards for new poetry in the UK and Ireland, honouring fresh voices alongside internationally established names.
First awarded in 1992, over the last three decades the prizes have celebrated some of the most recognised names in poetry including Simon Armitage, Thom Gunn, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Carol Ann Duffy, Claudia Rankine, Jackie Kay and Caleb Femi. Each year there are four prizes;
- Best Collection (£10,000)
- Best First Collection (£5,000)
- Best Single Poem – Written (£1,000)
- Best Single Poem – Performed (£1,000)
Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony
We’ve teamed up with the Durham Book Festival to bring the Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony to Gala Durham on Thursday 10th October. You are invited to join us for the biggest celebration in the poetry calendar! Come in person or via the festival live stream.
The event is hosted by author, performer and poet, Joelle Taylor, featuring the poet Kayo Chingonyi and BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles.
Where: Gala Durham
Date: Thursday 10 October
Time: 7-9:30pm (doors 6:30pm)
Cost: £15/£12 (Live-stream £5)
Explore the Forward Book of Poetry 2025 with Our Reading Guide
For librarians, academics, and anyone interested, this Reading Guide provides an invaluable tool for facilitating deeper engagement with the text—whether in reading groups, classrooms, or literary discussions.
The Forward Prize for Best Collection Shortlist 2024
-
God Complex
Rachael Allen
(Faber & Faber) -
With My Back to the World
Victoria Chang
(Corsair) -
Goodlord: An Email
Ella Frears
(Rough Trade Books) -
[...]
Fady Joudah
(Outspoken Press) -
STRIKE
Sarah Wimbush
(Stairwell Books)
The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection Shortlist 2024
-
I cannot be good until you say it
Sanah Ahsan
(Bloomsbury) -
Inheritance
Jasmine Cooray
(Bad Betty Press) -
Food for the Dead
Charlotte Shevchenko Knight
(Jonathan Cape) -
The Wrong Person to Ask
Marjorie Lotfi
(Bloodaxe) -
American Anthem
Kelly Michels
(Gallery Press)
The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Written Shortlist 2024
-
Vasiliki Albedo
‘On hearing the seismologist say there could be an 8.5R earthquake near Athens’
(And Other Poems) -
Derek Chan
‘A Craft Talk on the Praxis of an August Evening’
(Oxford Poetry) -
Lisa Kelly
‘I Wanted To Show You A Donkey’
(Rialto) -
Tife Kusoro
‘the only other dark-skinned girl’
(National Poetry Competition) -
Cindy Juyoung Ok
‘Ward of One’
(Poetry London)
The Jerwood Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed Shortlist 2024
-
Nasim Rebecca Asl
‘Choose Your Own Adventure: Fill in the (___blank___)’
-
Toby Campion
‘ghazal, screaming’
-
Eve Esfandiari-Denney
‘Nearly White Girl Girling on Behalf of Proximity to Mammal’
-
Leyla Josephine
‘Dear John Berger’
-
Michael Pedersen
‘What Grief Feels Like to Me’
