Judges Sinéad Morrissey (Chair), Daljit Nagra and Clare Pollard have chosen the T. S. Eliot Prize 2018 Shortlist from a record 176 poetry collections submitted by, as Sinéad Morrissey says, ‘a plethora of poetry publishers’. The Shortlist comprises five debut collections, one small press, five men, five women, and two Americans.

Ailbhe Darcy – Insistence (Bloodaxe Books)

Terrance Hayes – American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassins (Penguin Poetry)

Zaffar Kunial – Us (Faber & Faber)

Nick Laird – Feel Free (Faber & Faber)

Fiona Moore – The Distal Point (HappenStance Press)

Sean O’Brien – Europa (Picador Poetry)

Phoebe Power – Shrines of Upper Austria (Carcanet Press)

Richard Scott – Soho (Faber & Faber)

Tracy K. Smith – Wade in the Water (Penguin Poetry)

Hannah Sullivan – Three Poems (Faber & Faber)

For more information on the poets shortlisted, see our shortlist page.

‘Poetry is a flourishing art form’, Chair Sinéad Morrissey said. ‘We read 176 collections from a plethora of poetry publishers, both new and established, and felt privileged to listen in to such a lively, diverse and urgent conversation.

‘With difficulty we chose our ten brilliant poetry books of the year – many of them debut collections. Together they offer an invigorated language, confident mastery of form, and fresh, sophisticated perspectives on our uncertain times.’

The T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings will take place on Sunday 13 January 2019 in Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall as part of its literature programme. The Shortlist Readings are the largest annual poetry event in the UK and will be hosted once again by Ian McMillan. Tickets are now on sale from Southbank Centre’s box office and online.

The T. S. Eliot Prize is run by The T. S. Eliot Foundation. It is the most valuable prize in British poetry, with the winning poet receiving a cheque for £25,000 and the shortlisted poets each receiving £1,500. It is the only poetry prize which is judged purely by established poets.

The winner of the 2018 Prize will be announced at the Award Ceremony on Monday 14 January 2019, where the winner and the shortlisted poets will be presented with their cheques. This continues the tradition started by Mrs Valerie Eliot, who provided the prize money from the inception of the Prize.

The weekly T. S. Eliot Prize newsletter will provide essential background on the shortlisted poets, including links to specially-commissioned new videos, readers’ notes and reviews. To subscribe, visit our newsletter webpage.

Last year’s winner was Ocean Vuong’s Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Cape Poetry) and the judges were W. N. Herbert (Chair), James Lasdun and Helen Mort.