2007
T. S. Eliot Prize
Winner
Sean O’Brien is a poet, critic, novelist and short-fiction writer. Born in London in 1952, he grew up in Hull and now lives in Newcastle. His poetry collections include The Indoor Park, The Frighteners (both Bloodaxe Books) and HMS Glasshouse and Ghost Train (both Oxford University Press). His collection, Downriver (2001), shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, was published by Picador Poetry, home to all his subsequent collections. The Drowned Book (2007) won the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for Best Collection. November (2011) was shortlisted for both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Best Collection. His Collected Poems appeared in 2012. The Beautiful Librarians (2015), a Poetry Book Society Choice, and Europa (2018) were both shortlisted for the T. S. Elliot Prize. His recent collections are It Says Here (2020) and Embark (2022). He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Author photo © Caroline Forbes
Picador Poetry
Announcements
Introduction
The T. S. Eliot Prize is awarded annually to the writer of the best new poetry collection published in the UK and Ireland. Described by Sir Andrew Motion as ‘the prize poets most want to win’ and by The Independent as the ‘world’s top poetry award’, it is the most prestigious poetry prize in the world, and the only major poetry prize judged purely by established poets.
Announcements
Introduction
The T. S. Eliot Prize is awarded annually to the writer of the best new poetry collection published in the UK and Ireland. Described by Sir Andrew Motion as ‘the prize poets most want to win’ and by The Independent as the ‘world’s top poetry award’, it is the most prestigious poetry prize in the world, and the only major poetry prize judged purely by established poets.
Announcements
Shortlisted Works
Shortlisted Poets
Ian Duhig worked with homeless people for fifteen years before devoting himself to writing activities full-time. A Fellow...
Alan Gillis is from Belfast and now lives in Scotland, where he teaches English at The University of...
Sophie Hannah’s debut, The Hero and the Girl Next Door, won an Eric Gregory Award. Her fourth collection,...
Mimi Khalvati, awarded the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2023, has published nine collections with Carcanet Press, including: The...
Frances Leviston won the Lord Alfred Douglas Prize for Poetry whilst at Oxford in 2003. Her pamphlet Lighter...
Born in west London, where she lived all her life, Sarah Maguire left school early to train as...
Edwin Morgan (1920-2010) was born in Glasgow. He served with the RAMC in the Middle East during World...
Fiona Sampson MBE FRSL is a poet, literary biographer and writer about place. A former professional violinist, she...
Matthew Sweeney (1952-2018) was born in Lifford, Co. Donegal, Ireland. He moved to London in 1973 and studied...
Judges
CHAIR
Peter Porter (1929-2010) moved to Britain from Australia in 1951. He published seventeen collections of poetry. His two-volume...
Related News Stories
In 2023 the T. S. Eliot Prize celebrated its 30th anniversary. We marked the occasion by looking back at the collections which have won ‘the Prize poets most want to win’ (Sir Andrew Motion). Sean O’Brien won the T. S. Eliot Prize 2007 with The Drowned Book (Picador Poetry), a...
Between 2006 and 2015, the Poetry Book Society ran the T. S. Eliot School Shadowing Scheme (later renamed the Writing Competition) in collaboration with the English and Media Centre, offering GCSE and A Level students the chance to get involved with the judging of the T. S. Eliot Prize. Two...
This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2008. Congratulations to Sean O’Brien for winning the T. S. Eliot Prize 2007 for The Drowned Book (Picador Poetry). This other poets on the shortlist were: Ian Duhig – The Speed...
This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2007. The T. S. Eliot Prize 2007 Shortlist has been announced. This year’s shortlisted poets are: Ian Duhig – The Speed of Dark (Picador Poetry) Alan Gillis – Hawks and Doves (Gallery...
This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2007. Please note that although it was announced that U. A. Fanthorpe would chair the 2007 judges panel, Peter Porter would ultimately chair this year of the Prize. The Poetry Book...
