This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2015.
The Poetry Book Society is delighted to announce the judges and call for submissions for the T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry 2015. Pascale Petit will be Chair of the judging panel, alongside poets Kei Miller and Ahren Warner.
The judges will meet in October to decide on the ten-book Shortlist. The four Poetry Book Society Choices from 2015 are automatically shortlisted for the Prize. The Spring 2015 Choice was The Beautiful Librarians by Sean O’Brien (Picador Poetry); the Summer Choice is Deep Lane by Mark Doty (Cape Poetry); the Autumn Choice will be Waiting for the Past by Les Murray (Carcanet Press); and the Winter Choice will be announced in August.
The T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist Readings will take place on Sunday 10 January 2016 in Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. The shortlist readings are the largest annual poetry event in the UK.
The winner of the 2015 Prize will be announced at the award ceremony on Monday 11 January 2016, where the winning poet will be presented with a cheque for £20,000 and the shortlisted poets will each receive £1,500, donated by the T. S. Eliot Estate. This continues the tradition started by Mrs Valerie Eliot, who gave the prize money from the inception of the Prize. The T. S. Eliot Estate increased its support last year to become sole supporter of the Prize.
The T. S. Eliot Prize Writing Competition for sixth form students is being relaunched this year with a new additional category for students to write their own poem in response to their choice of one of the shortlisted poems. This Writing Competition is run in conjunction with the English and Media Centre. Find out more here.
The T. S. Eliot Prize Reading Groups scheme will enable reading groups and individual readers to read and discuss the Shortlist.
Last year’s winner was David Harsent for his collection Fire Songs (Faber & Faber). The judges were Helen Dunmore (Chair), Sean Borodale and Fiona Sampson.
Visit the Poetry Book Society YouTube page to hear last year’s Shortlist Readings
Photo of Pascale Petit © Kaido Vainomaa
This article has been republished to provide a fuller picture of the T. S. Eliot Prize history. The Poetry Book Society ran the T. S. Eliot Prize until 2016, when the T. S. Eliot Foundation took over the Prize, the estate having supported it since its inception.
