This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2009.

Congratulations to Jen Hadfield for winning the T. S. Eliot Prize 2008 for Nigh-No-Place (Bloodaxe Books).

The other poets on the shortlist were:

Moniza Alvi for Europa (Bloodaxe Books)

Peter Bennet for The Glass Swarm (Flambard)

Ciaran Carson for For All We Know (Gallery Press)

Robert Crawford for Full Volume (Cape Poetry)

Maura Dooley for Life Under Water (Bloodaxe Books)

Mark Doty for Theories and Apparitions (Cape Poetry)

Mick Imlah for The Lost Leader (Faber & Faber)

Glyn Maxwell for Hide Now (Picador Poetry)

Stephen Romer for Yellow Studio (Carcanet Press)

The winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize 2008 was announced at the award ceremony at Skinners’ Hall, London, on Monday 12 January 2009.

On Sunday 11 January, the 10 poets read from their collections at a special event at the Southbanks’s Queen Elizabeth Hall – one of the biggest audiences for modern poetry in recent times.

The T. S. Eliot Prize Shadowing Scheme, which allows students to shadow the judging process and to read and comment on excerpts from all the shortlisted collections, was won by Patrick Ford of Marlborough College, Marlborough. Click here to read Patrick’s essay on the Guardian website.

The T. S. Eliot Prize is now the biggest cash award in UK poetry, increased from £10,000 to £15,000. In a move which was widely welcomed, each of the 10 shortlisted poets also received £1,000. The £15,000 prize money was kindly donated by Eliot’s widow, Mrs Valerie Eliot.

Chair of the judges Andrew Motion said: ‘We are absolutely delighted that Jen Hadfield has won this year’s T. S. Eliot Prize. Nigh-No-Place shows that she is a remarkably original poet near the beginning of what is obviously going to be a distinguished career.’

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.