This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published on the Poetry Book Society website in 2006.

The Poetry Book Society is pleased to announce the Shortlist for the T. S. Eliot Prize 2006, to be awarded to the writer of the best new collection of poetry published in 2006.

Now in its fourteenth year, the T. S. Eliot Prize is ‘poetry’s most coveted award’ (Jane Wheatley, The Times).

Judges Sean O’Brien (Chair), Sophie Hannah and Gwenyth Lewis chose the following ten collections:

Simon Armitage – Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus the Corduroy Kid (Faber & Faber)

Paul Farley – Tramp in Flames (Picador Poetry)

Seamus Heaney – District and Circle (Faber & Faber)

W. N. Herbert – Bad Shaman Blues (Bloodaxe Books)

Jane Hirshfield – After (Bloodaxe Books)

Tim Liardet – The Blood Choir (Seren)

Paul Muldoon – Horse Latitudes (Faber & Faber)

Robin Robertson – Swithering (Picador Poetry)

Penelope Shuttle – Redgrove’s Wife (Bloodaxe Books)

Hugo Williams – Dear Room (Faber & Faber)

Each of these collections are available from the Poetry Book Society at a discount for PBS members. Alternatively you can purchase the titles online.

The judges will make their final decision on Monday 15 January 2007, when the prize of £10,000 will be presented by Mrs Valerie Eliot at an award ceremony in London.

The T. S. Eliot Prize is sponsored by the broadcaster Five and supported by the T. S. Eliot Foundation.

The T. S. Eliot Prize Readings

The T. S. Eliot Prize Readings will take place on Sunday 14 January 2007.

On the eve of the judges’ decision, the ten poets shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize 2006 are invited to participate in a public reading at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH. One of the most exciting events in the poetry calendar, the T. S. Eliot Prize Readings give you the opportunity to make up your own mind about who should win the Eliot! Tickets are on sale now.

The T. S. Eliot School Shadowing Scheme

The Poetry Book Society have joined forces with the English and Media Centre to offer A Level students the chance to get involved with the judging of the T. S. Eliot Prize. The T S Eliot School Shadowing Scheme will reflect Eliot’s own commitment to encouraging young people to enjoy poetry by allowing 14-19 year olds to shadow the T. S. Eliot Prize judging panel as they make their decision.

There will be a poll to find out who the students think should win the T. S. Eliot Prize and a competition for the best individual student’s rationale for their choice of winner. Prizes include tickets to the T. S. Eliot Readings and Award Ceremony and a year’s subscription to the English and Media Centre’s publication for A Level English students, emagazine, where the winning rationale will be published.

For further information, the teachers’ guide and the online poll for the scheme go to www.englishandmedia.co.uk.

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.