Forward Prizes for Poetry

Forward Prizes Ceremony 2025 | Southbank Centre The UK's largest arts centre & the heart of London's cultural life.

Only one week until the shortlist readings & winner announcements at Forward Prizes Ceremony 2025. Don’t miss it! buff.ly/Pp7BLtv #ForwardPrizes #LondonLiteratureFestival #Poetry

Next Verse: A Young Poets' Summit Showcase | Southbank Centre The UK's largest arts centre & the heart of London's cultural life.

🚨 One week to go! 🚨
Join us 25 Oct @SouthbankCentre for Next Verse: A Young Poets’ Summit Showcase.
A celebration of poetry, craft + community with the UK’s most exciting young voices.
🎟️ From £10. Ages 14+.

Meet the Poets continues! We’re now moving into our next category: the Forward Prize for Best Collection. First up is Juana Adcock, whose collection I Sugar the Bones (@outspokenldn) is shortlisted for this year’s prestigious Forward Prize. 🔗 buff.ly/ZakZSOE

Poetry lovers, this one’s for you! ✨📚 Join us at #ContainsStrongLanguage for the Forward Prizes Showcase, where boundary-pushing poets take the stage to share work that’s bold, brilliant, and unforgettable.
🔗 Book now: buff.ly/bQ1TsRm
@bbccslfest @bbcarts

Don’t miss the Forward Prizes Showcase at #ContainsStrongLanguage — a celebration of the most vital voices in contemporary poetry. Step into an afternoon of powerful performances from poets featured in the 2025 Forward Book of Poetry. 🔗 Book now: buff.ly/bQ1TsRm

Rounding off our Meet the Poets series for Best Single Poem – Written is Nick Makoha, shortlisted for ‘Codex©’. Fusing personal history, diaspora, and artistic legacy, this poem is a meditative reflection on identity, memory, and cultural ownership. buff.ly/gi3JNZr

Next up in the series is Claire Lynn, shortlisted for her poem ‘Live Stream’. This poem is a quiet meditation on observation, community, and the rhythms of care—both human and wild.
Read the full interview via this link: buff.ly/ZCYcNDQ

There’s still time to join us at #ContainsStrongLanguage! 🎉📖 The event celebrates the best new poetry from the Forward Prizes 2025. Book your free tickets & see the full festival lineup here:
🔗 buff.ly/bQ1TsRm
@bbcarts @bbccslfest

Next up is Tim Tim Cheng, shortlisted for their poem ‘Girl Ghosts’, blending memory, myth, and migration. The poem is a polyvocal exploration of girlhood, cultural inheritance, and the fractured stories passed down through generations. Full interview: buff.ly/tIUjmao

REMINDER! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
The Forward Prizes Ceremony 2025 🎉
📅 Sunday 26 October | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 Southbank Centre
🎟️ Tickets on sale now: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/for...
#ForwardPrizes #PoetryLive #SouthbankCentre #UKPoetry #PoetryAwards #SpokenWord

We are proud to reannounce the exceptional shortlist for the Forward Prize for Best Collection, celebrating the finest in contemporary poetry.
Congratulations once again to all the poets and publishers!

🔗 Full shortlist: buff.ly/FJ2m0TM

#ForwardPrizes

We are excited to reintroduce the powerful shortlist for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection, honouring remarkable debut voices in poetry.
🔗 Full shortlist: buff.ly/FJ2m0TM
#ForwardPrizes

We are thrilled to share once again the outstanding shortlist for the Forward Prize for the Best Single Poem – Performed category
Huge congratulations again to all!
🔗 Full shortlist: forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-priz...
#ForwardPrizes

We are delighted to reannounce the shortlist for the Forward Prize for the Best Single Poem – Written category.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted poets!
🔗 Full shortlist: buff.ly/FJ2m0TM

Next up in Best Single Poem – Written: Tom Branfoot, shortlisted for ‘A Parliament of Jets’, a powerful long-form poem exploring global conflict and ecological destruction. Read the full poem via this link: forwardartsfoundation.org/poem/a-parli...

Meet the Poets continues – we’re now in the Best Single Poem – Written category! First up: Abeer Ameer, shortlisted for ‘at least’, a haunting meditation on violence, memory, and how we speak about loss. Read the full poem via this link: buff.ly/WpoMcE1

As the final spotlight on poems for the summer, here are some beautiful lines from My Friends by @arundhathi.subramaniam@bloodaxebooks - and for more incredible poems, why not discover the Forward Prizes shortlist buff.ly/i67GTxe

We’re holding a Forward Prizes Showcase at #ContainsStrongLanguage and all events are now bookable for the @bbccslfest festival in Bradford on 18-21 September. Run by @bbcarts, @wordupnorth and @bradford_2025, there are over 50 FREE events! Book now: buff.ly/bHdNUC9

Our summer holiday poetry series continues with a few wonderful lines from Lazarus Taxa by John Burnside. Burnside, who passed away last year, left a legacy of language that continues to move and inspire, and if you're only just discovering this poet you've got a treat in store. @penguinukbooks

Week three of our summer holiday poetry series takes us seaside again, this time with luminous lines by Emma Jeremy (@emmajanejeremy). If the rhythm of these words pulls you in like the tide, why not explore the full poem and connect with both poet and publisher. @emmajanejeremy @out_spoken_press

There’s still time for you to join us for the Forward Prizes Showcase at #ContainsStrongLanguage! Expect bold voices, fresh perspectives, and unforgettable performances. 🎟 FREE – but booking required! Link:https://buff.ly/YYETf4w

Next up in our Meet the Poets series is Goonie by Michael Mullen (Corsair), shortlisted for this year’s Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection. Goonie explores the balance between page and stage poetry. Read the interview here: forwardartsfoundation.org/in-conversat...

Next in our Meet The Poets series: Altar by Desree (@badbettypress), a powerful debut exploring sacrifice, identity & resilience through vivid, raw vignettes on Black British identity, queer joy, family & more.
Read the full interview via this link:
forwardartsfoundation.org/in-conversat...

📚 Next up in our Meet the Poets series: Heirloom by Catherine-Esther Cowie (@carcanetpress), shortlisted for this year’s Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection. A lyrical meditation on trauma, memory & inheritance. Read the full interview:
forwardartsfoundation.org/in-conversat...

Next up in our Meet the Poets series for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection: Chaotic Good (@@faberbooks.bsky.social ) by Isabelle Baafi – a bold debut exploring ambivalence, trauma, and radical hope!
Read the full interview here: forwardartsfoundation.org/in-conversat...

Meet the Poets continues! and we’re moving into our next category: Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection! First up in our series is the visionary collection, Theophanies by Sarah Ghazal Ali. Read the full interview via this link: forwardartsfoundation.org/in-conversat...

Meet the Poets continues! and we’re moving into our next category: Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection! First up in our series is the visionary collection, Theophanies by Sarah Ghazal Ali. Read the full interview via this link:
buff.ly/CUsvB3R

As summer begins, we’re sharing glimpses and lines of poems which feel perfect for the season. Week 1 features some lines from the wonderfully knowing "Hotel Petroleum" by Mark Fiddes (@fiddeswrites). Thanks to Mark and @themothmagazine. #ForwardPrizes

We were honoured to have an extraordinary panel of judges for the 2025 Forward Prizes,who brought care, rigour, and passion to every poem. Here is award-winning poet, playwright, and performer Rommi Smith sharing what she thought of the shortlists:

The final shortlist for the Best Single Poem – Performance category is Zoë McWhinney. Zoë's incredible work celebrates the rich expressiveness of signing, challenging traditional definitions of poetry and expanding the ways we experience it! Link: buff.ly/gXK6zun