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From a record 154 submissions, the T. S. Eliot Prize judges have chosen this year’s shortlist. The T. S. Eliot Prize is an annual prize that goes to the best new poetry collection published in the UK or Ireland. It was inaugurated in 1993 to celebrate the Poetry Book Society’s 40th birthday and to honour its founding poet. This year, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Prize, the value of the Prize has been increased. The winner now receives £25,000 and the ten shortlisted poets each receive £1,500.
The winner is to be announced on Monday 15th January 2018.
T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist:
- Tara Bergin – The Tragic Death of Eleanor Marx (Carcanet)
- Caroline Bird – In these Days of Prohibition (Carcanet)
- Douglas Dunn – The Noise of a Fly (Faber & Faber)
- Leontia Flynn – The Radio (Cape Poetry)
- Roddy Lumsden – So Glad I’m Me (Bloodaxe)
- Michael Symmons Roberts – Mancunia (Cape Poetry)
- Robert Minhinnick – Diary of the Last Man (Carcanet)
- James Sheard – The Abandoned Settlements (Cape Poetry)
- Jacqueline Saphra – All My Mad Mothers (Nine Arches Press)
- Ocean Vuong – Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Cape Poetry)
Meet the Judges:
W. N. Herbert (Chair)
W. N. Herbert was born in Dundee and writes poetry in both English and Scots. His poetry collections include Forked Tongue (1994), The Laurelude (1998), Bad Shaman Blues (2006) and Omnesia (2013). Twice shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize, he has also written a guide to writing poetry: Writing Poetry (2010). He is currently a Professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Newcastle University.
James Lasdun
A poet, novelist, short-story writer and script writer, James Lasdun has embraced many forms of literature. His poetry collection Landscape with Chainsaw (2001) was shortlisted for both the T. S. Eliot prize and the Forward Prize. James Lasdun co-wrote the film Sunday, which won Best Feature and Best Screenplay awards at Sundance.
Helen Mort
Five times winner of the Foyle Young Poets Award, Helen Mort has also received an Eric Gregory Award and won the Manchester Young Writer Prize in 2008. Her poetry has also been shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Costa Prize. Her collections include Division Street (2013) and No Map Could Show Them (2016).
To get your own copies of the shortlisted titles or other titles mentioned, order from us here.
