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T. S. Eliot Prize

The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize for poetry awarded by the T. S. Eliot Foundation. For many years it was awarded by the Eliots' Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland"[1] in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in honour of its founding poet, T. S. Eliot. Since its inception, the prize money was donated by Eliot's widow, Mrs Valerie Eliot and more recently it has been given by the T. S. Eliot Estate.

This article is about the prize set up and administered by the Poetry Book Society and now run by the T. S. Eliot Foundation. For the U. S. prize of the same name, see T. S. Eliot Prize (Truman State University).

T. S. Eliot Prize

Best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland

United Kingdom

1993 (1993)

Official website

The T. S. Eliot Foundation took over the running of the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2016, appointing as its new director Chris Holifield (formerly director of the Poetry Book Society),[2] when the former Poetry Book Society charity had to be wound up, with its book club and company name taken over by book sales agency Inpress Ltd in Newcastle. Holifield retired at the end of June 2022 after 20 years in the post, being replaced by Mike Sims.[3] The winner now receives £25,000 and the ten shortlisted poets each receive £1,500, making it the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry competition. The Prize has been called "the most coveted award in poetry".[4]


The shortlist for the Prize is announced in October of each year, and the 10 shortlisted poets take part in the Readings at the Royal Festival Hall in London's Southbank Centre on the evening before the announcement of the Prize.[5] Two thousand people attended the 2011 reading.[6]

2023 – , Self-Portrait as Othello[7]

Jason Allen-Paisant

2022 – , Sonnets for Albert[8]

Anthony Joseph

2021 – , C+nto & Othered Poems[9]

Joelle Taylor

2020 – , How to Wash a Heart[10]

Bhanu Kapil

2019 – , A Portable Paradise

Roger Robinson

2018 – , Three Poems[11]

Hannah Sullivan

2017 – , Night Sky with Exit Wounds[12]

Ocean Vuong

2016 – , Jackself[13]

Jacob Polley

2015 – , Loop of Jade[14]

Sarah Howe

2014 – , Fire Songs[15]

David Harsent

2013 – , Parallax

Sinéad Morrissey

2012 – , Stag's Leap

Sharon Olds

2011 – , Black Cat Bone

John Burnside

2010 – , White Egrets

Derek Walcott

2009 – , The Water Table[16]

Philip Gross

2008 – , Nigh-No-Place

Jen Hadfield

2007 – , The Drowned Book

Sean O'Brien

2006 – , District and Circle

Seamus Heaney

2005 – , Rapture

Carol Ann Duffy

2004 – , Reel

George Szirtes

2003 – , Landing Light

Don Paterson

2002 – , Dart

Alice Oswald

2001 – , The Beauty of the Husband

Anne Carson

2000 – , The Weather in Japan

Michael Longley

1999 – , Billy's Rain

Hugo Williams

1998 – , Birthday Letters

Ted Hughes

1997 – , God's Gift to Women

Don Paterson

1996 – , Subhuman Redneck Poems

Les Murray

1995 – , My Alexandria

Mark Doty

1994 – , The Annals of Chile

Paul Muldoon

1993 – , First Language: Poems

Ciarán Carson

2023 – , Sasha Dugdale and Denise Saul

Paul Muldoon

2022 – , Hannah Lowe and Roger Robinson

Jean Sprackland

2021 – , Caroline Bird and Zaffar Kunial

Glyn Maxwell

2020 – , Mona Arshi and Andrew McMillan

Lavinia Greenlaw

2019 — , Sarah Howe and Nick Makoha

John Burnside

2018 — , Sinéad Morrissey and Daljit Nagra

Clare Pollard

2017 — , James Lasdun and Helen Mort

W. N. Herbert

2016 — , Ruth Padel and Alan Gillis

Julia Copus

2015 – , Pascale Petit and Ahren Warner

Kei Miller

2014 – , Helen Dunmore and Fiona Sampson

Sean Borodale

2013 – , Ian Duhig and Vicki Feaver

Imtiaz Dharker

2012 – , Michael Longley and David Morley

Carol Ann Duffy

2011 – , Stephen Knight and Dennis O'Driscoll

Gillian Clarke

2010 – , Anne Stevenson and Michael Symmons Roberts

Bernardine Evaristo

2009 – , Colette Bryce and Penelope Shuttle

Simon Armitage

2008 – , Tobias Hill and Andrew Motion

Lavinia Greenlaw

2007 – , W. N. Herbert and Peter Porter

Sujata Bhatt

2006 – , Gwyneth Lewis and Sean O'Brien

Sophie Hannah

2005 – , Kate Clanchy and Jane Draycott

David Constantine

2004 – , Paul Farley and Carol Rumens

Douglas Dunn

2003 – , Mimi Khalvati and George Szirtes

David Harsent

2002 – , Fred D’Aguiar and Deryn Rees-Jones

Michael Longley

2001 – , Helen Dunmore and Maurice Riordan

John Burnside

2000 – , Glyn Maxwell and Kathleen Jamie

Paul Muldoon

1999 – , Selima Hill and Jamie McKendrick

Blake Morrison

1998 – , Simon Armitage and Maura Dooley

Bernard O’Donoghue

1997 – , Sean O’Brien and Hugo Williams

Gillian Clarke

1996 – , Helen Dunmore and Ruth Padel

Andrew Motion

1995 – , Maura Dooley and Liz Lochhead

James Fenton

1994 – , Ciaran Carson, Robert Crawford, John Fuller and Candia McWilliam

Elaine Feinstein

1993 – , Fleur Adcock, Edna Longley, Robert Crawford and John Lucas

Peter Porter

Shortlists[edit]

2020s[edit]

2023

List of British literary awards

List of poetry awards

List of literary awards

English poetry

English literature

British literature

List of years in literature

List of years in poetry

T.S. Eliot Prize website

. Poetry Book Society.

"The Book Club for Poetry Lovers"