Forward Prizes for Poetry

Forward Prizes for Poetry are for new poetry in the UK and Ireland, honouring fresh voices alongside internationally established names. This year is the prize’s 30th anniversary.

There are three prizes: The Forward Prize for Best Collection, The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection, and The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. They are accompanied by the Forward Book of Poetry, an annual anthology that brings together the best new work published in the UK and Ireland.

Important dates to follow:

2022 Winner ~ All the men I never married by Kim Moore

Past Winners

Forward Prize for Best Collection 2021 Past Winner

2021 Past Winner Notes on the Sonnets by Luke Kennard

Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection 2021 Past Winner

Poor by Caleb Femi

Best Single poem 2021 Past Winner

‘Pages 22-29, An excerpt from The Ferguson Report: An Erasure’ by Nicole Sealey

Forward Prize for Best Collection 2020~ The Air Year by Caroline Bird (Carcanet)

Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection 2020~ RENDANG by Will Harris (Granta Poetry)

Forward Prize for Best Single Poem 2020~ ‘The Little Miracles’ by Malika Booker (Magma)