The Poetry Society

The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry

The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2011 is no longer accepting recommendations.

Judges Edmund de Waal, Sarah Maguire and Michael Symmons Roberts are currently considering the recommendations received from Poetry Society and Poetry Book Society members prior to the deadline of 6 January 2012. A shortlist will be announced in the spring. The winner will be announced in late March. For more information about previous winners Alice Oswald and Kaite O'Reilly see our history section.

The award, now in its third year, brings into focus the many ways poets engage with other art forms, and the extraordinary range of work they create. Examples of some projects can be found on our New Work page, although this list is by no means exhaustive.

Information about the 2012 award will be available in the near future.

Michael Symmons Roberts, Sarah Maguire and Edmund de Waal, judges of the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2011. Sarah Maguire image credit: Crispin Hughs; Michael Symmons Roberts credit: Andrew Crowley

About the Award

In 2010, for the second year, members of the Poetry Society and Poetry Book Society were invited to recommend a living UK poet, working in any form, who has made the most exciting contribution to poetry. The £5,000 prize is donated by Carol Ann Duffy, funded from the annual honorarium the Poet Laureate traditionally receives from HM The Queen. The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry seeks to recognise excellence in poetry, highlighting outstanding contributions made by poets to our cultural life.

“In order to thrive, poetry must always be open to the world it inhabits. This means that it’s vital for poets to engage with other art forms. A poet can learn as much about their craft from closely examining the work of other artists as they can from poetry itself.”
Sarah Maguire, judge of The Ted Hughes Award 2011