Simon Armitage’s Environmental Poetry Prize Enters its Second Year

Full details – www.laurelprize.com

The​ ​Poet Laureate’s​ annual prize enters its second year with three new judges at the helm: Chair, Maura Dooley,​ ​James Thornton​ and ​Imtiaz Dharker​.

The Laurel Prize is an award for the best collection of environmental, ecopoetry or nature poetry. The Prize will further the discourse around climate crisis, environmental and ecological topics and aims to reach new audiences with environmental messages.

Simon Armitage donates his Laureate’s Honorarium of £5,000 each year to support the project.

In its second year the Laurel Prize will be going international, meaning any collection written in the English language will be eligible for entry. This year the prize will be open for submissions from publishers ​1s​t​ January 2021 – 16t​ h​ April 2021​, accepting collections published between ​March 16th 2020 – 16t​h​ April 2021​. Please note that this does not does not include self-published collections.

KEY FACTS

• There are ​4 Laurel Prizes​ –​ First Prize ​£5,000​, Second Prize ​£2,000 ​and Third Prize ​£1,000​ ​for the best books / collections of poems published in English with nature and the environment at their heart, plus an additional ​£500 ​Prize for best First Collection
• Judges will be Chair, poet and writer ​Maura Dooley​, ClientEarth Founder, lawyer and poet James Thornton​ and poet and filmmaker ​Imtiaz Dharker​.
• This year the prize will be open for submissions from publishers ​1s​t​ January 2021 – 16t​h​ April 2021​, accepting collections published ​March 16th 2020 – 16t​ h​ April 2021​. 
• The prize will seek to highlight the challenges facing our planet and engage new and existing audiences with poetry with impact and which inspires change and activity
• The Prize will run at least for the ​10 years of Simon Armitage’s Laureateship​, sustaining and growing engagement, impact and reach whilst building an archive and legacy of change.
• A symposium and prize-giving will be held at the ​Yorkshire Sculpture Park (October, 2021)​.
• The Laurel prize 2021 will be​ ​international​, accepting submissions ​worldwide​ for collections written in the English language. Please note that this does not does not include self-published collections.
• Poetry School ​will run and administer this Prize.

Full details – www.laurelprize.com