UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, and the Poetry School, are delighted to announce the shortlist (above) for the annual nature and ecopoetry prize, The Laurel Prize.

The prize is funded by Simon Armitage’s Laureate’s honorarium, which he receives annually from the Queen, and is run by the Poetry School. It is awarded to the best collection of environmental or nature poetry published that year. This year the Laurel Prize was judged by the poets Glyn Maxwell (Chair), Elena Karina Byrne and Tishani Doshi.

The prize awards £5,000 (1st prize), £2,000 (2nd prize), and £1,000 (3rd prize). There’s also a £500 for Best First Collection. In addition, each of the winners will receive a commission from the AONB to create a poem based on their favourite landscape.

Please do join us to hear the winners and the judges during two celebrations:

Fri, Sept 9, 5.00pm, Laurel Prize-giving Ceremony, part of BBC Contains Strong Language festival at Birmingham Hippodrome and live-streamed on BBC Radio’s The Verb. Free admission to the ceremony but a ticket is essential. This event will also be live-streamed here for free.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, this event was rescheduled to Fri, Sept 16 at 5.15pm in the Auditorium at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Full details below.

Fri, Sept 16, Laurel Prize Poetry Day 2022, Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP), West Bretton, Wakefield WF4 4LG. Join the Laurel Prize 2022 winners and long-listed poets for a day of poetry readings in the Chapel. The readings are free to attend and do not need booking, but you will need a YSP Visitor Ticket. Please explore the Yorkshire Sculpture Park events webpages (link above) for details of the poetry workshops available with some of the prize’s judges and listed poets. Practical information for visitors to YSP.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Laurel Prize awards ceremony has been rescheduled to be part of the above Poetry Day. The ceremony will take place at 5.15pm in the Auditorium at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Tickets are free but limited, sign up here: https://bit.ly/3QEuiG0