The Forward Prizes for Poetry are awards for poetry, presented annually at a ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience, raising poetry's profile and linking poetry to people in new ways. The prizes do this by identifying and honouring talent: collections published in the UK and Ireland over the course of the previous year are eligible, as are single poems nominated by journal editors or prize organisers. Each year, works shortlisted for the prizes — plus those highly commended by the judges — are collected in the Forward Book of Poetry.
The awards have been sponsored since their inception by the content marketing agency Bookmark, formerly Forward Worldwide. The best first collection prize is sponsored by the estate of the late Felix Dennis.
The 25th Forward Prizes was awarded on 20 September 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
The Forward Prizes for Poetry consist of three awards:
The Forward Prize for Best Collection, £10,000
The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection, £5,000
The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in memory of Michael Donaghy, £1,000
The Prizes are run by the Forward Arts Foundation, which is also responsible for National Poetry Day. The executive director of the Forward Arts Foundation is Susannah Herbert.
The 2017 judging panel is chaired by Andrew Marr, journalist and broadcaster, artist Chris Riddell, poet-critic Sandeep Parmar, and the poets Mona Arshi and Ian Duhig.
2016: Vahni Capildeo, Measures of Expatriation (Carcanet Press)
2015: Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (Penguin Books)
2014: Kei Miller, The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion (Carcanet)
2013: Michael Symmons Roberts, Drysalter (Cape Poetry)
2012: Jorie Graham, Place
2011: John Burnside, Black Cat Bone (Jonathan Cape)
2010: Seamus Heaney, Human Chain (Faber)
2009: Don Paterson, Rain (Faber)
2008: Mick Imlah, The Lost Leader (Faber)
2007: Sean O'Brien, The Drowned Book (Picador)
2006: Robin Robertson, Swithering (Picador)
2005: David Harsent, Legion (Faber & Faber)
2004: Kathleen Jamie, The Tree House (Picador)
2003: Ciarán Carson, Breaking News (The Gallery Press)
2002: Peter Porter, Max is Missing (Picador)
2001: Sean O'Brien, Downriver (Picador)
2000: Michael Donaghy, Conjure (Picador)
1999: Jo Shapcott, My Life Asleep (Oxford University Press)
1998: Ted Hughes, Birthday Letters (Faber and Faber)
1997: Jamie McKendrick, The Marble Fly (Oxford University Press)
1996: John Fuller, Stones and Fires (Chatto & Windus)
1995: Sean O'Brien, Ghost Train (Oxford University Press)
1994: Alan Jenkins, Harm (Chatto & Windus)
1993: Carol Ann Duffy, Mean Time (Anvil Press)
1992: Thom Gunn, The Man with Night Sweats (Faber and Faber)
2016: Tiphanie Yanique, Wife (Peepal Tree Press)
2015: Mona Arshi, Small Hands (Liverpool University Press)
2014: Liz Berry, Black Country (Chatto & Windus)
2013: Emily Berry, Dear Boy (Faber and Faber)
2012: Sam Riviere, 81 Austerities
2011: Rachael Boast, Sidereal (Picador Poetry)
2010: Hilary Menos, Berg (Seren)
2009: Emma Jones, The Striped World (Faber)
2008: Kathryn Simmonds, Sunday at the Skin Launderette (Seren)
2007: Daljit Nagra, Look We Have Coming to Dover! (Faber and Faber)
2006: Tishani Doshi, Countries of the Body (Aark Arts)
2005: Helen Farish, Intimates (Jonathan Cape)
2004: Leontia Flynn, These Days (Jonathan Cape)
2003: A. B. Jackson, Fire Stations (Anvil Press)
2002: Tom French, Touching the Bones (The Gallery Press)
2001: John Stammers, The Panoramic Lounge Bar (Picador)
2000: Andrew Waterhouse, In (The Rialto)
1999: Nick Drake, The Man in the White Suit (Bloodaxe)
1998: Paul Farley, The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You (Picador)
1997: Robin Robertson, A Painted Field (Picador)
1996: Kate Clanchy, Slattern (Chatto & Windus)
1995: Jane Duran, Breathe Now, Breathe (Enitharmon Press)
1994: Kwame Dawes, Progeny of Air (Peepal Tree)
1993: Don Paterson, Nil Nil (Faber and Faber)
1992: Simon Armitage, Kid (Faber and Faber)
2016: Sasha Dugdale, 'Joy' (The PN Review)
2015: Claire Harman, 'The Mighty Hudson' (TLS)
2014: Stephen Santus, 'In a Restaurant' (The Bridport Prize)
2013: Nick MacKinnon, 'The Metric System' (The Warwick Review)
2012: Denise Riley, 'A Part Song'
2011: R. F. Langley, 'To a Nightingale' (London Review of Books)
2010: Julia Copus, 'An Easy Passage'
2009: Robin Robertson, 'At Roane Head'
2008: Don Paterson, 'Love Poem for Natalie 'Tusja' Beridze' (Poetry Review)
2007: Alice Oswald, 'Dunt' (Poetry London)
2006: Sean O'Brien, 'Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright' (Poetry Review)
2005: Paul Farley, 'Liverpool Disappears for a Billionth of a Second' (The North)
2004: Daljit Nagra, 'Look We Have Coming to Dover!' (Poetry Review)
2003: Robert Minhinnick, 'The Fox in the National Museum of Wales' (Poetry London)
2002: Medbh McGuckian, 'She is in the Past, She has this Grace' (The Shop)
2001: Ian Duhig, 'The Lammas Hireling'
2000: Tessa Biddington, 'The Death of Descartes'
1999: Robert Minhinnick, 'Twenty-five Laments for Iraq'
1998: Sheenagh Pugh, 'Envying Owen Beattie'
1997: Lavinia Greenlaw, 'A World Where News Travelled Slowly'
1996: Kathleen Jamie, 'The Graduates'
1995: Jenny Joseph, 'In Honour of Love'
1994: Iain Crichton Smith, 'Autumn'
1993: Vicki Feaver, 'Judith'
1992: Jackie Kay, 'Black Bottom'
