In October 2023, Derby Poetry Festival announced the inaugural Derby Poetry Festival Poetry Prize. Open to submissions nationwide, we invited people to submit poems on any theme to this year's guest Judge Helen Mort.
We wanted the poetry prize and the openness of the theme to enable writers, poets and spoken word artists to introduce themselves to us and share their incredible writing with us.
Celebrating the East Midlands, the wonderful region we proudly call home, we also introduced an East Midlands Prize specifically for writers based in the region.
When considering the poems for the 2023 Prize, Helen explained, “I don't just want poems that invite a second reading, I want poems that demand me to listen and leave me subtly changed.”.
We received an incredible response, over 150 entries from all across the country. It was a challenging task to shortlist poems, but we now have the shortlist for the 2023 Prize.
Introducing the 2023 Derby Poetry Festival Poetry Prize Shortlist.
Series: Mis—
Courtney Conrad
A Lament for ‘My Dear’
Ken Evans
Crematorium Technician
Suzanna Fitzpatrick
THE COLLECTOR OF RIVERS
Christopher James
At the bottom of your street, someone graffitied AMY in massive letters
Amy King
Devotion
Amy King
Scapulimancy
Leanne Moden
The night of my brother's wedding, snorting bad cocaine given to me by a stranger, from the cover of a Justin Bieber annual
Harry Slater
Orinoco Flow
Sam Szanto
A Year in Ireland
Alice Tanik
Hotel MAN
Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Sunflowers
Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Today someone will ask me for tomorrow and I will say yes
Jake Wild-Hall
Poetry is our Dad
Jake Wild-Hall
The overall winner will receive £500, the second prize is £250, the third place will receive £100 and the East Midlands winner will receive £150.
All the writers on this year's shortlist will receive a complimentary ticket to the 2024 digital workshop series which is on sale now. More details can be found here. https://www.derbypoetryfestival.com/whats-on-events
The 2023 Poetry Prize winner will be announced on Friday 2nd February.
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