Forward Prizes for Poetry

The Forward Prizes for Poetry celebrate the best new poetry published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They were founded by William Sieghart, who created the Forward Arts Foundation to run them, and were first awarded in 1992, when Thom Gunn won for best collection, Simon Armitage for a first collection and Jackie Kay for a single poem. The foundation also runs National Poetry Day.

The prizes are given in four categories: Best Collection, Best First Collection, Best Single Poem in print and, since 2022, Best Single Poem performed. Judging panels choose the shortlists over the summer, and the winners are announced at an autumn ceremony in London. Shortlisted and commended poems appear in the annual Forward Book of Poetry, which helps bring new poets to a wider audience.

Poetry collections and single poems published in the UK or Ireland during the prize's eligibility year, entered by publishers and editors.