News And Publicity

Bloodaxe titles longlisted for the Forward Prizes 2026

For the first time this year, the organisers of the Forward Prizes decided to share their judges' longlists. Seven Bloodaxe titles were longlisted for the 2026 Forward Prizes, four for the Best Collection Prize, and three for the Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection. One title from each category went on to be shortlisted: Tishani Doshi's fifth collection Egrets, While War, and Roshni Gallagher's debut Even the Trees (forthcoming 17 September 2026).

The longlists for all four categories of the Forward Prizes 2026 were released on 19 June. The shortlists were announced on 16 July 2026.

The 2026 Forward Prize for Best Collection

• Tishani Doshi: Egrets, While War (May, 2026)

• John Challis: The Green Parcel (June, 2026)

• Clare Pollard: Lives of the Female Poets (September, 2025)

• Penelope Shuttle: History of the Child (February, 2026)

The 2026 Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection

• Roshni Gallagher: Even the Trees (published 17 September 2026)

• Cathy Galvin: Ethnology: a love song for Connemara (February, 2026)

• Jennifer Lee Tsai: Melete (May, 2026)

The judges of the 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry are author Sarah Moss, Chair, along with poets Romalyn Ante, WN Herbert, Michael Mullen and Yomi Ṣode. They chosen their longlists from over 500 submissions.

The full longlists can be found on the Forward Prizes webpage here. The shortlists can be found here.

The Forward Prizes for Poetry are among the most influential awards for new poetry in the UK and Ireland, honouring fresh voices alongside internationally established names.

First awarded in 1992, over the last three decades the prizes have celebrated some of the most recognised names in poetry. There are now four categories:

The Forward Prize for Best Collection (£10,000)

The Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection (£5,000)

The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Written (£1,000)

The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed (£1,000)

The winners will be announced at London's Southbank Centre on Saturday 24 October 2026 at the Forward Prize readings and ceremony. Tickets will be available in August.

The winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection 2025 was Vidyan Ravinthiran for his third poetry collection Avidyā. This was the first time in the history of the Forward Prizes that two poets were jointly awarded the Best Collection Prize. The second poet was Karen Solie for her collection Wellwater (Picador). This historic announcement was made at a ceremony at London's Southbank Centre on 26 October 2025. The winner of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2024 was Marjorie Lotfi for her debut The Wrong Person to Ask.

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For print or digital review copies of any of the longlisted or shortlisted Bloodaxe titles, please contact Christine Macgregor: publicity@bloodaxebooks.com.

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[23 June 2026]

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