T. S. Eliot Prize
The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in honour of its founding poet, T. S. Eliot. Since its inception, the prize money has been donated by Eliot's widow, Mrs Valerie Eliot. At present, the prize is £15,000, with each of nine runners-up receiving £1000 each, making it the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry competition. The Prize has been called "the most coveted award in poetry".
The Society selects one new collection of poetry for distribution to its members each quarter. These four volumes and six additional collections comprise the annual shortlist for the Prize. On the evening before the announcement of the Prize, the Society sponsors a public reading by the authors of the ten shortlisted volumes. 2000 people attended the 2011 reading.
Read more about T. S. Eliot Prize: List of Winners
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