The Poetry Trust is pleased to announce that the 2015 Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize is open for entries.
The Prize has been supporting poets at first book stage since 1989. Its value is not just in the cash prize – £2,500 – but also for its emphasis on developing talent. Uniquely, the winner also receives a week of ‘protected’ writing time on the inspirational Suffolk coast and – most significantly – an invitation to read at the subsequent Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, thereby reaching the UK’s largest and most dedicated contemporary poetry audience. No other poetry prize offers such sustained investment and support and The Fenton Arts Trust has confirmed it will sponsor the Prize for a further three years.
Any first collection of at least 40 pages with primary publication in the UK and Republic of Ireland between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015 is eligible.
Submissions can be from publishers or individual poets.
The deadline for receiving three bound or proof copies with a note of the date of publication will be Friday 24th July 2015.
Books originally published overseas but with UK distribution are NOT eligible.
In mid-September 2015 a shortlist of up to five titles will be announced. This year’s winner will be announced on Friday 6 November at the opening main reading of the 27th Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, 6-9 November 2015.
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Imtiaz Dharker joins Board of The Poetry Trust
We are pleased to announce that Imtiaz Dharker is to join the Board of The Poetry Trust. She is ideally placed in the international poetry world to help the Trust move forward to the next stage of its development under its new Director, Ellen McAteer.
As Carol Ann Duffy says, ‘If there were to be a World Laureate, then for me the role could only be filled by Imtiaz Dharker.’
Imtiaz is a long term friend of the Trust having memorably appeared at many of its events in the past. She first read at the 2010 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and went down a storm at the Poetry Prom in a packed Snape Maltings Concert Hall in August 2012. Imtiaz was also one of the judges for the 2014 Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.
‘I have long admired the achievements of the Poetry Trust, its ambition and insistence on quality. It provides a home for poetry not just at the wonderful Aldeburgh Poetry Festival but all year round, at live events and online, nurturing new talent and building audiences worldwide,’ said Imtiaz on her appointment.
‘This is why I am honoured to join the board and work with the people who, even in challenging times, have made it an outstanding meeting-point for poets and poetry-lovers.’
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