After receiving a record total of 734 applications, we are pleased to finally announce the Women Poets’ Prize 2020 longlist.
As was the case with the inaugural 2018 Prize, we have been struck by the range and ambition of submissions. The courage, inventiveness and rigour with which women of various backgrounds and career stages are writing poetry is undeniable. Although representing only a small fraction of the work received, the 30 longlisted poets capture the collective spirit of the whole in many ways.
All 30 longlisted poets will now be granted a year’s free access to The Literary Consultancy’s Being A Writer platform, which has been designed to support creative practice at a self-led pace.
Going forward, our judges Malika Booker, Liz Berry, and Pascale Petit will now select the Women Poets’ Prize shortlist of nine poets, before choosing three final winners. The shortlist will be announced in mid-October, with announcement of winners to follow in early November.
In the meantime, we would like to thank all of our applicants for sharing their work with us, and for continuing to believe and invest in poetry. And finally, we offer our congratulations to all 30 longlisted poets.
The Women Poets’ Prize 2020: LONGLIST
Dunni Abisayo
Shereen Akhtar
Josie Alford
Jane Ayres
Natalie Linh Bolderston
Sarah Cave
Beth Cochrane
Hannah Cooper-Smith
Ella Cunningham
Tjawangwa Dema
Alisha Dietzman
Olivia Douglass
Eve Ellis
Annie Fan
Tanatsei Gambura
Emily Harrison
Vicki Husband
Amina Jama
Cecilia Knapp
Charlotte Knight
Bryony Littlefair
Amelia Loulli
Cynthia Miller
Elizabeth O’Connor
Jeri Onitskansky
Laura Potts
Yvette Siegert
Warda Yassin
Amara Amaryah
Courtney Conrad
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