James Berry Poetry Prize 2024
The James Berry Poetry Prize will assist young and/or emerging writers of colour with mentoring to help them develop their work, followed by publication of their debut book-length collection with Bloodaxe Books.
Devised by Bernardine Evaristo, OBE, and Nathalie Teitler, the prize is modelled on The Complete Works mentoring programme previously supported by Arts Council England.
The prize is free to enter. It is open to poets of colour who have not yet published a book-length collection, with special consideration given to LGBTQ+/disabled poets and poets from underrepresented backgrounds. It is the first national poetry prize to include both mentoring and book publication.
A panel of judges will choose three equal winning poets. Each year the winning poets will be invited to take part in an annual James Berry Poetry Prize reading as part of the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts events series.
The prize is generously funded this year by Bloodaxe Books covered by uplift in NPO grants specifically for inclusivity projects and run in partnership with Newcastle University.
The prize:
- Three equal winners each to receive £1000 prize, expert mentoring and debut collection published with Bloodaxe Books.
Eligibility:
- This prize is open to writers of colour over the age of 18 who have not yet published a book-length manuscript. Applicants must be resident in the UK in order to be eligible for the prize.
- Applicants can have had poems published in magazines or online or in a pamphlet but they must not previously have published a full-length book collection of their own work, and must not have a publishing contract for a full-length collection with a publisher or literary agent.
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Enquiries about submissions should be directed to The James Berry Poetry Prize. Please always refer to their website for complete details and information.
Please note, this prize is run by The James Berry Poetry Prize, not the Commonwealth Foundation.
