Griffin Poetry Prize unveils largest prize to date with £85k for single book of poetry

The Griffin Poetry Prize has unveiled its largest award to date in celebration of its 20 year anniversary, with £85,000 for a single book of poetry now up for grabs.

Combining the existing International and Canadian prizes into one major prize, the prize will be worth $130,000 (£85,000) making it the world’s largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. Shortlisted poets will each receive $10,000 (c.£6,500).

Additionally, a new $10,000 prize will be awarded for a Canadian First Book of poetry, along with a six-week residency in Italy in partnership with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation to a Canadian Citizen, or permanent resident, for a first book written in English.

The Lifetime Recognition Award will continue to be awarded by the trustees in the sum of $25,000 bringing the total of the new prize fund to $205,000 (c.£135,000).

Margaret Atwood, author and founding trustee, said: “The Griffin Poetry Prize has been acknowledging and encouraging poets for 22 years. At a time when censorship and attacks on a diverse array of writers are on the rise in many countries – including the United States – it’s heartening to see such a strong vote of confidence in poets coming from Canada. Poetry is not a minor art form; it is the crucible of human language.”

In the event a winning book is a translation into English, and to recognize the important and often underrepresented work of translators, the Griffin Poetry Prize will allocate 60% of the prize to the translator and 40% to the original poet.

A longlist of 10 books will be announced in March 2023, and to coincide with National Poetry Month, a shortlist of five books will be announced in April, with the winners announced in Toronto on 7th June, 2023. The winners, shortlisted poets, and the Lifetime Recognition Award recipient will be invited to take part in the poetry readings at Koerner Hall in Toronto. The event will be ticketed and open to the public.

The 2023 judges of the prize will be Macedonian poet and translator Nikola Madzirov, Canadian poet Gregory Scofield, and former US poet laureate Natasha Trethewey.

The judges are chosen by the trustees whose current board comprises Mark Doty, Carolyn Forché, Sarah Howe, Paul Muldoon, Karen Solie, Aleš Šteger, and Ian Williams.