Greenlaw to chair T S Eliot Prize judging panel

The T.S Eliot Foundation has announced the panel of judges for this year's poetry prize, which will be chaired by poet and author Lavinia Greenlaw.

Greenlaw will appear alongside Andrew McMillan and Mona Arshi, to judge the "best new poetry collection written in English and published in 2020".

Greenlaw said: “This is a particularly exciting time to be judging the most eminent of poetry prizes. In the last decade, poetry has been dismantled, revitalised and reinstated by voices old and new. I look forward to working with Andrew Macmillan and Mona Arshi as we immerse ourselves in the best of what is being written now.”

The shortlisted poems are scheduled to be read on 10th January 202 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, as part of the largest annual poetry event in the UK. The winner of will be announced at the award ceremony on 11th January 2021, and will receive a cheque for £25,000. The shortlisted poets will be presented with cheques for £1,500.

Last year’s winner was Roger Robinson, for his work A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press) judged by chair John Burnside, Sarah Howe and Nick Makoha.

A call for submissions to the award will go out in June.