Women Poets' Prize 2020
The Women Poets' Prize 2020 has opened for submissions.
The prize is awarded every two years to three women writers who each receive a package combining 'financial aid, creative development, well-being, and pastoral support'. This includes a £1000 bursary, a mentor for a year, the offer of pastoral coaching, creative opportunities such as performance and bookbinding, practical support such as digital skills training and childcare cover, and links and collaborations with prize partners. In 2020, the 30 poets on the longlist will receive a year's free membership to the writers' creativity platform Being a Writer.
The judges this year have been confirmed as Liz Berry, Malika Booker and Pascale Petit.
Petit said: "I won't know what I'm looking for until I find it - I'm hoping for surprises! I'm open to work that is beyond my aesthetic and taste, and will read with an adventurous mind. This is such a fantastic prize, where the winners will be nurtured and fully supported with pastoral care as well as top mentors. There are so many new women's worlds to discover, it's exciting to be part of that process and I can't wait for the discussions with my dream co-judges Malika and Liz."
The prize was founded by the Rebecca Swift Foundation. Swift was an editor, novelist, diarist, poet and founder and director of The Literary Consultancy from its beginning in 1996 to her death in April 2017. Her two passions were 'poetry and women's empowerment' and the prize aims to honour them.
