The Michael Marks Awards aim to raise the profile of poetry pamphlets, recognising the enormous contribution these short publications make to the world of poetry, and to encourage poets and publishers both to develop and to continue creating.
The Michael Marks Poetry Award recognises an outstanding poetry pamphlet published in the UK between September 24th 2022 and the closing date of September 22nd 2023. The judges will take into account the quality of the pamphlet as an object as well as the poetry, but the latter will be of most importance.
Prize
The winning poet will receive £5,000 and a winner’s residential trip to Greece in association with the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies. The residency will take place in spring/summer/autumn 2024, exact date to be confirmed.
The Michael Marks Publisher’s Award recognises an outstanding UK publisher of poetry in pamphlet form, based on their publishing programme between September 24th 2022 and the closing date of September 22nd 2023. The judges will take into account the publishers’ philosophy, aims, plans, design ethos and marketing strategy as well as the quality of the poetry and physical pamphlets.
Prize
The winning publisher will receive £5,000.
Entrants to the Poetry and/or Publisher’s Awards should also submit, where possible, any pamphlet that includes illustrations alongside poems to the Illustration Award, which is judged entirely separately.
The Michael Marks Illustration Award recognises outstanding illustration of a poetry pamphlet published between September 24th 2022 and the closing date of September 22nd 2023. The judge will consider illustration in any medium and will be looking for a subtle and sustained relationship between image and text, as well as the overall quality of the images.
Prize
The winning illustrator will receive £1,000.
Wordsworth Grasmere and The British Library, with the generous support of the Michael Marks Charitable Trust, present The Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets, in partnership with The TLS and Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS), in Washington DC and in Nafplio, Greece. The Awards are also in association with National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales.
Find out more here.
Deadline for submissions to Poetry, Publishers and Illustration Award: 4.00pm Friday September 22nd 2023