The Laurel Prize, funded by Simon Armitage’s Laureate’s honorarium and run by the Poetry School, is awarded to the best collection of environmental or nature poetry published that year. This year's Prize Ceremony takes place in Bradford in September as part of the BBC Contains Strong Language festival along with workshops led by judges Kathleen Jamie and Daljit Nagra.
This year's five finalists are (in alphabetical order):
Judith Beveridge Tintinnabulum (Giramondo Publishing)
JR Carpenter Measures of Weather (Shearsman Books)
Eliza O’Toole A Cranic of Ordinaries (Shearsman Books)
Katrina Porteous Rhizodont (Bloodaxe Books)
Carol Watts Mimic Pond (Shearsman Books)
The prize awards £5,000 for the winner of the prize and £1,000 for the other four finalists.
This year’s
Laurel Prize Ceremony is on Friday 19 September at 5.30pm (BST) and will be aired via a free live-stream. The ceremony is part of
BBC Contains Strong Language which takes place in Bradford from 18-21 September 2025.
As part of the festival, the Poetry School have programmed two workshops run by the judges:
Laurel Prize Workshop: Reading the Finalists with Kathleen Jamie
Saturday 20 September, City Library 10-12pm (BST) Centenary Square, Bradford BD1 1SD
Tickets: £25 -
buy here
Kathleen Jamie, poet, essayist and Chair of the Judges of the Laurel Prize 2025, discusses the collections of the finalists. Expect to explore the diverse ways this year’s finalists have written about nature, the more-than-human and the climate crisis. This stimulating, intimate and inspirational session will offer rare insights into the Laurel Prize’s 2025 finalists and explore what these collections say about the contemporary landscape of ecopoetry. New and experienced poets welcome. Please bring a laptop or pen and paper if possible.
Laurel Prize Workshop: Ecopoetry’s Cutting Edge with Daljit Nagra
Saturday 20 September, City Library 2–4pm (BST) Centenary Square, Bradford BD1 1SD
Tickets: £25 -
buy here
Daljit Nagra, celebrated poet and 2025 Laurel Prize Judge, walks us through the current landscape of ecopoetry. In judging this year’s prize, he says, “I’ve had the great fortune to read the best poetry about climate crisis that is currently being written.” Daljit will share some of the work submitted for the prize from poets across the globe and showcasing their various approaches to writing. This exploratory and practical session is designed to stimulate your creativity and you can expect to walk away with a new-found appreciation and knowledge of ecopoetry’s cutting edge. New and experienced poets welcome. Please bring a laptop or pen & paper if possible.