Carol Ann Duffy, the new Poet Laureate, has announced the creation of a new award for poetry, to be named in honour of her predecessor Ted Hughes. Professor Duffy has donated the official honorarium, or salary, she receives as Poet Laureate to fund the new prize, which will be administered by the Poetry Society.

The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry
The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry will be awarded annually throughout the ten years of Carol Ann Duffy’s term as Poet Laureate. The £5000 prize will be awarded to a UK poet, working in any form, who has made the most exciting contribution to poetry in that year.

Eligible works include, but are not limited to, poetry collections (for adults or children), individual published poems, radio poems, verse translations, verse dramas, libretti, film poems, and public poetry pieces.

Nominations for the award will be made by members of the Poetry Society, and the winner decided by a panel of three judges appointed by the Poet Laureate. The inaugural award will cover work which received its first publication or public presentation in the UK in 2009.

The winner of the first award will be announced in March 2010, alongside the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition.

The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry seeks to recognise excellence in poetry, highlighting outstanding contributions made by poets to our cultural life.

Speaking after the Audience with Her Majesty The Queen to mark her appointment as Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy said:

“I'm delighted, with the assistance of Buckingham Palace and the Poetry Society, to be founding this new award for poetry. With the permission of Carol Hughes, the award is named in honour of Ted Hughes, former Poet Laureate, and one of the greatest twentieth century poets for both children and adults.”

Notes to Editors:

The Poet Laureate
The post of Poet Laureate is a special honour awarded to a poet whose work is of national significance. The appointment is made by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Professor Carol Ann Duffy was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, for a period of ten years. Professor Duffy is the first woman in over 300 years to hold the position.

Ted Hughes was Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998.

Read more about the role of Poet Laureate

The Poetry Society
Currently celebrating its centenary, the Poetry Society was founded in 1909, to promote ‘a more general recognition and appreciation of poetry’. Since then, it has grown into one of Britain’s most dynamic arts organisations, representing British poetry both nationally and internationally. It currently has more than 3600 members around the world, publishes the leading poetry magazine Poetry Review, and has an extensive education programme. As well as the National Poetry Competition, it runs the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award (for 11-17 year-olds), the Popescu Prize for European Poetry Translation, and the performance poetry championship SLAMbassadors UK.

Carol Ann Duffy is a Vice President of the Poetry Society.

‘The Poetry Society is the heart and hands of poetry in the UK – a centre which pours out energy to all parts of the poetry-body, and a dexterous set of operations which arrange and organise poetry’s various manifestations. It has a long and distinguished history, and has never been so vital, or so vitalising, as it is now.’ Andrew Motion

The National Poetry Competition
Now in its 32nd year, the Poetry Society’s National Poetry Competition is one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious poetry competitions. Up to 10,000 new, unpublished poems are submitted to the judges annually, for the chance to win a £5000 prize. Winners include both established and emerging poets, and for many the prize has proved an important milestone in their professional careers.

In 1983 the winner of the NPC was a relatively unknown young poet called Carol Ann Duffy, with her poem Whoever She Was. The National Poetry Competition was founded in 1978. That first year, Ted Hughes was a judge (serving alongside Fleur Adcock and Gavin Ewart).

The closing date for the 2009 competition is 31 October 2009.
www.poetrysociety.org.uk

For press enquiries about the Poetry Society please contact Natasha Hoare at Idea Generation on 020 7749 6850, natasha@ideageneration.co.uk

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport supports the Poet Laureateship by funding the annual honorarium, or salary, provided by the Royal Household. The value of the honorarium is currently approximately £5,750.