Jo Shapcott takes Costa Book of the Year

Congratulations to poet Jo Shapcott who has won the Costa Book of the Year with her collection Of Mutability– the second consecutive year that poetry has clinched the prize. You can listen to Jo discussing her book and Andrew Neil reflecting on the judging process here.

Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

Interrupting my hiatus – how strange a phrase – to extend warm congratulations to Wales's own Gillian Clarke who receives the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. The Guardian has the full story here.

Dylan Thomas Prize winner announced

Congratulations to poet Elyse Fenton who takes the 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize, a cheque for £30,000 and the all-important profile that the win brings. It's great to see a poet take the prize this time around. (I thought that might happen, but, admittedly, I had my money on Carcanet poet Caroline Bird, with her second consecutive shortlisting.) Fenton's poetry tackles the Big Theme of our times, curiously (or perhaps not that curiously) avoided by many younger poets – the war. You can find out more about Elyse and her winning collection, Clamor, by visiting her website and here is a news snippet from the Beeb covering the win.

Picador Poetry Prize Shortlist

A little belatedly, for the editor has been in transit, but congratulations to all those shortlisted for this wonderful initiative – the Picador Poetry Prize for an unpublished (at least, unpublished as a first collection) poet. The winning poet will have a first collection published by Picador and be edited by maestro Don Paterson. Particular congratulations to Helen Mort and Ben Wilkinson, both of whom have recently featured in New Welsh Review. The judges for the prize are Don Paterson, John Stammers, Sarah Crown and Jackie Kay and the winner will be announced in 2011. More information on the prize can be found here.

Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist announced

The full 2010 University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist has been announced:

Caroline Bird, 23 - Watering Can (Carcanet)

Elyse Fenton, 29 – Clamor (Cleveland State University Poetry Center)

Eleanor Catton, 24 - The Rehearsal (Portobello Books)

Emilie Mackie, 27 - And This is True (Sceptre)

Karan Mahajan, 26 - Family Planning (Harper Perennial)

Nadifa Mohamed, 28 - Black Mamba Boy (Harper Collins)

My tip? Caroline Bird. Her second shortlisting for the prize – and a poetry collection has yet to make it all the way. From a personal perspective, I'm rooting for her. I remember Caroline when we were both young poets shortlisted for a Poetry Review prize back in the mists of time. Well, I was young (but poet-young), while she was actually young: just 15. And yet she acquitted herself like a true pro, delivering her work before the audience with confidence and panache. Neither of us won. But we both smiled.

Good luck to all the listed. The prizewinner will be announced in December.

Carrie Etter's The Tethers wins London Festival Fringe Best New Poet Award

Carrie Etter – long-time contributor to New Welsh Review as poet, short story writer and critic –won the London Festival Fringe Best New Poet Award on 16 August for her debut collection of poetry The Tethers. New Welsh Review is delighted for Carrie and doubly delighted that her winning book is published from Wales in the shape of Seren Books. Congratulations to Carrie who will be awarded a cheque for £2500 later this month!

Philip Gross scoops Wales Book of the Year

Philip Gross has scooped the £10,000 Wales Book of the Year award for I Spy Pinhole Eye, an ekphrastic collaboration with photographer Simon Denison. This is yet another major achievement for the poet in a year that has seen Gross win the coveted T. S. Eliot Prize for poetry for a full collection from Bloodaxe, The Water Table. Philip will be appearing in the forthcoming New Welsh Review, talking about his inspiration for The Water Table.

Philip was a member of the New Welsh Review board until recently. Talented, tremendous fun, and modest, all at New Welsh Review congratulate him on his huge success.

The full story can be found here.

T. S. Eliot Prize goes to Philip Gross

The 2009 T. S. Eliot Prize has been won by Philip Gross. The prize is the most prestigious in British Poetry. Philip's winning book, The Water Table, was selected from a shortlist which included many accomplished poets, including Alice Oswald, Christopher Reid and Hugo Williams. As well as being a great poet, Philip is also a novelist, playwright, Professor in Creative Writing and a member of the New Welsh Review board. Congratulations to him.

A Poet's Guide to Britain

Owen Sheers presents a series of programmes examining the influence of place on classic poems. The series looks at the work of William Wordsworth (May 4), Sylvia Plath (May 11), George Mackay Brown (May 18), Matthew Arnold (May 25), Lynette Roberts (June 1) and Louis MacNeice (June 8), and includes contributions from contemporary poets Don Paterson, Gillian Clarke, Simon Armitage, Paul Farley, Clare Pollard, Adam O'Riordan and myself. The series is part of a welcome season of poetry programming by BBC2 and BBC4 running from May to June. Further details on the season can be found here , and Owen will be considering his experience of bringing poetry to television in the summer issue of New Welsh Review which will be published shortly.

Magma Poetry

The latest issue of Magma includes an article by me on the contemporary poetry scene in Wales and the output from Welsh poets.

This edition also includes some fine reviews of recent collections, a great interview with Glyn Maxwell (recent nominee for the T S Eliot Prize) and Michael Symmons Roberts on research and poetry.

Poet Mick Imlah dies

Scottish poet Mick Imlah has died at the age of 52, the Guardian reports.

Imlah debuted with the highly acclaimed Birthmarks in 1988. A twenty year hiatus followed. Astonishingly, despite battling Motor Neurone disease, he returned with The Lost Leader last year – garnering him plaudits and the Forward Prize for Best Collection. Imlah was poetry editor of the Times Literary Supplement. News of his death is deeply saddening and arrives just as the winner of the T S Eliot Prize, for which he is nominated, is about to be announced.