THE SEAMUS HEANEY POETRY PRIZE FOR FIRST FULL COLLECTION 2023

Beir Bua Press is delighted to share new of our nominations for THE SEAMUS HEANEY POETRY PRIZE FOR FIRST FULL COLLECTION 2023

NEXT TO NOTHING AND THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A STORY BY MARK LINDSEY

and

THE BOY WITH THE RADIO BY CORMAC CULKEEN

Please buy the books. Nominating books is costly as it means we need to send out a number of copies to the judges. These are fantastic books and are a must have for anyone interested in poetry.

The Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Prize is awarded to a writer whose first full collection has been published in the preceding year, by a UK or Ireland-based publisher. The winning writer receives £5,000 and is invited to read at a prestigious public event (subject to health and safety restrictions). For this they receive travel, accommodation, and relevant expenses. 

About the prize

A Judges Panel will be appointed by the Seamus Heaney Centre. The panel will compile a shortlist of up to five books, to be announced in June 2022. The winner and shortlisted writers will be invited to participate in the Award Event. 

The Prize is part of the Seamus Heaney Legacy Project, a fund established by Queen’s University and the Arts Council of NI, supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies. 

ELIGIBILITY

1. Entries must be the first collection by the author.
2. Entries must have a min. 40 pages. 
3. Entries must have been published in the UK or Ireland between 1 January and 31 December 2022.
4. Entries must be in printed book format, not that of a magazine, pamphlet, periodical, or ebook.
5. Authors may be of any nationality, but the work must be published in the UK or Ireland.
6. The work must be written in, or have been translated into the English language.
7. All books must carry an ISBN.
8. Submissions may come from publishers, who may enter an unlimited number of books. 
9. Anthologies or collections of works by more than one author are not eligible.
10. A collection of translations by various hands is not eligible.
11. A book by a current judge is not eligible.
12. Members of staff and students at the Seamus Heaney Centre are not eligible.

OTHER TERMS

1. Judges have absolute discretion in interpreting these terms, and their decision is final.
2. Judges may split the Prize between two or more entries or withhold the Prize if they do not consider any entry to be of sufficient merit.
3. Should a prize-winning book be a translation from a living poet, the prize is awarded 60% to the translator and 40% to the original poet. If the original poet is dead, but their work is within copyright, 40% of the prize is given to the original poet’s estate.
4. No feedback is given on any of the entries.
5. The Seamus Heaney Centre may at any time invite publishers to submit a book. In that event, the publisher will be required to comply with all terms. 
6. Submission of an author’s work by their publisher will be taken as agreement by the author that they are willing to enter, and to participate in all reasonable publicity associated with the Prize.
7. Should these rules not fully cover any particular circumstances, the decision of the judges on the eligibility of a collection of poetry is final and binding.