The Forward Prizes are an unmissable fixture on the literary calendar – a celebration for all who want to discover and ethenjoy the best contemporary poetry. 

All of the shortlisted poets are invited to read on the night: 

Best Collection – Kaveh Akbar (Pilgrim Bell), Anthony Joseph (Sonnets for Albert), Shane McCrae (Cain Named the Animal), Kim Moore (All the Men I Never Married), Helen Mort (The Illustrated Woman) 

The Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection – Mohammed El-Kurd (Rifqa), Holly Hopkins (The English Summer), Padraig Regan (Some Integrity), Warsan Shire (Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head), Stephanie Sy-Quia (Amnion) 

Best Single Poem – Louisa Campbell, Cecilia Knapp, Nick Laird, Carl Phillips, and Clare Pollard  

This year’s judges – Fatima Bhutto, Rishi Dastidar, alice hiller, Nadine Aisha Jassat and Stephen Sexton – read more than 215 poetry collections and 192 nominated single poems to find the most exciting poetry published in the British Isles.