The Poetry Business

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Use British English|date=January 2025}}{{Short description|UK poetry publisher, established 1986}} {{Infobox publisher | name = The Poetry Business | image = The Poetry Business logo.svg | parent = | status = | founded = {{start date and age|1986}} | founder = Peter Sansom | successor = | country = {{UK}} | headquarters = Sheffield, England | distribution = | keypeople = Peter Sansom<br/>Ann Sansom | publications = Books<br/>Pamphlets | topics = | genre = Poetry | imprints = Smith/Doorstop<br/>The New Poets List<br/>Small/Donkey | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = {{URL|https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/}} }}

'''The Poetry Business''' are an independent press, and a writer development agency, based in Sheffield. Since 1986, they have run workshops, mentorships, competitions and more. The poet duo Peter and Ann Sansom are the directors of the Poetry Business.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Team |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/about-the-poetry-business/our-team/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== About == The Poetry Business were established in 1986<ref name=":0" /> out of a Victorian arcade in Huddersfield, and for the past fifteen years,<ref name=":8" /> have been "headquartered just a stone's throw from Sheffield's historic cathedral."<ref name=":2" /> They publish ''The North'' magazine, which was 70 issues old in August 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The North Magazine |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/the-north-magazine/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref> and several imprints, and their poets "have won or been shortlisted for almost every major poetry prize, including the Forward Prize on 11 occasions and 10 Poetry Book Society awards".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Press + Awards |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/about-the-poetry-business/press-awards/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2016, four of their titles, Mark Pajak's ''Spitting Distance'', Geraldine Clarkson's ''Dora Incites The Sea-Scribber to Lament'', Tom Sastry's ''Complicity'', and Zeina Hashem Beck's ''There Was And How Much There Was'', were named The Poetry School's Books of the Year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Onwuemezi |first=Natasha |date=2016-12-22 |title=Poetry School names its Books of the Year |language=en-GB |work=The Bookseller |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/poetry-schools-books-year-455261 |access-date=2025-01-12 |issn=0006-7539}}</ref> The press themselves have won the Michael Marks Award for Pamphlet Publishers in 2012 and 2017.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/about-the-poetry-business/history/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The press was incorporated in 1991, and the team has previously included Janet Fisher (until 2008) and Ellen McLeod as co-directors alongside Peter and Ann Sansom. Until 2021, McLeod served as the third co-director and business manager for The Poetry Business, alongside the Sansoms serving as the directors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE POETRY BUSINESS LTD > People |website=Companies House, UK |url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02644139/officers |access-date=2025-12-23}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Relf |first=Tim |title=35 pioneering years at the Poetry Business |url=https://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/free-article/35-pioneering-years-at-the-poetry-business/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=BookBrunch Limited |date=2021-06-14 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, as they are approaching their fortieth year, the team is made up of Jessica (Jess) Rollitt, serving as office manager, Pete Hebden, as marketing manager, Matthew Paul, who organises and manages guest-tutored workshops, the poet Holly Hopkins serving as assistant editor, Keith Lauchlan, who is involved in typesetting, book design and production, and Katherine Sansom, the daughter of the Sansoms, in charge of finance.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Relf |first=Tim |title=The Poetry Business at 40: Ann and Peter Sansom celebrate a milestone year |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/trade-interviews/the-poetry-business-at-40-ann-and-peter-sansom-celebrate-a-milestone-year |access-date=2025-06-19 |journal=The Bookseller |date=2025-06-12 |issn=0006-7539 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> The press are one of the few in the North of England, alongside And Other Stories in Sheffield, Peepal Tree in Leeds, Valley Press in Scarborough, Comma Press in Manchester and Dead Ink in Liverpool.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Who Needs London? Regional Publishing and Other Stories |url=https://theliteraryplatform.com/stories/who-needs-london/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=The Lit Platform |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== The North === ''The North'''s name serves as "a clear nod to the firm's regional roots." Its first issue, appearing in the 1980s, which was considered "a key time for Northern poetry",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poetry presses thrive as readers turn to verse in straitened economic times |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/features/poetry-presses-thrive-readers-turn-verse-straitened-economic-times-1027621 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Bookseller |date=28 June 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref> included work by such poets as Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Schmidt,<ref name=":2" /> and has since gone on to have great names, including Andrew McMillan and others, as editors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Poetry Business: Call for submissions for The North Issue 68 |url=https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/jobs-and-opportunities/the-poetry-business-call-for-submissions-for-the-north-issue-68.html |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Now approaching their fortieth year, The Poetry Business have announced that they "will publish an anthology of the best work from four decades of the ''North''", which will include some of the best-known names in poetry from around the world.<ref name=":8"/>

=== Activities === The Poetry Business have often participated in local and national events, such as festivals, where their poets have performed their work.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LMH student to perform at Kendal Poetry Festival |url=https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/news/lmh-student-perform-kendal-poetry-festival |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford |date=21 January 2021 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Off the Shelf Festival: Coal - Sarah Wimbush, Ian Parks, Ann Sansom, Peter Sansom |url=https://www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/off-the-shelf-festival-coal-sarah-wimbush-ian-parks-ann-sansom-peter-sansom/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Sheffield Museums Trust |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Five Anthology Poetry Reading |url=https://offtheshelf.org.uk/event/five-anthology-poetry-readingfive-anthology/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Off the Shelf Festival of Words |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Poetry Business also run around a hundred workshops annually,<ref name=":8"/> and in July and August 2024, they organised several online workshops with such poets as Schmidt, who was then 77 years old, Jonathan Edwards and David Constantine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Poetry Business Workshops Coming Up this Summer |url=https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/events/the-poetry-business-workshops-coming-up-this-summer.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) |language=en-GB}}</ref> They recently worked with the poet Sarah Wimbush and the National Coal Mining Museum for England, to produce an anthology of poetry to mark the 40th anniversary of the Miners' Strike.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheffield-Based Independent Press The Poetry Business To Publish anthology Of Mining-Related Poems, Prose And Photographs. |url=https://cumbriatimes.co.uk/article/Sheffield-Based-Independent-Press-The-Poetry-Business-To-Publish-anthology-Of-Mi- |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Cumbria Times |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Robinson |first=Joshua |date=2024-11-06 |title=New Book of Poetry Launched at the National Coal Mining Museum |language=en-GB |work=Kirklees Local TV |url=https://kirkleeslocaltv.com/news-and-affairs/new-book-of-poetry-launched-at-the-national-coal-mining-museum/ |access-date=2025-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson-Barrett |first=Alexis |date=2024-11-04 |title=Powerful New Poetry Anthology Launches at National Coal Mining Museum |language=en-GB |work=Yorkshire Press |url=https://theyorkshirepress.co.uk/news/powerful-new-poetry-anthology-launches-at-national-coal-mining-museum/ |access-date=2025-01-12}}</ref> The COAL Anthology, noted as "a moving and impactful tribute to the resilience and spirit of our mining communities", includes work from poets Simon Armitage, Liz Berry, Helen Mort, and newer voices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Powerful new book of poetry launched at NCMME |url=https://www.ncm.org.uk/news/poetry-launch/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=National Coal Mining Museum |date=4 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheffield-Based Independent Press The Poetry Business To Publish anthology Of Mining-Related Poems, Prose And Photographs. |url=https://www.yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Sheffield-Based-Independent-Press-The-Poetry-Business-To-Publish-anthology-Of-Mi- |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Yorkshire Times |date=10 October 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2012, paying tribute to steel city, the Press published ''The Sheffield Anthology: Poems from the City Imagined'', which included work from Duffy, Armitage, Mort, Roger McGough, Ian McMillan, and more.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Sheffield Anthology: Poems from the City Imagined |date=18 December 2012 |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/the-sheffield-anthology/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |language=en-GB |last1=Piette |first1=Adam |last2=Lehóczky |first2=Ágnes |last3=Sansom |first3=Peter |last4=Sansom |first4=Ann |publisher=Smith/Doorstop Books |isbn=9781906613617}}</ref> In 2021, they announced a call for submissions for two poetry collections "to be edited by [the then] Apprentice Editor-in-Residence Gboyega Odubanjo as part of their 'Apart Together' 2021 project."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apart Together 2021 : Sheffield's Poetry Business Calls for Submissions |url=https://www.yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Apart-Together-2021-Sheffields-Poetry-Business-Calls-for-Submissions |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Yorkshire Times |date=12 March 2021 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The two collections published as a result were Helen Seymour's ''The Underlook'', and Sarah Barnsley's ''The Thoughts''.

Since 2021, they've gone on to work with The Writing Squad on a series of digital residencies. The first Poet In Residence, hosted throughout February, was Helen Bowell.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The Poetry Business: Digital Residencies |url=https://www.writingsquad.com/project/the-poetry-business-digital-residences/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Writing Squad |date=8 February 2021 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2024, an anthology, titled ''Five: a poetry anthology'', was published by the press as part of their New Poets List. It included poems by five young poets: Helen Bowell, Prerana Kumar, Eva Lewis, Laura Potts and Ruth Yates.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bowell |first1=Helen |last2=Kumar |first2=Prerana |last3=Lewis |first3=Eva |last4=Potts |first4=Laura |last5=Yates |first5=Ruth |title=Five: a poetry anthology |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/five-a-poetry-anthology/ |isbn=9781914914782 |publisher=The Poetry Business |year=2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In November 2025, they published ''The Poems: Forty Poems from Forty Years of The North'',<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Sansom |editor-last2=Sansom |editor-first1=Ann |editor-first2=Peter |title=The Poems: Forty Poems from Forty Years of The North |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/forty-years-of-the-north-an-anthology/ |publisher=The Poetry Business |isbn=9781914914997 |year=2025 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> and ''100 Poems on the Underground'' in January 2026. The latter is be "the 40th anniversary edition of Poems on the Underground".<ref name=":8"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=100 Poems on the Underground: 40th Anniversary Edition |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/100-poems-on-the-underground-40th-anniversary-edition/ |isbn=9781914914317 |access-date=2025-06-19 |publisher=The Poetry Business |year=2026 |lang=en-GB}}</ref>

Other anthologies published by the press have included ''The Result Is What You See Today: Poems About Running'' (2019), curated by Ben Wilkinson, Kim Moore and Paul Deaton, with work by such poets as Lucy Holt, Rishi Dastidar, Stuart Barnes, Olga Dermott-Bond, Abeer Ameer, Lewis Buxton, A E Housman, Helen Mort, Wendy Pratt, and Jeffrey Hill, among others;<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Wilkinson |editor-first1=Ben |editor-last2=Moore |editor-first2=Kim |editor-last3=Deaton |editor-first3=Paul |title=The Result Is What You See Today: Poems About Running |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/the-result-is-what-you-see-today-poems-about-running/ |publisher=The Poetry Business |isbn=9781912196814 |year=2019 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> ''A Commonplace: Apples, Bricks & Other People's Poems'' (2020), curated by Jonathan Davidson with his own work and that of Roz Goddard, Zaffar Kunial, Kit Wright, Jackie Kay, and others;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Jonathan |title=A Commonplace: Apples, Bricks & Other People's Poems |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/a-commonplace/ |publisher=The Poetry Business |isbn=9781912196333 |year=2020 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> ''Spit Out the Myth: Three Sheffield Poets'' (2023), including work by Danae Wellington, Sile Sibanda and Warda Yassin;<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wellington |first1=Danae |last2=Sibanda |first2=Sile |last3=Yassin |first3=Warda |title=Spit Out the Myth: Three Sheffield Poets |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/spit-out-the-myth-three-sheffield-poets/ |isbn=9781914914614 |publisher=The Poetry Business |year=2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref> ''Strange Cargo: Five Australian Poets'' (2017), edited by Paul Munden, with work by Lucy Dougan, Cassandra Atherton, Paul Hetherington, Jen Webb and Sarah Holland-Batt;<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Munden |editor-first=Paul |title=Strange Cargo: Five Australian Poets |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/strange-cargo-five-australian-poets/ |isbn=9781912196043 |publisher=The Poetry Business |year=2017 |language=en-GB}}</ref> ''CAST: The Poetry Business Book of New Contemporary Poets'' (2014), which was edited by Simon Armitage, Joanna Gavins, and Ann and Peter Sansom, with work by Liz Berry, Andrew McMillan, David Tait, Tom Warner and Kim Moore, among others;<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last1=Armitage |editor-first1=Simon |editor-last2=Gavins |editor-first2=Joanna |editor-last3=Sansom |editor-first3=Ann |editor-last4=Sansom |editor-first4=Peter |title=CAST: The Poetry Business Book of New Contemporary Poets |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/cast-the-poetry-business-book-of-new-contemporary-poets/ |publisher=The Poetry Business |isbn=9781906613952 |year=2014 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> and more. The publication of ''Strange Cargo'' coincided with a poetry reading by UK, US and Australian poets, and marked an important partnership between the press and the International Poetry Studies Institute (IPSI), based in the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strange Cargo: Poetry Reading by UK, US and Australian Poets |url=https://englishsharedfutures.uk/strange-cargo/ |website=English Shared Futures |year=2017 |access-date=2025-08-11 |lang=en-GB}}</ref>

The press often work with the former and the current poet laureates Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/about-the-poetry-business/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref> who were both first published by them,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Alastair Niven on Independent Publishers |url=https://www.independentpublishersguild.com/IPG/IPG/Latest/Blogs/IPG/Posts/Alastair-Niven-on-independent-publishers.aspx |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Independent Publishers Guild |language=en-GB}}</ref> with Armitage's pamphlet ''Human Geography'' also being the press's first.<ref name=":2" /> In 2016, a Guardian article mentioned the press among some "of the best poetry publishing" in the UK.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Tobler |first=Stefan |date=2016-09-28 |title=A northern powerhouse really is coming – in publishing |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/sep/28/a-northern-powerhouse-really-is-coming-in-publishing |access-date=2025-01-12 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Competitions == The Poetry Business run several annual literary competitions, including the International Book & Pamphlet Competition, and the New Poets Prize.

=== The New Poets Prize === The New Poets Prize is "an annual pamphlet prize that creates new publishing and mentoring opportunities for poets between the ages of 17 and 24."<ref name=":1" /> It was launched in 2015, and has since been judged by such poets as Helen Mort, Andrew McMillan, Anthony Anaxagorou, Kayo Chingonyi, Mary Jean Chan, Luke Kennard, Kim Moore and Holly Hopkins. The Prize runs annually alongside the renowned Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rory Waterman & Hive New Poets Prize Winners Reading |url=https://www.hivesouthyorkshire.com/rory-waterman-hive-new-poets.html |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Hive South Yorkshire |date=13 August 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> One of the press's imprints, the New Poets List,<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Poets List |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product-category/books-pamphlets/new-poets-list/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Poetry Business |language=en-GB}}</ref> is dedicated to publishing the New Poets Prize winners, which include:

{{colbegin|colwidth=30em}} ====2015/16 (Judge: Helen Mort)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foyle Young Poets dominate Inaugural Poetry Business New Poets Prize |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/foyle-young-poets-dominate-inaugural-201516-poetry-business-new-poets-prize/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The Poetry Society |date=2016-05-09 |lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":9"/>==== * Imogen Cassells, for ''The Fire Manifesto'' * Jenny Danes, for ''Gaps'' * Theophilus Kwek, for ''The First Five Storms'' * Phoebe Stuckes, for ''Gin & Tonic''

====2016/17 (Judge: Andrew McMillan)<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Catalogue: New Poets List 2016–19 |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Website-Doc-4.pdf |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The Poetry Business |year=2019 |lang=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Ian Burnette, for ''Wax'' * Sarah Fletcher, for ''Typhoid August'' * Lizzie Hawkins, for ''Osteology'' * Stefan Kielbasiewicz, for ''Stealing Shadow''

====2017/18 (Judge: Kayo Chingonyi)<ref name=":9"/>==== * Joe Carrick-Varty, for ''Somewhere Far'' * Emma Jeremy, for ''Safety Behaviour'' * Tristram Fane Saunders, for ''Woodsong'' * Warda Yassin, for ''Tea with Cardamom''

====2018/19 (Judge: Mary Jean Chan)<ref name=":9"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ben Ray and Callan Waldron-Hall among winners of Poetry Business New Poets Prize |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/newpoets/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |date=2019-06-12 |website=The Poetry Society|lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jay G Ying Wins Poetry Business Prize |url=https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/blogs/news/jay-g-ying-wins-poetry-business-prize |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Poetry Book Society |date=14 June 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Jay Gao, for ''Katabasis'' (earlier reported as ''Scheherazade'') * Abbie Neale, for ''Threadbare'' * Ben Ray, for ''The Kindness of the Eel'' * Callan Waldron-Hall, for ''Learning to be Very Soft''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alumnus wins coveted poetry prize |url=https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/articles/2019/6/13/alumnus-wins-coveted-poetry-prize |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Liverpool John Moores University |date=13 June 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====2019/20 (Judge: Luke Kennard)<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-06-18 |title=New Poets Prize Pamphlets Launch |website=The Writing Squad |access-date=2025-09-15 |url=https://www.writingsquad.com/event/new-poets-prize-pamphlets-launch/ |lang=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Lauren Hollingsworth-Smith, for ''Ugly Bird''<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Georgie & Lauren win the New Poets Prize |url=https://www.vickymorris.co.uk/georgie-lauren-win-the-new-poets-prize/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Vicky Morris |date=22 May 2020 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> * Lucy Holt, for ''Have a nice weekend I think you're interesting'' * Gboyega Odubanjo, for ''Aunty Uncle Poems''<ref>{{Cite web |last=MnMenemy |first=Rachael |title=Gboyega Odubanjo: Event to celebrate poet's work after death |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-69021493 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=BBC |date=2024-05-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Georgie Woodhead, for ''Takeaway''<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Farah |first=Nik |date=2020-05-29 |title=South Yorkshire teens win national 'New Poets Prize' and will publish their collections |language=en-GB |work=The (Sheffield) Star |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/south-yorkshire-teens-win-national-new-poets-prize-and-will-publish-their-collections-2869426 |access-date=2025-01-14}}</ref>

====2020/21 (Judge: Kim Moore<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2021 New Poets Prize |url=https://www.nawe.co.uk/DB/competitions-and-submissions/the-2021-new-poets-prize.html |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) |lang=en-GB}}</ref>)==== * Hannah Hodgson, for ''Queen of Hearts'' * Safia Khan, for ''Too Much Mirch'' * Charlotte Shevchenko Knight, for ''Ways of Healing''<ref name="tps1"/> * Karl Knights, for ''Kin''

====2021/22<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poetry Business New Poets’ Prize with Serena Alagappan, Tom Branfoot, Beth Davies & Chloe Elliott |date=2023-03-30 |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=Sheaf Poetry Festival |url=https://sheafpoetryfestival.com/poetry-business-new-poet-prize-in-person/ |lang=en-GB}}</ref> (Judge: Anthony Anaxagorou)==== * Serena Alagappan, for ''Sensitive to Temperature'' * Tom Branfoot, for ''This Is Not an Epiphany''<ref>{{Cite web |title=University alumnus appointed as Writer-In-Residence at Manchester Cathedral |url=https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/university-alumnus-appointed-writer-residence-manchester-cathedral |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Manchester Metropolitan University |date=21 March 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Beth Davies, for ''The Pretence of Understanding''<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Poetry Business New Poets' Prize |url=https://www.writingsquad.com/event/poetry-business-new-poets-prize/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Writing Squad |date=23 May 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='I was in a poetry phase and it didn't end': in conversation with Beth Davies |url=https://www.voicemag.uk/blog/11783/i-was-in-a-poetry-phase-and-it-didnt-end-in-conversation-with-beth-davies |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Voice |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Chloe Elliott, for ''Encyclopaedia''<ref name=":11"/>

====2022/23 (Judge: Kim Moore)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Winners of the 2023 New Poets Prize |date=2023-07-20 |website=The Poetry Business |access-date=2025-06-20 |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/2023/07/20/the-winners-of-the-2023-new-poets-prize/ |lang=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Winner: Freya Bantiff, for ''All Appears Ordinary'' * Winner: Caleb Leow, for ''The Hoarders''<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Anne's Student Caleb Leow Wins Prestigious New Poets Prize |url=https://www.st-annes.ox.ac.uk/st-annes-student-caleb-leow-wins-prestigious-new-poets-prize/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=St Anne's College, University of Oxford |date=13 November 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

* Runner-up: Imogen Wade, for ''Fire Safety'' * Runner-up: Luke Worthy, for ''On What Could Sting''

====2023/24 (Judge: Holly Hopkins)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charlie Jolley highly commended in the New Poets Prize 2024 |url=https://www.hivesouthyorkshire.com/charlie-jolley-npp-2024.html |website=Hive South Yorkshire |access-date=2025-06-19 |date=2024-07-21 |lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="npp24">{{Cite web |title=Our 2024 competition winners! |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/2024/07/15/our-2024-competition-winners/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The Poetry Business |date=2024-07-15 |language=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Winner: Jayant Kashyap, for ''Notes on Burials''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitaker |first=Steve |title=Earth, Fire: ''Notes On Burials'' By Jayant Kashyap |date=2025-12-13 |url=https://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Earth-Fire-Notes-On-Burials-By-Jayant-Kashyap |journal=Yorkshire Times |access-date=2025-12-13}}</ref> * Winner: Cia Mangat, for ''Lobe''

* Runner-up: Zelda Cahill-Patten, for ''Surgeon Songs'' * Runner-up: Charlie Jolley, for ''The Dreamers'' {{colend}}

From 2016 to 2022, four poets were accepted for publication, which number reduced to two beginning in 2023, and two runners-up have also been announced every year since (except in 2025). The Poetry Business's digital residencies, or the 'Poet in Residence' programme, has included New Poets Prize winners Jenny Danes, Hannah Hodgson, Chloe Elliott, and more.<ref name=":3" /> Kashyap is the only India-based winner of the Prize. He was shortlisted for the Prize twice, in 2021 and 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Notes on Burials |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/product/notes-on-burials/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Poetry Business |date=11 July 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The competition wasn't announced in 2024.

=== The International Book & Pamphlet Competition === Established in 1986, the International Book & Pamphlet Competition is an older competition, and hailed as "the first of its kind in Britain."<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Four thrilling new worlds |url=https://thefridaypoem.com/four-thrilling-new-worlds/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=The Friday Poem |date=20 March 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref> It's notable winners have been Peter Daniels and Moniza Alvi in 1991, published together as ''Peacock Luggage'' in 1992,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Daniels |url=https://www.peterdaniels.org.uk/about |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Peter Daniels |language=en-GB}}</ref> Dean Browne in 2021 for ''Kitchens at Night'',<ref name=":7" /> Michael Laskey in 1988 for ''Cloves of Garlic'', and Daljit Nagra in 2003 for ''Oh My Rub!''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Awards |url=https://daljitnagra.com/awards/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Daljit Nagra |date=27 December 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, which was the competition's 39th year, it was judged by the poet Kim Moore,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 39th Poetry Business International Book & Pamphlet Competition |url=http://www.orbisjournal.com/2024/10/the-39th-poetry-business-international-book-pamphlet-competition/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Orbis Journal |language=en-GB}}</ref> who had also judged the New Poets Prize earlier.

Below is an incomplete list of poets who have won the Competition over the years{{ref|Alpha|α}}:

{{colbegin|colwidth=30em}} ====Before 2002/03==== * 1988: Michael Laskey, for ''Cloves of Garlic'' * 1989: Mimi Khalvati, for ''Persian Miniatures''<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |title=The King's Gold Medal for Poetry 2023 |url=https://www.royal.uk/poetry23 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Royal Household |date=25 January 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{ref|Beta|β}} * 1989: David Morley, for ''A Belfast Kiss''{{ref|Beta|β}} * 1990: Liz Cashdan, for ''Troublesome Cattle''{{ref|Gamma|γ}} * 1990: Julia Casterton, for ''Troublesome Cattle''{{ref|Gamma|γ}} * 1991: Moniza Alvi, for ''Peacock Luggage''{{ref|Delta|δ}} * 1991: Peter Daniels, for ''Peacock Luggage''{{ref|Delta|δ}} * 1993/94: Bob Cooper, for ''Light From The Upper Left''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who's Who in Poetry - C |url=https://www.poetrykit.org/whoswho/whoc.htm |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Poetry Kit |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{ref|Epsilon|ε}} * 1993: Jo Haslam, for ''Light From The Upper Left''{{ref|Epsilon|ε}} * 1994: Katherine Frost, for ''The Sixth Channel'' * 1994: Selima Hill, for ''My Sister's Horse'' * 1994: Mandy Sutter, for ''Game'' * 1995: Stephen Knight, for ''The Sandfields Baudelaire'' * 1996: Jane Draycott, for ''No Theatre'' * 1996: Diana Syder, for ''Hubble'' * 1997: Marlynn Rosario, for ''Larvae'' * 1998: Kath McKay, for ''Anyone Left Standing'' * 1998: Stephanie Norgate, for ''Fireclay'' * 1998: Susan Utting, for ''Something Small is Missing'' * 1998: Cliff Yates, for ''Henry's Clock'' * 1999: Peter Daniels, for ''Through The Brushes'' * 1999: Brenda Lealman, for ''Time You Left'' * 2000: Dennis Casling, for ''Endorphin Angels'' * 2000: Bob Cooper, for ''Pinocchio's Long Neb'' * 2000: Robert Hamberger, for ''The Rule of Earth'' * 2000: Catherine Smith, for ''The New Bride'' * 2000: Tim Dooley, for ''The Secret Ministry'' * 2001: Anne-marie Austin, for ''Debatable Land'' * 2001: Jennifer Copley, for ''Ice'' ====2002/03 (Judge: David Constantine)==== * Peter Bennet, for ''Ha-Ha'' * Chris Jones, for ''Hard on the Knuckle'' * Tim Liardet, for ''The Uses of Pepper'' * Daljit Nagra, for ''Oh My Rub!'' * Jane Routh, for ''Circumnavigation'' ====2003/04 (Judge: Gillian Clarke)==== * Mike Barlow, for ''Living on the Difference''<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Manchester Writing Competition 2008 Shortlist |url=https://www.mmu.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-01/2008-Short-List.pdf |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Manchester Metropolitan University |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Tim Dooley, for ''Tenderness'' * Stephen Duncan, for ''Ghost-Walking'' * Sam Gardiner, for ''The Picture Never Taken'' * Kathryn Simmonds, for ''Snug'' ====2004/05 (Judge: Gerard Benson)==== * Patricia Debney, for ''How to Be a Dragonfly'' * Carole Bromley, for ''Unscheduled Halt'' * Hugh McMillan, for ''After the Storm'' * Hilary Menos, for ''Extra Maths'' * Pascale Petit, for ''The Wounded Deer'' ====2005/06 (Judge: Simon Armitage)==== * Paul Batchelor, for ''To Photograph a Snow Crystal'' * Ed Reiss, for ''Now Then'' * Padraig Rooney, for ''The Escape Artist'' * Pam Thompson, for ''Show Date and Time'' ====2006/07 (Judge: Vicki Feaver)==== * Andrea Holland, for ''Borrowed'' * Judith Lal, for ''Flageolets at the Bazaar'' * Patrick McGuinness, for ''19th Century Blues'' * Allison McVety, for ''The Night Trotsky Came to Stay''<ref name=":16" /> ====2007/08 (Judge: Alison Brackenbury)==== * Julia Deakin, for ''The Half-mile High Club'' * Yvonne Green, for ''Boukhara'' * Padraig O'Morain, for ''You've been Great'' * Ann Pilling, for ''Growing Pains'' ====2008/09 (Judge: Michael Longley)==== * Carole Bromley, for ''Skylight'' * Sally Goldsmith, for ''Singer'' * Michael McCarthy, for ''At the Races'' * Anna Woodford, for ''Party Piece'' ====2009/10 (Judge: Andrew Motion)==== * Jane Aspinall, for ''American Shadow'' * Nina Boyd, for ''Dear Mr Asquith'' * Sue Boyle, for ''Too Late for the Love Hotel'' * Alan Payne, for ''Exploring the Orinoco'' ====2010/11 (Judge: Simon Armitage)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2010 Book & Pamphlet Competition |url=https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=10522 |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Write Out Loud |date=2010-05-19 |language=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Paul Bentley, for ''Largo'' * Christy Ducker, for ''Armour'' * Maitreyabandhu, for ''The Bond'' * David Tait, for ''Love's Loose Ends'' ====2011/12 (Judge: Carol Ann Duffy)==== * Suzannah Evans, for ''Confusion Species'' * Julie Mellor, for ''Breathing Through Our Bones'' * Kim Moore, for ''If We Could Speak Like Wolves''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Writing workshops…opening doors and lighting candles as you go |url=https://johnfogginpoetry.com/2014/08/16/writing-workshops-opening-doors-and-lighting-candles-as-you-go/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Great Fogginzo's Cobweb |date=16 August 2014 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Rosie Shepperd, for ''That So-Easy Thing'' ====2012/13 (Judge: Simon Armitage)==== * David Attwooll, for ''Surfacing''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tributes to David Attwooll 1949-2016 |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/david-attwooll-1949-2016/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Poetry Society |date=12 August 2016 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Emma Danes, for ''Dress of Shadows''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Danes |first=Emma |title=Light box |year=2015 |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/uncategorized/light-box |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=The Poetry Society |lang=en-GB}}</ref> * David Grubb, for ''Ways of Looking'' * Kim Lasky, for ''Petrol, Cyan, Electric'' ====2013/14 (Judge: Carol Ann Duffy)==== * James Caruth, for ''The Death of Narrative'' * Rebecca Farmer, for ''Not Really'' * Holly Hopkins, for ''Soon Every House Will Have One'' * Ben Wilkinson, for ''For Real'' ====2014/15 (Judge: Billy Collins)==== * Basil du Toit, for ''Old'' * Paul Stephenson, for ''Those People'' * David Tait, for ''Three Dragon Day'' * Luke Samuel Yates, for ''The Flemish Primitives'' ====2015/16 (Judge: Billy Collins)==== * Stephanie Conn, for ''Copeland's Daughter'' * John Foggin, for ''Much Possessed''<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Foggin 1943-2023 |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/2023/07/03/john-foggin-1943-2023/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Poetry Business |date=3 March 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * John Eppel, for ''Landlocked'' * Mary King, for ''Homing'' <ref>{{Cite web |title=Poetry Society Member Mary King picked for Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/poetry-society-member-mary-king-picked-for-poetry-business-book-and-pamphlet-competition/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Poetry Society |date=19 May 2016 |language=en-GB}}</ref> ====2016/17 (Judges: Ian Duhig & Mimi Khalvati)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Clean sweep for Poetry Society Members in Poetry Business awards |date=2017-06-02 |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The Poetry Society |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/clean-sweep-for-poetry-society-members-in-poetry-business-awards/ |lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pam Thompson reviews a clutch of prize-winning pamphlets from Smith/Doorstop |url=https://londongrip.co.uk/2017/12/four-winning-poetry-pamphlets/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=London Grip |date=4 December 2017 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Draycott |first=Jane |title=On Five Pamphlets: Josephine Abbott, The Infinite Knot (Smith/Doorstop) £5; Lesley Saunders, Angels on Horseback (S/D) £5; Katy Evans-Bush, Broken Cities (S/D) £5; Ruth McIlroy, Guppy Primer (S/D) £5; Maya Catherine Popa, The Bees Have Been Canceled (Southword) £7.99 |url=https://www.pnreview.co.uk/cgi-bin/scribe?item_id=10241 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=PN Review |language=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Josephine Abbot, for ''The Infinite Knot'' * Katy Evans-Bush, for ''Broken Cities'' * Ruth McIlroy, for ''Guppy Primer'' * Lesley Saunders, for ''Angels on Horseback''

====2017/18 (Judges: Liz Berry & David Constantine)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ann Gray, Christopher North & Madeleine Wurzburger among winners of Poetry Business Competition |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/poetry-business-competition/ |date=2018-06-12 |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=The Poetry Society |lang=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Rebecca Cullen, for ''Majid Sits in a Tree and Sings'' * Ann Gray, for ''I Wish I Had More Mothers'' * Christopher North, for ''The Topiary of Passchendaele''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Well met; a Polished Gem: Christopher North |url=https://johnfogginpoetry.com/2018/12/02/well-met-a-polished-gem-christopher-north/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Great Fogginzo's Cobweb |date=2 December 2018 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Madeleine Wurzburger, for ''Sleeve Catching Fire at Dawn'' ====2018/19 (Judges: Neil Astley, Michael Schmidt & Amy Wack)==== * Suji Kwock Kim, for ''Notes from the North'' * Hilary Menos, for ''Human Tissue''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Three pamphlets: Selima Hill, Natalie Shaw and Rachael Matthews |url=https://thefridaypoem.com/three-pamphlets-hill-shaw-matthews/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=The Friday Poem |date=11 August 2021 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Nick On, for ''Zhou'' * Emma Simon, for ''The Odds'' ====2019/20 (Judges: Imtiaz Dharker & Ian McMillan)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rosalind Easton and Sarah Wimbush win Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/poetrybusiness2020/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Poetry Society |date=9 June 2020 |language=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Rosalind Easton, for ''Black Mascara (Waterproof)'' * Jill Penny, for ''In Your Absence'' * Wendy Pratt, for ''When I Think of My Body as a Horse'' * Sarah Wimbush, for ''The Last Dinosaur in Doncaster'' ====2020/21 (Judges: Pascale Petit & Daljit Nagra)<ref name=":7"/><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=The Poetry Business Competition Winners' Reading |url=https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/events/the-poetry-business-competition-winners-reading/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=Wordsworth Grasmere |date=2023-02-23 |lang=en-GB}}</ref>==== * Dean Browne, for ''Kitchens at Night'' * Jim McElroy, for ''We Are The Weather''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim McElroy reflects on his Irish Poem of the Year nomination, "Unmaking His Chair" |url=https://www.capartscentre.com/2022/10/jim-mcelroy-reflects-on-his-irish-poem-of-the-year-nomination-unmaking-the-chair/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=CAP Arts Centre |date=October 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Maya C Popa, for ''Dear Life''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Popa's 'Dear Life' Shortlisted for the 2022 Michael Marks Poetry Award |url=https://michaelmarksawards.org/shortlist/maya-c-popa/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Michael Marks - Awards for Poetry Pamphlets |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Anastasia Taylor-Lind, for ''One Language''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rumens |first=Carol |title=Poem of the week: Welcome to Donetsk by Anastasia Taylor-Lind |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2022/apr/25/poem-of-the-week-welcome-to-donetsk-by-anastasia-taylor-lind |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Guardian |date=2022-04-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitaker |first=Steve |title=Poem Of The Week: 'Editing' By Anastasia Taylor-Lind |url=https://yorkshiretimes.co.uk/article/Poem-of-the-Week-Editing-by-Anastasia-Taylor-Lind |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Yorkshire Times |date=2022-03-31 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====2021/22 (Judges: Jonathan Edwards & Romalyn Ante)<ref name=":14"/>==== * Karen Downs-Barton, for ''Didicoy''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poetry Book Society Summer 2023 Selections |url=https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/collections/summer-2023-selections |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Poetry Book Society |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Jon Miller, for ''Past Tense Future Imperfect'' * Zoë Walkington, for ''I Hate to Be the One to Tell You This''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Milton Keynes psychologist impresses judges with talent for poetry |url=https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/people/milton-keynes-psychologist-impresses-judges-with-talent-for-poetry-4073217 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Milton Keynes Citizen |date=2023-03-21 |language=en-GB}}</ref> * Luke Samuel Yates, for ''The Mystery Shopper'' ====2022/23 (Judge: Hannah Lowe)==== * Laurie Bolger, for ''Spin'' * Doreen Gurrey, for ''A Coalition of Cheetahs'' ====2023/24 (Judge: Jane Clarke)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Out now: Caroline Bracken and Jen Feroze |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/2025/03/13/__trashed/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=The Poetry Business |date=2025-03-13 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="npp24"/>==== * Caroline Bracken, for ''Boy, Mother'' * Jen Feroze, for ''A Dress With Deep Pockets'' ====2024/25 (Judge: Kim Moore)==== * Ian Harker, for ''Gain Access''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carl Tomlinson reviews 'Gain Access' by Ian Harker (smith｜doorstop, 2025) |date=2025-11-28 |url=https://thefridaypoem.substack.com/p/carl-tomlinson-reviews-gain-access |website=The Friday Poem |access-date=2025-12-23}}</ref> * Annina Zheng-Hardy, for ''Abeyance'' {{colend}}

Luke Samuel Yates, a four times Poetry Society Foyle Young Poet and lecturer in Sociology, is one of the seven entrants who have won the Competition twice. He won it most recently, in 2015 and 2022.<ref name=":14"/> The first was Peter Daniels,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daniels |first=Peter |title=Homecoming |year=1990 |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/homecoming |website=The Poetry Society |access-date=2025-06-25 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> to win in 1991 and 1999. The others are Bob Cooper, who won in 1993 and 2000, Time Dooley, who won in 2001 and 2005,<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBS Winter 2017 Launch Party |url=https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/pages/events |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Poetry Book Society |language=en-GB}}</ref> Carole Bromley,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bromley |first=Carole |title=First Year |year=2019 |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/first-year |website=The Poetry Society |access-date=2025-06-25 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> in 2005 and 2009, Hilary Menos, in 2005 and 2019, and David Tait, who did in 2011 and 2015.

== History == An almost four-decade old firm, they're now "one of the most respected in publishing."<ref name=":2" /> They began publishing when Peter Sansom was still a research assistant at the then Huddersfield Polytechnic,<ref name=":8" /> and for over 20 years, Peter Sansom and Janet Fisher served as The Poetry Business's co-directors. After Fisher's retirement, Ann Sansom took over as co-director as the team were first moving to Sheffield.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Blackledge |first=Richard |date=2019-04-30 |title=How readers saved The Poetry Business in Sheffield after funding emergency |language=en-GB |work=The (Sheffield) Star |url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/how-readers-saved-the-poetry-business-in-sheffield-after-funding-emergency-39363 |access-date=2025-01-13}}</ref>

In the past, from 2017-2023, they had the poet Suzannah Evans as assistant editor working on their New Poets List. Evans published her first pamphlet in 2012, after winning the Poetry Business pamphlet competition, judged by Carol Ann Duffy that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Suzannah Evans |url=https://www.rlf.org.uk/writer/suzannah-evans/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The Royal Literary Fund |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> The current assistant editor, at The Poetry Business and ''The North'', is the poet Holly Hopkins, who won the 2014 Poetry Business Pamphlet Competition and the Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice for her debut pamphlet, ''Soon Every House Will Have One''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Winners of the 2024 New Poets Prize |url=https://poetrybusiness.co.uk/competitions/new-poets-prize/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=The Poetry Business |date=11 July 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="npp24"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=A Long Drink for a Hot Day: an Interview with Holly Hopkins |url=https://poetryschool.com/interviews/long-drink-hot-day-interview-holly-hopkins/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=The Poetry School |date=30 June 2015 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home – Holly Hopkins |url=https://hollyhopkins.co.uk/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Holly Hopkins |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2019, an unsuccessful Arts Council grant bid caused a funding crisis, putting the firm in jeopardy. The year otherwise had been one of great success, considering increased book and magazine sales, and a thriving teaching programme. McLeod has mentioned that "the absence of regular funding brings continuing challenges" in the field. Earlier, in 2008/2009, losing grant funding from the Council had led them to move from Huddersfield, where the outfit was based in a Victorian arcade for 20 years, to Sheffield. They first moved to Bank Street Arts, and are now based in Campo Lane. The Poetry Business has relied on two-year Arts Council grants, and was saved in 2019 by crowdfunding from 380 supporters. The appeal attracted donations of £19,047 against the amount of £14,000, required to cover the cost of the press's planned work.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

==Further recognition== Poets first published by the press have gone on to win major awards. Both Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage, respectively from 2009-2019 and 2019-present, have served as the Poet Laureates of the UK. Armitage and Mimi Khalvati have won the King's/Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2018 and 2023, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mimi Khalvati to be Awarded the King's Gold Medal for Poetry 2023 |url=https://www.carcanet.co.uk/np34.shtml |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Carcanet Press |date=25 January 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Khalvati founded the Poetry School in 1997 with poets Jane Duran and Pascale Petit. Selima Hill, while not first published by the press, also won the Gold Medal in 2022.<ref name=":17" /> David Morley, whose ''A Belfast Kiss'' was published in 1991, received the 2015 Ted Hughes Award for New Poetry. The Ted Hughes Award in itself was a project which ran alongside Carol Ann Duffy's tenure as Poet Laureate. Launched the same year as the press, one of the poets to propose Poems on the Underground was Gerard Benson, who went on to publish work with The Poetry Business.<ref name=":8"/> Mike Barlow, who published his first collection, ''Living on the Difference'', with the press, won the 2006 National Poetry Competition, and was commended in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mike Barlow |url=https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poets/mike-barlow/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=The Poetry Society |language=en-GB}}</ref> Allison McVety, who published her debut with the Press in 2007, won the 2011 National Poetry Competition for her poem 'To the Lighthouse'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Allison McVety wins the Poetry Society's National Poetry Competition |url=https://peonymoon.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/allison-mcvety-wins-the-poetry-societys-national-poetry-competition/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Peony Moon |date=28 March 2012 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2009, Paul Batchelor won the Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition for his poem 'Comeuppance'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poetry Competition 2008 – 2012 |url=https://edwinmorgantrust.com/2019/07/10/prize2008-2012/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Edwin Morgan Trust |date=10 July 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Jane Draycott's 1996 Competition-winning ''No Theatre'' was on the shortlist for the 1997 Forward Prize for Best First Collection.<ref name="pyr"/> Cliff Yates's 1998 Competition-winning ''Henry's Clock'' was awarded the 1999 Aldeburgh/Jerwood Best First Collection Prize,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aldeburgh First Collection Prize > 1999 |url=https://www.librarything.com/award/9015.0.0.1999/Aldeburgh-First-Collection-Prize-1999 |website=LibraryThing |access-date=2025-11-12 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> which Mike Barlow's ''Living on the Difference'' was later shortlisted for.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hotel Anonymous |website=The Friday Poem |url=https://thefridaypoem.com/hotel-anonymous-mike-barlow/ |access-date=2025-11-12 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Dennis Casling's ''Endorphin Angels'' was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Kim Moore was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Poem in 2015, and won the 2016 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for her debut ''The Art of Falling'' (Seren, 2015). She later served as a judge for the 2018 National Poetry Competition and the 2020 Forward Prizes. Moore's work has been translated into many languages as part of the Versopolis project, and she won the 2022 Forward Prize for Best Collection for ''All The Men I Never Married'' (Seren, 2021).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kim Moore |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kim-moore |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Poetry Foundation |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2003, Jane Routh's ''Circumnavigation'' was shortlisted for the Forward First Collection Prize, and Allison McVety's ''The Night Trotsky Came to Stay'' in 2008.<ref name="pyr">{{Cite web |title=Previous Years |url=https://forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/previous-years/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Forward Arts Foundation |language=en-GB}}</ref> Dominic McLoughlin, who was placed second in the National Poetry Competition 2005, was shortlisted for the Book & Pamphlet Competition the same year. Christy Ducker's ''Armour'' was Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice for Autumn 2011. Ben Wilkinson's ''For Real'' was awarded a Northern Promise Award at the 2014 Northern Writers' Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners 2014 |url=https://newwritingnorth.com/northern-writers-awards/winners-by-year/winners-2014/ |website=New Writing North |access-date=2025-11-12 |lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunday Poem – Ben Wilkinson |date=2014-06-22 |url=https://www.kimmoorepoet.co.uk/2014/06/22/sunday-poem-ben-wilkinson/ |website=Kim Moore |access-date=2025-11-12 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Imogen Wade, who won the National Poetry Competition 2023 for her poem 'The Time I Was Mugged in New York City',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2024-03-25 |title=Poem inspired by New York mugging wins top prize in National Poetry Competition |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/mar/25/poem-inspired-by-new-york-mugging-wins-top-prize-in-national-poetry-competition |access-date=2025-01-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> was a runner-up in that year's New Poets Prize. The actor Kate Rutter was highly commended in the 2021 Competition, and a runner-up in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 |url=https://bridportprize.org.uk/results/2022/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=The Bridport Prize |language=en-GB}}</ref> One of the 2021 New Poets Prize winners, Charlotte Shevchenko Knight, published her Eric Gregory Award-winning debut collection ''Food for the Dead'' with Jonathan Cape in 2024.<ref name="tps1">{{Cite web |title=Charlotte Shevchenko Knight's ‘Admitting the Wound’ Mixtape |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/publications-section/the-poetry-review/the-poetry-mixtape/charlotte-shevchenko-knights-admitting-the-wound-mixtape/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=The Poetry Society |language=en-GB}}</ref> The collection was shortlisted for the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection the same year,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How I Did It: Forward Prizes – Charlotte Shevchenko Knight on 'Food for the Dead' |url=https://poetryschool.com/theblog/charlotte-schevchenko-knight-how-i-did-it-forward-prizes-on-food-for-the-dead/ |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=The Poetry School |language=en-GB}}</ref> and won the Best First Collection UK at the Laurel Prize 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Laurel Prize 2024 – Winners |url=https://www.simonarmitage.com/the-laurel-prize-2024-winners/ |website=Simon Armitage |access-date=2025-07-31 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Knight was awarded the Somerset Maugham Award in 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-06-19 |title=PhD student Charlotte Shevchenko Knight wins top literary prize |website=Manchester Metropolitan University |url=https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/phd-student-charlotte-shevchenko-knight-wins-top-literary-prize |access-date=2025-07-31 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Jayant Kashyap, who was one of the winners of the 2024 New Poets Prize, won a 2025 Toto Award for Creative Writing (English).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toto Awards – Class of 2025 |url=https://totofundsthearts.org/2025/02/toto-awards-class-of-2025.html |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Toto Funds the Arts |date=2025-02-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Tom Branfoot, a 2022 winner of the Prize, was shortlisted for the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (Written) for his poem 'A Parliament of Jets', first published in ''Ambient Receiver''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Spanoudi |first=Melina |title=British Sign Language poets shortlisted for the Forward Prizes for Poetry |journal=The Bookseller |date=2025-07-17 |access-date=2025-07-17 |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/british-sign-language-poets-shortlisted-for-the-forward-prizes-for-poetry |issn=0006-7539 |lang=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |journal=Publishing Perspectives |last=Anderson |first=Porter |title=The United Kingdom’s Forward Prize Names Its 2025 Shortlists |date=2025-07-17 |access-date=2025-07-17 |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2025/07/the-united-kingdoms-forward-prize-names-its-2025-shortlists/ |lang=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, poets Alan Payne and Shash Trevett were shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize for their collections ''Mahogany Eve'' and ''The Naming of Names''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Walcott Prize Shortlist 2025 |website=Arrowsmith Press |access-date=2025-07-31 |url=https://www.arrowsmithpress.com/walcott |lang=en-GB}}</ref> Jim McElroy's poem 'Coming of Age' was commended in the 2025 National Poetry Competition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McElroy |first=Jim |title=Coming of Age |url=https://poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/coming-of-age |website=The Poetry Society |access-date=2026-04-01}}</ref>

Sir Andrew Motion, the UK Poet Laureate from 1999-2009, described the press as "one of the most vital and vitalising literary organisations in the country".<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Dame Duffy has said that "The Poetry Business is undoubtedly among the most important initiatives in UK literature, bar none".<ref>{{Cite web |title=MA in Creative Writing Graduate Hilary Menos among winners of the 2019 Poetry Business International Book and Pamphlet Competition |url=https://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/ma-creative-writing-graduate-hilary-menos-among-winners-2019-poetry |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=Manchester Metropolitan University |date=4 July 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref> On how the press works, director Ann Sansom noted in a June 2025 interview that they work "together – underfunded but enjoying what we do".<ref name=":8"/>

==Notes== :1.{{note|Alpha|α}}Several winners of the International Book & Pamphlet Competition have not been mentioned here because of a lack of availability of reliable data. Same for any information about the judges during the said years. :2.{{note|Beta|β}}Khalvati was a co-winner of the 1989 Competition with David Morley, and their respective collections ''Persian Miniatures'' and ''A Belfast Kiss'' were published as one book. :3.{{note|Gamma|γ}}''Troublesome Cattle'' is the work of Liz Cashdan and Julia Casterton, joint winners of the Poetry Business Competition 1990. :4.{{note|Delta|δ}}''Peacock Luggage'' was a double pamphlet, comprising the Book & Pamphlet Competition winning collections of Moniza Alvi and Peter Daniels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Online Poetry Workshop with Moniza Alvi |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/event/online-poetry-workshop-with-moniza-alvi/ |website=The Poetry Society |access-date=2025-06-25 |year=2023 |lang=en-GB}}</ref> :5.{{note|Epsilon|ε}}''Light From the Upper Left'' included work from Bob Cooper and Jo Haslam, who were joint winners in The Poetry Business Competition 1993.

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == *[http://www.poetrybusiness.co.uk/ The Poetry Business website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poetry Business, The}} Category:Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Category:Poetry publishers * Category:Lists of literary awards Awards Category:1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:Literary publishing companies Category:Publishing companies established in 1986 Category:Publishing companies of the United Kingdom Category:1986 establishments in England Category:British companies established in 1986