Listowel Writers Week is pleased to announce the three poetry books which have been shortlisted for the 2024 Pigott Poetry Prize. The prize is Ireland’s largest monetary prize for a poetry collection with the winner being awarded €12,000 and the two shortlisted finalists each receiving €1,000.
Over 40 poetry books were submitted for this year’s award and adjudicators Billy Collins and Annemarie Ní Churreáin selected three books of poetry for the shortlist on behalf of Listowel Writers’ Week.
The three shortlisted poetry books are:
NICK LAIRD, “UP LATE”
PAULA MEEHAN, “THE SOLACE OF ARTEMIS”
DAVID NASH, “NO MAN’S LAND”
Speaking on behalf of the adjudicators, poet Billy Collins commented, “It’s customary for judges of literary prizes to mention the difficulty of making their selections, given the high quality of the works at hand. It was a pleasure to discover with my fellow adjudicator, Annmarie Ni Churreáin, how closely our tastes in poetry overlapped. We are very happy with the results. A broader pleasure, too, was being associated with the distinguished and widely coveted Pigott Prize for Poetry”.
Mark Pigott KBE shared, “The Pigott Poetry Prize is celebrating its eleventh year and my family is thrilled at the breadth of outstanding Irish poetry that is being written every year. I would like to thank our adjudicators, Billy Collins and Annemarie Ní Churreáin for their hard work and thorough review of all the entrants and congratulate them on their excellent selection of this year’s shortlist which showcases the beauty, diversity and strength of Irish Poetry”.
Neel Keenan, on behalf of the Board of Listowel Writers’ Week, stated, “We are very grateful to all the poets who have submitted wonderful collections for this year’s competition. Congratulations to the poets on being selected for the shortlist and sincere thanks to Mark Pigott KBE who continues to celebrate Irish Poetry with the Pigott Poetry Prize.”
The winner of the Pigott Poetry Prize will be announced on Wednesday, 29th May 2024 during our Opening Night Ceremony of the Listowel Writers Week.