Founded in 1994 to champion the 20 best debut UK and Irish poets of the decade, this will be the fourth iteration of the list, which helped kickstart the careers of poets including Simon Armitage, Kae Tempest, Carol Ann Duffy, Don Paterson, Patience Agbabi, John Burnside, Lavinia Greenlaw, Emily Berry, Ian Duhig and many more.

Chaired by Poet Laureate and former NGP Simon Armitage, the judging panel brings together poets, writers, artists, critics and cultural figures of outstanding reputation: Malika Booker, Jade Cuttle, Imtiaz Dharker, Ted Hodgkinson, Hanan Issa, Sinéad Morrissey and Daljit Nagra.

Submissions are now open and will close on Friday 14th August 2026 at 5pm BST. Poets must have published a debut collection between 1st May 2014 and 30th June 2026 and entries are submitted via the publisher.