Wonderful Line-up for Forward Book of Poetry 2014

The Forward Book of Poetry 2014 - which we are giving copies of to First Story's Young Writers' Festival next month - promises to be an exciting collection. Jeanette Winterson, chair of the 2013 judging panel, has described the anthology as “a genuine showcase of the scope and depth of poetry now”. She and her fellow judges – Paul Farley, David Mills, Sheenagh Pugh and Samuel West – each read 162 poetry collections and 159 single poems before settling on the ones they loved best.

The poets shortlisted for the £10,000 Forward Prize for Best Collection - Rebecca Goss, Glyn Maxwell, Sinead Morrissey, Jacob Polley and Michael Symmons Roberts - will all be featured in the book.

Other poets shortlisted this year are Steve Ely, Adam White, Emily Berry, Marianne Burton, Dan O'Brien and Hannah Lowe, all for the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection. The shortlist for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem includes Rosie Shepperd, C. J. Allen, Hugo Williams, Patience Agbabi and Nick MacKinnon.

Winners will be announced on October 1 at the Southbank centre. Other poets who will have work in the collection are Danny Abse, Simon Armitage, Gillian Clarke, Clive James, Luke Kennard, Mark Halliday, Medbh McGuckian, Maurice Riordan, Anne Stevenson, George Szirtes, Clare Trevien, Jean Sprackland and CK Williams.

Return to Give a Book

Forward Books of Poetry for First Story's Young Writers' Festival

Give a Book is delighted to be giving copies of the Forward Book of Poetry 2014 to First Story for their Young Writers' Festival this September:

The festival will be held on 19 September, when hundreds of school children will gather to attend workshops on creative writing and hear writers talk about their work. The festival forms the launchpad for First Story's programme of workshops and events to encourage young people to write creatively, which take place throughout the school year.

Return to Give a Book

Family Days with Bags of Books

Give a Book has just started giving our gorgeous GAB BAGs to prisons for their Family Days. The bags contain books, pencils and pads for the visiting children. PRG have sent us this report:

The first Family Day at HMP Wandsworth was clearly a brilliant success and both books and bags were a triumph.
As it happens, one of the fathers who was there is also in the reading group and added his thanks in person. He said his own five-year-old was too excited to sit still but that there were lots who spent a long time sitting with their dads and reading together. And he thought having the book and the bag to take home would really help the children remember the day and the enjoyment of being together.

Here are some of the other comments received :-
"My daughter loved the book, it's one she'd read at school so she was very pleased"
"the gift [of a book] was a wonderful surprise"
"It was wonderful for my son to have something to remember the day by"

"the bag is great; I'll use it to take my art work home"
"my wife says my son is writing notes for me in the pad he received on the family day, thank-you"
"thank-you very much, my children loved it"
"the whole day was a fantastic opportunity to bond with my family, the bag of goodies was an added bonus"
"It was wonderful to sit and read the book to my daughter during the visit, it helped us to re-bond and helped us escape our environment for a while"
So thanks to PRG and HMP Wandsworth for sending this feedback which we love to get and thanks to everyone who helps Give a Book do what we love to do. Now please go back to Give a Book.

What Books Can Do Behind Bars

Click here to read a full report about the wonderful work of Prison Reading Groups. We're proud to be able to help them-- thanks to all of you who make Give a Book possible.