Competition Winners 2009

Thank you to every one who entered the 2009 competition. The four first-stage winners are:


Nina Boyd, 'Futile Parachutes'
"A collection of cleanly-written and well-organised poems that, for all their efficiencies, are capable of leaving us with an appealing sense of mystery and unfinished business." [AM]


Sue Boyle, 'Unregarded Lives'
"The title proposes an idea of modesty – which is certainly present in the humble attentiveness these poems pay to their subjects, but is also belied by the range and strangeness of the book’s interests." [AM]


Alan Payne, 'Exploring the Orinoco'
"An exotic and ambitious collection, in which deceptively simple structures are built to carry an impressive weight of interest and reference." [AM]


Jane Aspinall, 'American Shadow'
"Bravely-written poems which, as they cover their wide range of subjects, manage to pull of the difficult trick of sounding at once valiant and vulnerable." [AM]


The shortlist also includes:

And the long list also includes:

The Sheffield Poetry Prize for a best single poem from a Sheffield entrant (sponsored by The University of Sheffield) goes to Beverley Nadin for 'RSVP'. This poem will appear in the next issue of The North magazine and on our website, and the poet will receive £100 and be invited to read at our competition winners' reading.

Liz Cashdan's poem 'Hay for Horses' came in second place, and Jenny King's 'Signal' was third.



The Poetry Business receives financial assistance from Arts Council England.