Winning Entries

Here’s what our judge, Carrie Etter, had to say about our winners:-

First prize: Heidi Kasa (US)
‘The Bullet Renames’ is one of the most moving, inspired prose poems I’ve read in years. It balances intelligence and poignancy in its deft use of anaphora and paragraphing, resulting in a poem I wish I’d written myself. I can’t help but anticipate that this poem will appear in a critically acclaimed collection before long.

Second prize: Abigail Ottley (ENG)
‘A survivor dreams a new career’ exhibits both an impressive sense of voice and linguistic precision in a most original prose poem. The movement and balance between the two paragraphs is deftly handled, and the ending imperative is perfectly judged.

Third prize: Róisín Legett Bohan (IRE)
‘anticipation of anaphylaxis’ is raw and moving in its evocation of grief. Its variation in sentence structure supports the poem’s momentum beautifully.

Highly Commended: Neil Douglas (ENG)
‘While I am away’ seems a casual account, but the quality of detail and management of pacing show an intelligent appreciation of prose’s pace and poetry’s imagery. The bathos of the ending is humorous and well judged.

Congrats to the poets who made the final cut! All 10 shortlisted will be published in The Plaza Prizes Anthology 2.

LAST CALL. The NEW 2024 Plaza Poetry Prize (40 lines max) is open to enter. Judge: Moniza Alvi. 1st prize: £1,000. Deadline: 31st May 2024.