The Aldeburgh First Collection Prize 2010 is now open for submissions from publishers or individual poets. This is one of the most important and long-established poetry prizes in the UK. The prize is for the best first collection of poetry published in printed book form in the UK and Republic of Ireland in the preceding year. The Aldeburgh First Collection Prize was launched in 1989 to coincide with the first Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and remains the oldest prize of its kind in the UK. The winner has always received both a cash prize and an invitation to read at the subsequent Festival.

“Winning the Aldeburgh was a nice surprise, and when the judges include poets whose own work you admire (in my case Christopher Reid), that aegis bolsters and fortifies the you that has to go back to your desk and face down the blank page. And it’s always a kindness to give poets money” - Nick Laird 2005 To A Fault (Faber)

“By taking so long in publishing my first collection, A Painted Field, I wasn’t in the running for any of the under-35 prizes, so it was a consolation and pleasure to win a handful of first-book awards - including the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize. The Aldeburgh Poetry Festival is always a literary event, warmly embraced by poets and poetry readers alike, and its annual prize is a welcome and valuable validation for any poet at the beginning of their career” Robin Robertson 1997 - A Painted Field (Picador)

“Winning the Aldeburgh Prize felt like someone giving me the thumbs up and saying ‘Yes, keep on’. A little encouragement can go a long way in poetry” -
Colette Bryce 2000 - The Heel of Bernadette (Picador)