Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

This collection of poems for young adults features a selection of poems all written by winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award.

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is an opportunity for any young poet aged 11-17 to accelerate their writing career. Since it was founded in 1998 the Award has kick-started the career of some of today’s most exciting new voices, such as Sarah Howe, Phoebe Power, Richard Osmond, Jay Bernard and Helen Mort. With entries from nearly 6,000 young people each year from across the UK and worldwide, it is the largest competition of its kind and its importance is widely attested. 

Overall Winners are published in the annual Foyle Anthology which is distributed to poets, teachers, students, libraries, schools and arts organisations across the UK. Winners attend a week-long intensive residential course at an Arvon Centre and key winners are now collected into this Poetry Archive special collection for present and future generations to enjoy. Young poets describe this competition as the best thing they have ever done – and we hope you will love to explore it here.   

The Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award is sponsored by the Foyle Foundation and run by the Poetry Society. This Poetry Archive collection has been supported by Garfield Weston.