The 2026 TS Eliot Prize shortlist has been announced, featuring 10 poets competing for the £25,000 award, widely regarded as the United Kingdom and Ireland’s most prestigious honor for a single volume of poetry. Among those shortlisted are former UK poet laureate Andrew Motion and Pulitzer Prize winner Jorie Graham.

Andrew Motion, 73, has been nominated for his collection *Gravity Archives*. Motion served as the UK poet laureate from 1999 to 2009 and has published over 15 poetry collections throughout his career. Jorie Graham, 76, was shortlisted for her work *Killing Spree*. Graham, an acclaimed American poet, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1996 for *The Dream of the Unified Field*, a selection of her poems, and was previously shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize in 2012.

The shortlist also includes British poet and writer Keith Jarrett, nominated for his second collection *Hide Me Under the Blood and I Shall Be Satisfied*. Jarrett's work is also among those considered for this year's Forward Prize. Other poets featured are Imani Mason Jordan, with their debut collection *PIVOT*; Canadian poet Sylvia Legris for *Sleep Gate*; and Shara McCallum for her volume *Behold*.

The ten shortlisted collections were chosen from a robust field of 174 entries submitted by 65 publishers across Britain and Ireland. Each shortlisted poet will receive £1,500, while the overall winner will be awarded the £25,000 prize.

In the previous year, Canadian poet Karen Solie won the TS Eliot Prize for her collection *Wellwater*, underscoring the international reach and recognition of the award. The 2026 prize ceremony is eagerly anticipated by the poetry community and literature enthusiasts alike.