In 2023, Jamie Hale, Spread the Word and CRIPtic Arts founded the Disabled Poets’ Prize. Since then, a wide range of partners have been kind enough to support us. These include Verve Poetry Press and Festival, the Arvon Foundation, The Literary Consultancy, Deptford Literature Festival, the ALCS. Private donors have also generously supported the prize.
It first ran in 2023, when the winner of the Best Single Poem category (judged by Romalyn Ante and Jamie Hale) was Jamie Fields, with How To Sign Playground, and the winner of the Best Unpublished Pamphlet category (judged by Peter Raynard and Jamie Hale) was Katharine Moss, with The Still Point.
It then ran in 2024. The winner of the Best Single Poem category (judged by Stephen Lightbown and Jamie Hale) was Gayathiri Kamalakanthan with Eating An Orange. The winner of the Best Unpublished Pamphlet category (judged by Pascale Petit and Jamie Hale) was Nowhere Near As Safe As A Snake In Bed by Susie Wilson. BSL Poet Laureate Kabir Kapoor highly commended Sahera Khan’s My Eyes in the BSL category.
Our past winners have gone on to publication, awards, and other opportunities.