Inaugural PEN Heaney Prize Shortlist 2024
The shortlist for the inaugural PEN Heaney prize in poetry has been announced. The list included two works with speculative elements:
- Hyena! by Fran Lock (Poetry Bus Press)
- A Tower Built Downwards by Yang Lian, trans. Brian Holton (Bloodaxe Books)
A collaboration between English PEN, PEN Ireland/PEN na hÉireann, and the Estate of Seamus Heaney, the award honors a single book of poetry published in the United Kingdom or Ireland that “engages with the impact of cultural or political events on human conditions or relationships.” The late poet Heaney was a Nobel laureate whose many works include a translation of Beowulf (W.W. Norton).
Judges of the award were Nick Laird, Paula Meehan and Shazea Quraishi. Catherine Heaney, the daughter of Seamus Heaney, served as the non-voting Chair representing the poet’s Estate.
The winner will be announced at a ceremony held December 2, 2024 at the Great Hall of Queen’s University Belfast. For more information, see PEN’s event page.
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