Winchester Poetry Prize 2026 winners announced
The winner of Winchester Poetry Prize 2026 was announced in front of a packed room at The ARC, and livestreamed globally, on Saturday 10th October, concluding Winchester Poetry Day. A day of participation and performance - celebrating poetry in all of its forms - at the ARC, Winchester.
The competition attracted 2524 entries this year, with 354 of those being from Hampshire. There were entries from over 50 countries including Cape Verde, Iran, Ghana, Malaysia, Georgia and China.
The winner was Vanessa Lampert, from Oxfordshire, with her poem The Rub. Second prize went to Russell Buzby with the poem Hecuba. Third prize went to Miriam Swales with The Bleeding Woman. The Kathryn Bevis Prize award for the strongest poem entered into the competition by a Hampshire-based poet, was won by David Spencer with Across The River.
All of the entries were read and judged blind by acclaimed poet, and Peter Symonds College alumna Julia Copus, who revealed the winners and explored each poem. The longlisted poets travelled from as far away as Australia to be there to discover their places, with those from other countries attending online. Thanks to grant funding from Newbury Building Society, the event was live-streamed so that audiences around the world could watch.
Vanessa Lampert (Winchester Poetry Prize 2026 winner) says:
“Winning the Winchester prize is thrilling but the whole prizegiving event is a gift: the warmth of the people, the generosity of the judge and the sheer pleasure of celebrating poetry together in the real world. Everything felt wonderfully alive. I’m so grateful for all the work that happens behind the scenes to make it happen.”
All of the winning, commended and highly commended poems are collected in an anthology entitled The Habits Of Strangers which can be purchased from Winchester Poetry Festival’s online shop, or from P&G Wells Bookshop. You can see the full longlist here.
This exciting live event concluded Winchester Poetry Day. The day also celebrated those who entered Hampshire Young Poets competition 2026, run in partnership with Hampshire Cultural Trust; a sold out writing workshop with Rachel Long; a popular open mic giving a platform to local voices to share their poems with attendees; and a discussion with Erica Hesketh (Winchester Poetry Festival Artistic Director) around plans for the festival next year.
Winchester Poetry Prize 2027 will open in April next year (subject to funding)
With many thanks to our sponsors Paris Smith LLP, The Writing School Online and Oliver Golding.
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