T. S. Eliot Prize

The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Prize was inaugurated in 1993 in celebration of the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and in honour of its founding poet, T. S. Eliot. Since its inception, the prize money has been donated by Eliot's widow, Mrs Valerie Eliot. At present, the prize is £15,000, with each of nine runners-up receiving £1000 each, making it the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry competition. The Prize has been called "the most coveted award in poetry".